Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am submitting this appeal to withdraw from my fall term course, GNDS-700. Before my circumstances escalated, I believed I would be able to keep up with the coursework and salvage any missed course material. Thus I am not seeking a drop, but a withdrawal in acknowledgment of this.

Since the time of the deadline for dropping, my mental health and emotional wellbeing has deteriorated significantly as a result of ongoing issues within my family that have recently escalated, so much so that it prompted suicidal thoughts. It may be important to note that I struggle with Major Depressive Disorder, and have been managing it with medication.

Notably, I was prohibited from making the decisions I believed would have been best for my academics and management of mental illness by my family through verbal and psychological abuse. Of my own volition, I felt it would be best to drop HIST-101 early on in the year (September) as a step toward part-time studies, in order to alleviate some of my distress. I did not consult them, and this choice compounded with an already hostile relationship with my parents caused me to be afraid and complacent. Though I moved out of my household as a result of the abusive environment, I have since had to limit my contact with parents which has taken a traumatic emotional toll, of which I could not predict the extent. I am now deciding to move forward without their input in my academics.

Because of these circumstances and their impact on my mental health, emotional wellbeing, and ability to fulfill my academic responsibilities, I have neglected my elective course, GNDS-700, in favor of maintaining my full-year courses (PSYC 100, ENGL 100) to the best of my ability. I wish to withdraw from this course as I believe that I was not able to enthusiastically fulfill my academic responsibilities to the extent that which I am capable of and to prevent a grade that would not accurately reflect my academic ability and integrity from appearing on my transcript.