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Petition Type: New
ID: 8245
Submitted: October 14, 2021 at 11:07:55 PM
First Name: Serena
Last Name: Sengupta
Student Number: 20216869
Email: 19ss223@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BScH
Plan: LISC
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: PHYS118
Term: Summer
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Anne Topper
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To whom it may concern
Recently this summer, my grandfather passed away very unexpectedly largely due to hospital error. My grandfather and I were extremely close, as he took on a father role in my life, and his death has affected me very negatively.
Due to COVID, he and my grandmother, who has very severe dementia, have been living with my family so that we could care for them properly. Since my grandmother has been living with us and her dementia has progressed rapidly following my grandfather??s death due to the associated grief, my home is always very loud and noisy with various nurses and caretakers coming and going, and I could not guarantee that my grandma would not come into my room whilst taking the exam for this PHYS118. Because of this, I decided to write the final exam from my grandparents?? condo (where they were living prior to COVID), since it was empty and quieter than my home, so I thought it would be a quiet alternative as well as following the Examity guidelines that I must be alone in the room whilst taking the test. However, this did not work out well for me.
My grandfather was the last person to be in the condo unit a couple weeks prior to his death, and as a result, he had his things scattered throughout the unit, ready for his return ?? notebooks open on the dining table, the dishes freshly washed and ready to be put away, outfits neatly folded and ready to be brought back to our house for warmer weather, a birthday card signed and ready to be mailed to a relative. I had no other place I could write the test, nor did I have time to drive home before the exam began, so I decided to stay there and try to control my surfacing emotions.
However, my grief was so overwhelming that I could not focus at all during the duration of the exam; seeing all my grandpa??s things around me just brought all the raw emotions I had been feeling about his death that I broke out into tears several times during the exam, and instead of focussing on the content of the exam and putting forth my best effort, I just scribbled down what I could, as fast as I could, so I could escape the condo and his presence. I was in severe psychological distress and felt the need to escape.
My mental state and grief during and following this exam was so negative that as I was leaving, I had a minor collision with a curb because I was so desperate to leave as fast as I could, causing need for repairs on my car.
To summarize this for the purpose of my CR request: This event occurred during my PHYS118 exam, and I was affected for the duration of the exam as well as the rest of the day. By taking the exam in my grandparents?? condo, I relived/re-experienced my grandfather??s death for the first real time following his sudden death due to hospital error, and this caused me to undergo extreme psychological distress. Rather than focussing on the content of the exam and what was being asked of me, my priority was to desperately get out of the unit, to escape, so I rushed through the exam as quickly as I could so that I could do this, without focussing on the content and instead on relieving my situation. This negatively impacted my exam performance, and I knew this immediately before grades were released. This distress continued after, as it caused me to get into a minor collision with a curb, which ended up causing need for repairs on my vehicle. I immediately sought psychological help via a therapist/psychologist, and can provide documentation if needed.
Recently this summer, my grandfather passed away very unexpectedly largely due to hospital error. My grandfather and I were extremely close, as he took on a father role in my life, and his death has affected me very negatively.
Due to COVID, he and my grandmother, who has very severe dementia, have been living with my family so that we could care for them properly. Since my grandmother has been living with us and her dementia has progressed rapidly following my grandfather??s death due to the associated grief, my home is always very loud and noisy with various nurses and caretakers coming and going, and I could not guarantee that my grandma would not come into my room whilst taking the exam for this PHYS118. Because of this, I decided to write the final exam from my grandparents?? condo (where they were living prior to COVID), since it was empty and quieter than my home, so I thought it would be a quiet alternative as well as following the Examity guidelines that I must be alone in the room whilst taking the test. However, this did not work out well for me.
My grandfather was the last person to be in the condo unit a couple weeks prior to his death, and as a result, he had his things scattered throughout the unit, ready for his return ?? notebooks open on the dining table, the dishes freshly washed and ready to be put away, outfits neatly folded and ready to be brought back to our house for warmer weather, a birthday card signed and ready to be mailed to a relative. I had no other place I could write the test, nor did I have time to drive home before the exam began, so I decided to stay there and try to control my surfacing emotions.
However, my grief was so overwhelming that I could not focus at all during the duration of the exam; seeing all my grandpa??s things around me just brought all the raw emotions I had been feeling about his death that I broke out into tears several times during the exam, and instead of focussing on the content of the exam and putting forth my best effort, I just scribbled down what I could, as fast as I could, so I could escape the condo and his presence. I was in severe psychological distress and felt the need to escape.
My mental state and grief during and following this exam was so negative that as I was leaving, I had a minor collision with a curb because I was so desperate to leave as fast as I could, causing need for repairs on my car.
To summarize this for the purpose of my CR request: This event occurred during my PHYS118 exam, and I was affected for the duration of the exam as well as the rest of the day. By taking the exam in my grandparents?? condo, I relived/re-experienced my grandfather??s death for the first real time following his sudden death due to hospital error, and this caused me to undergo extreme psychological distress. Rather than focussing on the content of the exam and what was being asked of me, my priority was to desperately get out of the unit, to escape, so I rushed through the exam as quickly as I could so that I could do this, without focussing on the content and instead on relieving my situation. This negatively impacted my exam performance, and I knew this immediately before grades were released. This distress continued after, as it caused me to get into a minor collision with a curb, which ended up causing need for repairs on my vehicle. I immediately sought psychological help via a therapist/psychologist, and can provide documentation if needed.
Documentation
Professional Letter: LETTER.pdf