Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Good afternoon Dr. Chinna-Meyyappan and Appeals Committee,

I would like to request an appeal to a late drop of the PSYC236 course from my transcript due to extenuating circumstances.

I recognize that I did not perform well in the course and have failed its entirety.

I have found my transition into my first year on campus to be quite difficult as I struggle with anxiety and depression as well as being away from home.

I am from Nunavut so as one can imagine; the distance is quite far. I currently live alone and maintaining a routine for myself has been taxing, much more than keeping up with school as well. Events in the past few months have greatly impacted my work ethic as I believe I was a decent student in first and second year.

Close to the beginning of the school year, I lost my grandmother in the Philippines, and it has severely affected me as she was sole caretaker for 5 years (my parents were already in Canada) until I finally arrived in Canada. Due to COVID, I was unable to attend her funeral in-person and was forced to watch it through a livestream, taking a toll on my family as we could not be home to support our loved ones.

I struggled to take care of myself in the simplest of habits ?? eating, attending lectures and had various panic attacks throughout the semester that heightened my anxiety and closeted me in from the people that cared about me.

My parents do not know I failed this course (and I have failed another two last semester as well) and I fear that If they do find out, I will be harmed, as I have suffered physical, verbal and emotional abuse throughout my whole life when they recognize any failure even outside academics.

In the few months of starting school, I have faced extenuating circumstances aside from my grandmother??s passing, regarding family pressures to an extent where I contemplated suicide as my family is not very supportive of my goals.

At the beginning of the new winter semester, I had somewhat of a support system and aimed to do well in my courses as I began to heal. I had hoped to receive professional help and upon submitting forms, I unfortunately did not hear back from wellness services and I would say my mental health deteriorated close to the end of the school year. I had unfortunately had to request these services behind my parents' backs as I can only fear what will happen when they find out; they have referred to anyone with a mental illness as ?cuckoos who overreact?? and don??t provide any sympathy for their children if they are struggling.

I did poorly on my two PSYC midterms, barely passing the first one and failing the second. I don't believe this is due to my lack of preparation but severe exam and text anxiety, where I cannot focus and completely blank out. I did somewhat well on my first two debate questions but suffered panic attacks and was not able to submit the last two, affecting my final grade. If possible, I would like to request an appeal to submit these last two assessments if it can help me pass the course with an updated mark as I currently have an F in PSYC236 on my transcript. If that is not possible, I would like to instead drop this course late from my transcript due to the extenuating circumstances I have faced. I performed poorly in Fall semester and have even requested two courses be dropped from F21 as I have failed two due to my struggle. I have been advised that to request an appeal such as this, I can also have other individuals send a letter to support the appeal as they have witnessed my struggle. The only person I can think of is my 13-year-old sister, whom I confide everything to, as I fear most communication with my parents. I don??t know any adults who would be willing to write a letter to support my appeal as my parents do not know my struggles of last semester as well as this semester and frankly, don??t like hearing about any sort of struggling, period. Our parents never offered therapy to us children as they saw feelings of despair and depression to be 'overreactions' and instead, were encouraged to suppress such emotions so as not to seem weak or unable. The from physical and verbal abuse I have suffered in my life and this was not beneficial to me over the years as it gravely impacted my mental health.

Last fall, I gravely struggled. I called the ArtSci faculty today to confirm my failing of the course and it shows as an F on my transcript currently. I am living in fear of not graduating in time by June 2023 as my parents do not expect anything less and so I have no choice but to complete multiple summer courses in the summer to make up for lost credits. If I am able to submit any further assessments to help me pass the course and get the credits to help me graduate, I would be forever grateful. I am terrified of what will happen to me.

With that, I cannot provide any medical documentation of my feelings of depression and struggles with anxiety (as they are not officially diagnosed from my lack of exposure to a health professional) throughout last semester, but I hope you can take my word for it.

I hope to hear from you soon regarding your decision on this appeal.

Sincerely,

Abigail Atienza (20184720)
3rd Year, Undergraduate Student
Queen's University