Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Coleman Campbell
20155628
3rd Year Economics
12/16/21


Dear Associate Dean (Academic),

I am appealing to late-drop several courses from the Winter 2021 term as well as the Fall 2021 term. The courses are as follows: POLS 110, ECON 250 (both terms) , ECON 290, PHIL 250, and PHIL 257.

As evidenced by my academic record at Queen??s, I have struggled to complete schoolwork for the majority of my time here. Being a student during the time of COVID has been very difficult for me, and for reasons I don??t fully understand, I started suffering from debilitating anxiety and later depression. I found my mental health struggles that much harder as I also experienced extreme disappointment in myself and my inability to thrive at university despite always having been a star student and scholar in high school.

I have sought help at various points throughout my time at university??speaking to advisors, doctors and counsellors. I was prescribed medication and attended regular counseling here in Kingston and at home in Maryland; but despite some moments of improvement, nothing has proven effective in revitalizing my personal and academic life.

When my mental health issues started to include addiction in the Winter 2021 term, and I consequently failed to complete coursework, I resolved to use last summer as a healing period and continued medication and counseling while working full time. Feeling optimistic about the Fall 2021 term, I enrolled in four courses and added Philosophy in an attempt at a restart. Unfortunately, I fell back into my addictions upon returning to Kingston in September, and found myself in a depressive state of substance abuse. To make matters worse, my anxiety disorder simultaneously flared up and has caused persistent sleep issues throughout the semester.

Following personal reflection and conversations with family members, I realize that one major catalyst in the perpetuation of my struggles (both academic and personal, though they are intertwined) has been the inconclusiveness of each passing semester. I consistently have course work from prior semesters hanging over my head, which impedes my motivation to begin new coursework. Moreover, I have often falsely believed that I could turn things around through my own will power and efforts, despite numerous signs which suggest otherwise. This may provide some insight as to why this is not my first time appealing to late drop courses.

After speaking with counselors and family, I feel the best course of action now is to clear out all past and current courses so I can have a fresh start when I am healthy enough to continue my education at Queen??s. While I should have dropped these courses sooner, the personal struggles discussed earlier are so severe that they left me feeling paralyzed and unable to complete even simple tasks. After family intervention, I have recently emerged from the depressive state and begun planning for my recovery.

I am now speaking with a counsellor at Student Wellness Services about my addictions and mental health, and I have plans to participate in intense rehabilitation based from home in Maryland during and after winter break. Due to the severity of my problems, and based on unsuccessful attempts to restart in the past, I also feel as though continuing as a full time student at Queen??s is not in my best interest for the near future.

My hope and plan is that you will accept this appeal for a late drop on the courses listed above so I can participate in intensive therapy for addiction, depression and anxiety. I plan to return home in the next week to start this new chapter. I would then hope to return to Queens as a student in September 2022 healthy and equipped to succeed academically as I once did.