Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Dr. Jenn Stephenson and whomever it may concern,

I am writing today to appeal the faculty's decision to require me to withdraw for one year from the faculty of Arts and Science. I have been battling severe depression that I developed at the beginning of the pandemic. I'm going to outline the ways in which this has effected my academic performance, what I'm doing to fix it, my academic plan and why I believe a year off will not have the intended effect but actually be detrimental, academically and personally.

I am a person who loves school. I did not come to university as a means to an end or because it's just what you're supposed to do, I genuinely love to learn, which is why this situation has been so devastating for me. It really took away my sense of self. From as early as kindergarten I would go all out on every project. I was valedictorian of my 6th grade class and competed in French public speaking contests. I switched to the French public board for high school, taking a special test to be admitted since my family is not Franco-Ontarian. I graduated as an Ontario scholar with a bilingualism certificate while competing competitively in my sport. I had to manage my time wisely and had to make sacrifices socially that other kids did not. I had to put in extra hours to catch up to peers who had been competing in a sport or speaking a language their whole life, but I chose to do the work happily. I'm giving you this information to stress that at my core, I am an extremely motivated, hard working and driven person who has truly just been so sick.

I began therapy last summer to try to recover from the completely debilitating depression I've been suffering from. I do not want to be this person, she is not the student or person I recognize and I don't like it. I was hesitant to go on medication and I wanted to give therapy a chance but I now know that unfortunately this is not the solution for me. My doctor and I decided in March that it was time to put me on an antidepressant. Now that all that weight is not solely on my shoulders and my brain is getting the help it needs creating serotonin I have a much clearer mind, motivation and the ability to do what I need to do this upcoming school year. I have truly been sick and I was not capable of fighting it on my own but I would be so regretful if this period of intense and honestly all consuming illness halted me from moving forward in life, essentially leaving me stuck in the bad place I've been trying to get out of. I know that being withheld from the classroom will be absolutely disheartening for me. I feel like I was just waiting to go to university for so long and no one is more disappointed than me that I haven't been able to make the most of it. I want to learn and debate with my peers in the classroom in the fall.

Today I accepted a job offer with the National Association of Federal Retirees Ottawa Branch as their summer student hire. They said they would love to keep me on part time in the fall if they have the funding. I think this would be a great idea. I function much better with structure. Before the pandemic I was used to being out of the house everyday from 8 am to 10 pm, going from school to training. I think this had a significant impact on my mental health and was a big trigger of this crisis, having my life ripped away so suddenly like that. I now have the motivation and the clear mindedness to be successful in this full time role and am looking forward to having designated times for school and work. I think there is a good chance I will one day work here in Ottawa in the area of advocacy or government and I feel like this job is a strong indicator that I do know what I am working towards and have specific goals.

My academic plan for this upcoming year, if granted the opportunity to return, is to focus on second year English courses, credits I would put towards a minor. I especially can not express enough how much I want to take ENGL294. I am currently enrolled in the first year summer course. I will also retake Introduction to Sociology and Political Science as poli sci is what I want to major in. I know this because I truly did value and enjoy the information I learnt this year, I just did not have the physical ability to demonstrate my progress through assignments. I'm also in WRIT 125 at the moment to fix that mark.

Although regular therapy was not the answer for me I've spoken to my doctor and we've decided that cognitive behavioural therapy in addition to my new medication could be extremely beneficial and while I am definitely going to be staying on Lexapro I am willing to work at anything that will help and have committed to testing it out to see if it will be of additional support. I have a new doctor who understands much better what kind of help I need. We have made more progress in a few months than I ever did with my old family doctor. Dr. Gerber has helped me immensely and I'm so grateful to have the resources to put this chapter behind me.


Thank you for your consideration,

Alannah Moss-McLaughlin
613-850-8797
Student ID: 20240105