Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,

I am appealing to request Credit Standing in MATH 280, PHYS 206 and PHYS 242 (Fall, 2013).
Two months ago, my family doctor diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder, related to the stress I have been experiencing due to my school work and my gender identity. This anxiety started in mid-october 2013, and has involved panic attacks and periods of heightened anxiety. My panic attacks began at the same time as my fall semester mid-terms. Before each mid-term (and at times while I was traveling to them) I would experience panic attacks. The panic attacks before my mid-terms were triggered by the stress I experienced when worrying about the amount of material I needed to cover while studying. As a result of these panic attacks, I was unable to study effectively, which triggered more panic attacks immediately before each mid-term. As a result, I was in a state of heightened stress and anxiety during each mid-term, while being ill-prepared from being unable to study properly. This experience repeated during the Fall Exam period. As a result of these anxiety issues, my academic performance was much lower than expected.
In addition, I experienced anxiety related to stress from my gender identity. I have struggled with my gender for the past 4 years, and this struggle has contributed to several mental health issues. In the Winter semester of 2013, I made the decision to call myself Lucas while at Queen¿¿s. I came out to my friends and classmates, and received their full support. I have also discussed my preferred name and pronouns with several of my professors, including Alastair McLean and Professor Fraser. For the most part, this decision has brought positive change in my life. I no longer feel that I am lying to myself, and to the people in my life. However, my decision has raised some issues. For example, while studying in a group setting, I was introduced to a classmate that I had never met before. After hearing my name, he began to ask me questions about my identity, specifically if I planned to go through surgery and Hormone Replacement Therapy. I stated that I was not comfortable talking about my plans with someone I had just met. However, the questions triggered anxieties I have about my transition. I am a competitive athlete, and any surgery and/or hormone therapy I could choose to undergo would disqualify me from future competition. This is something that I try not to stress about, but is often brought up by such questions. The stress and anxiety I experience from such issues contributes to triggering my panic attacks, especially around exams.
Another trigger for my panic attacks is disappointing my parents. When I received my marks from the Fall semester, I knew that such a poor performance would upset them. In an effort to put off the panic attack that I knew would eventually occur, I lied to them about my academic performance. It has only been within the last few months that I have told them about my grades, as well as the reason that my performance was so poor. It was only by talking to them and my family doctor that I realized this was not an issue I could handle on my own, and was a disorder that required treatment. Thankfully, they have been very supportive, and have encouraged me to take every step to ensure that my struggle with my anxiety does not affect the rest of my academic career.
I have started treatment for my anxiety. Currently, my treatment plan involves anxiety medication and therapy. I am currently seeing a therapist, as well as a social worker at Toronto East General Hospital. In therapy, I am learning coping mechanisms for my anxiety and finding ways of dealing with the stress from my gender identity. One of my options for reducing my anxiety for further studies is to take a lighter course load. I am also using an organizational system of charts and alarms to manage my time and keep myself from panicking. I am currently taking STAT 263 as a distance course, and I hope that my performance in the course can act as an indicator of the success of my treatment. Now that I have acknowledged my disorder, I plan on doing everything in my power to manage it, and to continue my academic career.
I have contacted my professors for MATH 280, PHYS 206 and PHYS 242. I have informed each of the them of my decision to submit an appeal, and have requested they send a statement to the suggested address. I hope that their support and my marks in my regular coursework assignments demonstrate my commitment towards the completion of these courses.
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Sincerely,

Emma Scholbeck