Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter because I would like to drop my fall term DEVS 240 course without academic penalty. I realize that I am writing this letter very close to the end of the academic period, however, I believe that it is in my best interest to drop this course and retake it when I can better engage with the content.

To brief my extenuating circumstances, I will give a short synopsis of how my mental health has been affecting my work this past semester. I am in the process of getting more and more treatment for how I have been feeling. It, unfortunately, just has not been a swift process.

Lately, Kingston has not been feeling safe to me. I do not feel physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually safe here and it has severely impacted my mental health and my ability to do work. Firstly, the amount of racism, sexism, and plain bigotry I have had to withstand here has contributed to the general unsettling feeling I have felt over the past few months. Walking to campus or even downtown scares me profusely as I am unsure what type of hatred I have to deal with while on my walk there. This is something I have almost never experienced while home or even away and makes me feel as though I cannot leave the house and get schoolwork done.

While I am stuck at home much of the time due to my inability to leave my house, it does not feel like my house is any safer. My living situation adds to the lack of safety I feel in Kingston as my housemates are often hostile toward me and make me feel as though the house that I am living in is not my own. So while I may be at home to work on school assignments, it is severely detrimented by the on edge-ness I feel while at home.

Because of these factors, and some others, I have had to start medication to combat the anxiety and depression I feel. That in itself has been a struggle as well as my sleeping, eating, and cleaning habits have significantly changed in a way that doesn??t work with my school schedule. While the meds have certainly helped with clearing my brain fog or lifting my mood, it certainly has been hard to adjust my existing routine that works better with my lifestyle or to even create a new one to have a ??fresh start.?

I have tried numerous methods and resources to make me feel better and motivate me to do work, but nothing much has helped improve my situation during the semester, whether it be counseling sessions, going to a different city to do work, starting medication, etc. I find that even though I have tried to put effort into the course despite all these circumstances, it does not fully reflect my interest and ability in the course.

I would like to express that I understand that appealing to drop a course is not meant to manage any chronic illnesses. I have, over the summer semester, appealed for a late drop for DEVS220 and it has helped my mental health tremendously. I would like to highlight that I am not appealing this course on the basis that I know it has worked before and would rather not fail a class. This appeal was my last resort as I wanted to be able to complete DEVS240, but realized that my mental health negatively impacted my ability to do work. While I have tried extremely hard to do the work for the class, I feel as though I have not learned anything as I was not in a safe environment to properly grasp the material.

Going forward, I do not want these issues to persist. My plan is to go home for the month of December to feel safe again. This way, I am avoiding feeling unsafe in Kingston, or around my housemates. Additionally, I am looking to find a new place for the upcoming semester. Perhaps finding housemates that are not hostile toward me will contribute to a more positive learning experience. While I know meds are not the cure for my issues, I am looking into meds that will work better with my daily structure. Lastly, I have only enrolled in 4 courses (as opposed to 5) for the winter semester, so I am better able to dedicate more time to taking care of my mental health instead of spreading myself thin. I believe I will be able to do this for the following semesters as well.

As DEVS240 is a required course for my major, I will be taking it again in either my third or fourth year, preferably in person, if I am granted this late drop. That way, I will be able to better self-regulate my course work and follow up with my professors and teaching team more effectively. Again, I believe that this is the best course of action as I will be able to better engage with the material and express my knowledge much better after I feel safe once again.

Thank you so much for your care and understanding.

Anika Barua