Manage Appeals
Petition Type: 2
ID: 7638
Submitted: May 1, 2021 at 2:42:09 PM
Relevant Petition: 7608
New Information: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to you to ask for permission to late drop my BIOL 403 (Experimental Techniques in Biology) class. Currently, I am being treated for a mental health condition believed to be bipolar II. I have a history of mental illness and have struggled with controlling my mental and emotional challenges in the past. I frequently become fixated by my erratic and irrational thoughts, making it exceedingly difficult to focus on anything else. Going into the winter term, I was anxious to attend my BIOL 403 class because it was in person and meant I would have to return to Kingston. I have more control over my mental stability when I am home, which is why I have spent most of my time at Queen¿¿s completing online courses from home. Before each of my BIOL 403 labs, I would feel very anxious and dread having to go into class during Covid-19. When lockdowns began in Ontario, I thought I would finish the rest of the course online, but I still had to come in. I would repeatedly make mistakes during my labs because my irrational thoughts would overwhelm me, and I'd become depersonalized. I have not taken a lab course since my first year and wanted to challenge myself and learn new skills by taking BIOL 403. I thought about dropping the course before the deadline, but I kept thinking I would be a failure if I could not complete it.
From March 20th to April 30th, I believe I went through a depressive phase of bipolar II. The medication I am on has helped manage my fluctuating mood, and I still feel mood shifts, but not to this extent. I had an appointment with my family physician booked for April 12th but thought I needed support before that, so I booked an appointment with a Queen¿¿s counsellor on April 5th. My counsellor, Shannon Gendron, was very supportive and suggested I registered with Empower Me. The following day I did so and am hoping to start cognitive behavioural therapy in the next few weeks. Following this, I booked a doctor¿¿s appointment with a Queen¿¿s physician, Ryan Lee, and he has referred me to a Queen's psychiatrist whom I will see on June 8th. During my doctor¿¿s appointment with my family physician on April 12th, I explained that I had been going through a depressive episode and struggling with school. I explained that I upset because I had been working tremendously hard this semester and felt like that may be taken away from me because I was having difficulty coping with my mental health. He told me that I needed to do what was best for my mental health and not push myself too much. After this appointment, I decided it was best to defer my BIOL 403 Final Exam until I felt mentally stable enough to take it. I got in touch with academic considerations. They told me to email my Queen's Accessibility Service (QSAS) letter to my professor, Laurent Seroude, and forward my QSAS advisor, Angel Varrette. On April 13th, I did, and my professor defined my request for a deferral. When I went to pick up my lab book on April 13th, he told me I could not defer my exam, even if I had a QSAS letter, because the course was not offered in the summer. The manager of QSAS reached out to me on April 19th, after speaking to my professor, and said I had until August 12th to write my exam.
I decided to write the BIOL 403 exam on April 27th because I felt I was in a good enough mental state to take it, and I did not want to feel anxious throughout the summer, knowing I would have to come back to Kingston to write it. I was already anxious about writing the exam because I thought my professor may be upset with me for deferring it. During my exam, I had an anxiety attack and left after sitting there for an hour and a half, not writing anything. I immediately called my family physician after. I have another appointment booked with him on May 6th to try and figure out a plan to control my mental health better.
Given the struggles I have faced with mental health this semester, especially with concern to my BIOL 403 class, I would greatly appreciate being granted a late drop.
Sincerely,
Samantha Gillen
I am writing to you to ask for permission to late drop my BIOL 403 (Experimental Techniques in Biology) class. Currently, I am being treated for a mental health condition believed to be bipolar II. I have a history of mental illness and have struggled with controlling my mental and emotional challenges in the past. I frequently become fixated by my erratic and irrational thoughts, making it exceedingly difficult to focus on anything else. Going into the winter term, I was anxious to attend my BIOL 403 class because it was in person and meant I would have to return to Kingston. I have more control over my mental stability when I am home, which is why I have spent most of my time at Queen¿¿s completing online courses from home. Before each of my BIOL 403 labs, I would feel very anxious and dread having to go into class during Covid-19. When lockdowns began in Ontario, I thought I would finish the rest of the course online, but I still had to come in. I would repeatedly make mistakes during my labs because my irrational thoughts would overwhelm me, and I'd become depersonalized. I have not taken a lab course since my first year and wanted to challenge myself and learn new skills by taking BIOL 403. I thought about dropping the course before the deadline, but I kept thinking I would be a failure if I could not complete it.
From March 20th to April 30th, I believe I went through a depressive phase of bipolar II. The medication I am on has helped manage my fluctuating mood, and I still feel mood shifts, but not to this extent. I had an appointment with my family physician booked for April 12th but thought I needed support before that, so I booked an appointment with a Queen¿¿s counsellor on April 5th. My counsellor, Shannon Gendron, was very supportive and suggested I registered with Empower Me. The following day I did so and am hoping to start cognitive behavioural therapy in the next few weeks. Following this, I booked a doctor¿¿s appointment with a Queen¿¿s physician, Ryan Lee, and he has referred me to a Queen's psychiatrist whom I will see on June 8th. During my doctor¿¿s appointment with my family physician on April 12th, I explained that I had been going through a depressive episode and struggling with school. I explained that I upset because I had been working tremendously hard this semester and felt like that may be taken away from me because I was having difficulty coping with my mental health. He told me that I needed to do what was best for my mental health and not push myself too much. After this appointment, I decided it was best to defer my BIOL 403 Final Exam until I felt mentally stable enough to take it. I got in touch with academic considerations. They told me to email my Queen's Accessibility Service (QSAS) letter to my professor, Laurent Seroude, and forward my QSAS advisor, Angel Varrette. On April 13th, I did, and my professor defined my request for a deferral. When I went to pick up my lab book on April 13th, he told me I could not defer my exam, even if I had a QSAS letter, because the course was not offered in the summer. The manager of QSAS reached out to me on April 19th, after speaking to my professor, and said I had until August 12th to write my exam.
I decided to write the BIOL 403 exam on April 27th because I felt I was in a good enough mental state to take it, and I did not want to feel anxious throughout the summer, knowing I would have to come back to Kingston to write it. I was already anxious about writing the exam because I thought my professor may be upset with me for deferring it. During my exam, I had an anxiety attack and left after sitting there for an hour and a half, not writing anything. I immediately called my family physician after. I have another appointment booked with him on May 6th to try and figure out a plan to control my mental health better.
Given the struggles I have faced with mental health this semester, especially with concern to my BIOL 403 class, I would greatly appreciate being granted a late drop.
Sincerely,
Samantha Gillen
Student Number: 20048683
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Doctor's Note
Documentation Detail: Counsellor documentation