Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter as a request to permanently withdraw from POLS 319. Over the course of the past few weeks I have undergone a series of extenuating circumstances that have severely impacted my academic performance. On June 3rd, the final day to drop courses without academic penalty, my grandmother had a serious stroke, and my longterm girlfriend permanently moved away to Manitoba; to make matters worse I had just sprained my ankle and my employer demanded that I continue to work despite the immense pain and stress I was under. I have since reached out to a therapist to begin my healing process but a couple days later I was abruptly terminated from my position at work by a manager I had never met, for failing to complete a procedure I had not been trained to do. Before I was concerned that my anxiety would prevent me from completing the course material on time, but now I am worried that I will be unable to save the necessary funds to pay for my tuition next semester.

The past few weeks I have felt debilitated and unmotivated, hindered by an invisible force that corrodes the foundation of my life; learning, reading, loving, all the things that used to bring me immense joy have now become a hapless chore due to the uncertainty which surrounds my life. This, coupled with the fact that the main members of my support system are no longer readily accessible has compounded and prolonged my depression causing me to be unable to complete my work in a timely and meaningful manner. Since beginning my sessions with my therapist, it has become increasingly apparent that in order to lift myself from this depressive state I must learn to accept my suffering and focus my efforts on problems that are within my control. This became the inspiration for my writing of this letter, as an attempt to reduce the additional burden this course has posed on my mental health.

The intention of this appeal is to provide myself with the necessary time to recover, so I can focus my efforts on ascertaining new employment, in order to save the necessary funds to return next semester and regain my sense of self.

Sincerely,

Charles Osborne