Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am requesting to drop my PHIL 318 course after the academic deadline because I have had a severe lapse of judgement in relation to what I thought I could handle this semester following my dad's death on January 21st 2022. He was shot and killed while on the job as a taxi driver, and the affect that this has had on me is ongoing and sporadic. My feelings and emotions are at times uncontrollable and take away from time that I would otherwise be spending on schoolwork. The timing of his death, which was at the very beginning of the semester, forced me to decide whether or not to continue with my classes before I could know what I was capable of doing under these circumstances. I know now that I am unable to finish 4 classes and so I must drop this one. This is not only something that I do not want to do as it affects the trajectory of the completion of my undergrad severely, but it is something that I didn't know I had to do until I was faced with the possibility of failing it due to lost time. And this lost time is caused by how much of my energy I am forced to dedicate to reconciling with my dad's death. I have spoken with a therapist, and I have obtained academic consideration for the semester, but this is the next step that I need to take to be the most successful that I can be this term. If it is possible to completely remove this course from my transcript (until I take it next semester and pass it) instead of having it appear as a 'DR' that would be greatly appreciated. For documentation, I have the receipt for his burial and a copy of the eulogy I delivered at his funeral. There are also many articles available online detailing the incident - his name was Mike Ryan and the taxi shooting happened in Oshawa. Please let me know if you need any more information.