Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

My name is Sarah Cornish, and I am appealing to late-drop PHYS242, PHYS206, and MATH221 (Fall 2020).

Over the Midterm Break in Fall 2020 I became severely depressed due to anxiety. This lasted until the end of Winter Break. I have dealt with anxiety for most of my life, but it reached a critical point over the midterm break due, in part, to the stress of the pandemic (I have a compromised immune system) and online learning. My body reacted to this by completely shutting down to escape the anxiety, leading to a period of severe depression.

During this time, I couldn¿¿t follow a schedule, I slept all day and wasn¿¿t eating much which led to low energy levels. When I did try to do work or even think about doing work, I would become extremely anxious and just shut down again. I put no effort into my schoolwork. I didn¿¿t attend lectures, complete readings, submit assignments, or write my final exams. I rarely had the motivation to do any work, and on the days when I did, the anxiety became too severe for me to get anything done.

During Winter Break the depression and anxiety lessened since there was less academic pressure, so when the Winter semester started, I reached out for support. I have been taking antidepressants since the end of January 2021 and have been in bi-weekly counseling since the start of February 2021. The combination of these two things is helping me to manage my mental health, but it has been a slow process. I am now able to maintain a daily routine and have started catching up on lecture videos in the course I am still taking. I even completed (and passed) the midterm for my MATH111 course. The reason it has taken me this long to apply for an appeal is that even though the counseling and medication have been helping, it has still taken me a lot of time and work to reach a healthy and happy place.

After last semester I decided to drop out of four of the courses I was planning to take Winter semester because I realized I wouldn¿¿t be able to learn from them until I had some coping mechanisms for the anxiety and was in a better headspace. I decided to stay in my two full-year courses in the hope that I would be able to catch up this semester, and so that I could have a lighter course load in the future. Next year I intend to continue with a lighter course load; in the fall 2021 semester I am going to retake the three courses that I failed in the fall 2020 semester, and in the winter 2022 semester I am going to take the four courses that I dropped. I will also be taking a course this spring to allow for a lighter course load.

I have also made the decision to drop out of the con-ed program and have spoken with the Education advisors in order to make that happen. I am hoping that this will take some of the pressure off me for future years and allow me to focus on the courses that I am most passionate about in Physics.

I am going to continue with counseling through the summer and throughout next year to continue addressing the challenges I have been facing. I will also continue to take my medication. I have submitted documentation to the accommodation¿¿s office so that when I do struggle with my mental health in the future, I will have accommodations in place. Although I have had a difficult year, I am hoping that the combination of counseling, medication, and a lighter course load will assist in allowing me to get the most out of my time here at Queen¿¿s. I intend to continue to work hard to be ready for the Fall of 2021.

Thank you for considering my appeal, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Sarah Cornish
20155382