Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Hello Board of Studies,


I thank Associate Dean Jenn Stephenson for their response. After much deliberation and guidance, I have decided to respond to their letter as they have clearly stated that there are concerns in my argument. I feel it fair that I provide more detail in hopes that we can continue this discussion and to do that I must appeal to the Board of Studies.



I would like to respond to Associate Dean Stephenson's remarks in points:


1.Petition Regulation 3.3.1.5 does not consider the effects of long Covid and is recent and not statedly retroactive, coming after the fact and after the damage from depression and covid had already been done to me. This policy does not address the extraordinary covid pandemic effects and therefore poorly reflects the real-life impacts of Covid-19, both as a disease and as a worldwide socio-psychological trauma. I have been clinically diagnosed with depression and contracted long covid after the first of two bouts of covid. The combined effects seriously impacted my academic performance and need for rest; now strained by the full-time hours of my internship. The provisions made by Queen??s University were cost effective but academically ineffective for anyone suffering depression because depression thrives on isolation. There were few, if any, in-person social opportunities for a prolonged and injurious period. No student body in the past 100 years at Queen's would've faced this, and so expecting, for example, the same performance from a 2020 student as a 2019 student would be contrary to the most fundamental principles of equity. Inflating grades to compensate would be improper. Extending deadlines to suit these unprecedented needs is both reasonable and nearly inconsequential to Queen's. As such a policy surely would be subject to abuse, the bar should be set for only profound and impactful mental or physical illnesses. I have both.


2. Long covid produces brain fog, including issues with attention, memory and executive function. One already living with depression who contracts long covid therefore becomes ill-equipped to take the steps to pull out of long covid. Thus, the regulations inherently impede the purposes of equity with respect to covid-affected mental disability: the regulations have no space for people like me. The regulations need to make more considerate allowances for a covid-affected world. That way the regulation would reflect and respect those that were not doing well before the pandemic - and continue to suffer even the years afterwards as healthcare services are experiencing a crisis of their own. That is, expecting one to fit within an old bell-curve of depression recovery times while suffering the effects of brain fog and unable to get timely medical aid is not only unreasonable, but again, incomparable to the conditions facing depressed students of 2019. In that way, it borders on being punitive: What did I do wrong but get depressed, lost brain function, and couldn't find adequate medical and psychological help? Being late with my academics was a consequence, not an inaction.


3.The normal deadline for submission of incomplete work may very well be the end of one term after the course was taken, however that does not consider people who are not in the right mindset to request a petition as well as people who want to meet the suggested structure of the letter of petition (which suggests providing a plan of action).


i. Furthermore, suggesting evaluating and drop the courses around week 7 and 8 implies that either they are sound of mind to get help to make that decision on their own or to take that initiative on their own. The matter of fact is that I made horrible decisions because I wasn't thinking straight, and I had the additional stressors of parental approval, as well as the looming financial burden of losing course fees due to mental illness and the structure of the courses. This is enough anxiety to render a depressed person catatonic, which is exactly what happened. I straddled between turning the tide by doing course work and giving up, and ultimately left me stagnant and not handing in assignments. The dismal environment made my depression worse, and triggered a fight or flight response, heavy on the flight.



ii. The Academic Consideration protocol, though a valuable solution to temporary circumstances, would have not helped my situation since there were mental health conditions involved; placing a temporary solution in a circumstance where most of the factors had indefinite aspects might have helped me in the short run, but not in the long run. At the time I was looking only at the short run, how I felt in the moment, as that was about as far a view as brain fog will allow; but now I must look at the longer distance and I am determined to get to where I need to be.



4.At the moment, I am currently in an internship that serves to help me grow and as a healthy break from the mindset held during the covid pandemic; A commitment of 36 hours a week from August to April. The reason it is not a full year internship is because of an attempt to recover from the courses of Winter 2022; it did not go as planned because I came to the realization that I had to prioritize my health. There is no surprise that the instructors indicated there is a significant amount of work, work that can be done within the amount of time requested, from May to December. This is because I will complete my internship by the end of April. For the matter of this letter, I will simplify my course of action:


a.I will give myself the first two weeks to recuperate and regenerate and complete the last assessment of RELS 137. In order to do that I will be dedicating 2 hours for 10 days within that time span. Thus, from mid-May to December I will attend to the other courses in the following manner.


b.Mid-May to Mid-September: I will attend to FREN 150 (F 2021); DEVS 392; and DEVS 492, since they are core courses, and they must be prioritized. ??Working on 3 courses in the span of 4 months provides 8 - 12 hours a week to each course. That means that I would be studying 4.8 - 7.2 hours a day, or 24 - 36 hours a week on average, completing these studies between Mid-August and Mid-September. I believe this course of action would provide enough buffer room because the readings for these courses are heavy and my health conditions fluctuate.


c.Mid-September to End September: I will have a couple of weeks to:
i. Make any adjustments that I need to any work that took longer than planned OR

ii. Relax and rejuvenate to prepare for the next set of courses



d.October to December: FREN 150 (W 2022); PHIL 247; and COMM 251 will be addressed in the second set of courses as they are electives. ??Working on 3 courses in the span of 3 months provides enough time to give, at most, 12 hours a week to each course. That means that I would be studying at 8 hours a day, or 36 hours a week on average, allowing me to complete these studies at end of December.


5.The letter from Student Wellness Services that I provided states that I have been seeing health professionals even before February 2022; I have attached a letter going further into that. In the past couple of years, I have been to the ER three times, with the third attempt being a failed one though it was a 9 hour wait. So, I hope that you can understand why I cannot let this opportunity to graduate and be a successful member of society go away. This is the part I need to do: defend myself and my experiences when the going gets tough. This is how I want to graduate, being a fulfilled Queen??s Alumni, even as I am recovering my capabilities and relearning my capacities.


6.Without the University??s permission to continue these courses, the following consequences are likely:

a.Amplified stress on my parents to accommodate me for an extended period of time when they have two other kids in university. Both parents are above 50 years of age and living in a single-income household while supporting around 20 family members. There is no way that I can produce enough money to sustain the fees for my studies and the cost of living here with just a study permit.
b.Added stress and costs of re-taking the same courses at some unknown point in the future, when there is a possibility that the professors may not be here or teaching the same course, or that the course will even be available.
c.Continually explaining this to future grad studies and job positions, which would involve disclosing unfavourable and embarrassing information. Essentially, my current academic history is job-prohibitive. Graduation with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) will erase that issue entirely.


Ultimately, Queen??s University??s response to teaching during covid times was the supposedly safe isolation of at-home learning, which only serves to exacerbate depression in prone individuals, as was my case. And when a depressed person is met with pressure, such as a deadline, the tendency is strongly towards stagnation. So, when I was depressed and isolated, this isolation fueled a deeper depression. I struggled with words, I struggled with concepts, I struggled to get work done. Then came long covid. The impacts of long covid were brain fog which was maximised by my underlying depression.



I am grateful that Queen??s has made outstanding efforts to accommodate my needs and I fully understand the administrative complexities of the on-going delays in my completion of the courses. I hope that we can find a workaround that satisfies your needs with my limitations and my ambitions.



Thank you for your time and consideration,

Essi Amegbeto