Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing today to appeal the requirement to withdraw from my studies for one year. I have also tried to appeal to drop courses beyond the set deadline and I will pursue it as far as I can but as of right now it has been denied. Now, my final option to resume my studies next year is to appeal to have the requirement to withdraw revoked. I will attach some of the same documentation that I provided with my primary appeal. This last year was very difficult for me for many reasons, COVID-19 affected my life in many ways. By not being able to come back to Kingston, my family selling our house and myself moving into a relatives house, the inability to have social contact with anyone outside my house for an extended period of time. In addition, I had two surgeries, one per term, an oral surgery to remove my wisdom teeth as well as a nasal surgery to improve my breathing. Both of these surgeries left me bed-ridden for approximately 4-7 days. Besides this I had other causes of stress in my life. Personal issues such as going through a breakup of a long-term relationship, worrying and being unsure about my future, speeding tickets, et cetera. I believe I was and am depressed, and I have recently taken steps to talk to my doctor and soon mental health teams. My doctor suggested a medication I have been taking could have caused me depression. I am in the process of getting documentation from my doctor that I will submit as soon as I can. For the duration of the year, I felt as though I had no motivation to do almost anything. I found simple tasks such as eating, sleeping, and even just getting out of bed in the morning more and more difficult. For months I did not have a healthy eating or sleeping schedule resulting in a fluctuation of my weight, energy, and motivation. This cause me to delay several tasks needed for school such as homework, readings, assignments et cetera. This affected almost all of my classes. For weeks and months I was either not fully completing things I needed to do for tasks or not doing them at all. At first I thought I could get caught up but then I fell so behind and in turn developed more stress and anxiety about my school work. Both of my surgeries were near exams in both terms ( Oral surgery November 26th and nasal surgery February 22nd ), in which for both cases made it more difficult for me to prepare myself for exams as well. I tried submitting an appeal to drop classes before the deadline to drop courses and was asked why I did not drop them before the deadline, and to answer this question I can only say that the idea had not even crossed my mind until it was too late and I was speaking to an academic advisor because I failed almost all my courses and was terrified of being asked to withdraw for a year, which has now happened. All the stress and anxiety of my personal issues such as being separated from my parents, the ending of a long-term relationship, my surgeries, not being able to socialize are what I believe to have contributed to me becoming depressed. Depression can impact day-to-day activities and basic decision making which in my case I believe it did. I knew that unless I reached out and began to talk to someone about my mental health I would not get any better, nothing would. Which is why I made the decision to talk to my doctor who has now referred me to a mental health team. I should have done it sooner but I am not usually one to ask for help, and I was embarrassed of how long I let me mental health and academic standing deteriorate for. To say the least, It has been a difficult year for me. I feel as though I¿¿ve hit rock bottom. Now, I want to move forward. Having this appeal granted to waive the requirement to withdraw would give me so much hope. I want nothing more than to be able to resume my studies and work towards earning my degree. This last year does not define who I am as a student or a person and if this appeal is granted I would be deeply appreciative of receiving a second chance to continue and advance In my studies . I¿¿m sure COVID-19 affected numerous lives in unpredictable ways, looking back I never thought I would have as trying of a year as I did. I would now love the opportunity to get things back on track. When I apply myself to something, I know I can achieve great things. Please allow me the opportunity to showcase my determination and passion for my schooling.