Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,


I am appealing to drop FIlm 455 (Fall, 2021).

In the middle of September 2021, a severe crisis happened. I had never experienced anything like it, so I was terrified and exhausted. In the beginning, I did not know how to handle it. It's way too complicated for me. I could only sleep on my friends' living room floor for a long time. I have been having my lawyer and counsellor help me, but I still feel continuous depression.

I must juggle so many things at once, and I was under so much stress that I had physical and mental health problems. I had a severe migraine headache that I had never had before, so I went to the hospital twice at midnight. I lost nearly 10 pounds. I was afraid and did not contact my old friends in China online. I did not make any new friends. I started being afraid of social media. I've never had a time like this in my life. And the incident is something that's going to last a long time, and even if it ended, the effects on my body, mind and life would last a long time.

It was hard for me to pay enough attention to study. Thankfully, I got the academic accommodations that allowed me to hand in my assignments seven days after the deadlines. But gradually, I felt that it was not long enough for me to catch up with things. For the course FILM 392, I had my groupmates helping each other. For the courses GPHY 228, LLCU 200 and FILM 332, the professors gave me additional extensions to finish my works. Dan Vena, the professor of FILM 332 especially, was very understanding of my situation and gave me a long extension. However, for the course FILM 455, we were asked to produce (design, shoot and edit) some videos on our own, which was relatively complex to the written assignments. So I subconsciously arranged them to the behind. Yes, my mind was chaotic. Based on the above facts, I got very low grades (38.51/100) on FILM 455, mainly because of heavy late penalties. I have tried to communicate with the professor several times, but he said no every time.

If you check my previous grades, you will know that I am not here goofing off. I am facing the most difficult circumstances, and I need support. After submitting all my assignments, I thought, Time to move forward; life must go on. But after seeing the grades, I was struck down again. However, I know it won't last forever. I will keep meeting with my counsellor, and I have already felt that I can focus more on studying. I have called some of my old friends and chatted with them in the last few days. I think I will retake this course the following year. I have learned a lot, but at the same time, I have to believe that I am still a good person. These pains make me reflect on myself and improve instead of endlessly doubting myself.


I hope you can consider my appeal. Thank you