Petition Letter
Dr. Jenn Stephenson
Associate Dean (Academic)
Queen's University
Dear Dr. Stephenson,
I am petitioning the university to wave the 21 day petition deadline so I can petition for credit standing in BIO 102 (Winter, 2022) and CISC 101 (Summer, 2022), in which the deadline for petition has passed, and furthermore, also petition for my current courses, which are full year (MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112) be granted credit standing status or pass/fail status, and if neither of these options are possible, for those courses to be prorated towards the 2023 winter term and away from the 2022.
The reason for my need to request the wave of the 21 day deadline is similar to the reason for my need to request the petition regarding my grades. Over the course of 2022, I had been severely struggling from mental health issues. Although I have always struggled with my mental health, the year of 2022 was particularly bad for me. The stressor for this episode came on in September of 2021 when my doctor and I decided to switch my medication. The tapering of this medication triggered serious withdrawal syndrome, which caused serious symptoms (such as physical symptoms, but more importantly mental and emotional symptoms). My mental health had continued to seriously affect me throughout the entirety of 2022. Only towards the end of December of 2022 did I start to see some improvement within myself. My severe mental health issues through the year had massive negative impacts on all aspects of life. One of the things that I struggled most with was lack of motivation, lack of focus, procrastination and intense anxiety to the point of shutting down and not being able to study or complete work. These factors obviously severely impacted my marks, and furthermore prevented me from submitting the petition within the 21 day deadline, as I was not in a place where I could confront what was happening to me, let alone have the motivation to make the petition at the time. A major part of my issue was denial about what I was struggling with. I was not able to confront what was happening to me until after the 2022 December exam period, where I finally entered a period of clarity about my situation; the only reason I did not submit this petition at that time is because I needed to wait to be able to meet with my psychiatrist to get all the proper documentation. Although I am obviously still dealing with mental health issues, I feel I have made significant improvement, especially when it comes to my way of thinking and my clarity. I know that now that I am doing better, my marks will not suffer in the way they were before, and I would really like the opportunity to not let the marks I was getting during my period of struggle be reflected in my GPA, which is why I am requesting for credit standing status and/or pass/fail status.
I am trying to be proactive and prevent a situation like this from ever arising again. I am continuing treatment from my psychiatrist and have started to make numerous lifestyle changes. I have also decided to switch my major (which means MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112 will no longer be counted towards my degree). These factors will help me deal with my mental health issues and prevent me from falling back into the state I was in during 2022. I know how much better I will be able to do in school now that I am not suffering in the way I was before.
In terms of proration, the reason I would prefer MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112 be granted credit standing or pass/fail status instead of proration is because I worry that the content I lost last semester will continue to impact me this semester, although I understand if proration is the only option.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Sascha Kaplan
Student number: 20277745
Associate Dean (Academic)
Queen's University
Dear Dr. Stephenson,
I am petitioning the university to wave the 21 day petition deadline so I can petition for credit standing in BIO 102 (Winter, 2022) and CISC 101 (Summer, 2022), in which the deadline for petition has passed, and furthermore, also petition for my current courses, which are full year (MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112) be granted credit standing status or pass/fail status, and if neither of these options are possible, for those courses to be prorated towards the 2023 winter term and away from the 2022.
The reason for my need to request the wave of the 21 day deadline is similar to the reason for my need to request the petition regarding my grades. Over the course of 2022, I had been severely struggling from mental health issues. Although I have always struggled with my mental health, the year of 2022 was particularly bad for me. The stressor for this episode came on in September of 2021 when my doctor and I decided to switch my medication. The tapering of this medication triggered serious withdrawal syndrome, which caused serious symptoms (such as physical symptoms, but more importantly mental and emotional symptoms). My mental health had continued to seriously affect me throughout the entirety of 2022. Only towards the end of December of 2022 did I start to see some improvement within myself. My severe mental health issues through the year had massive negative impacts on all aspects of life. One of the things that I struggled most with was lack of motivation, lack of focus, procrastination and intense anxiety to the point of shutting down and not being able to study or complete work. These factors obviously severely impacted my marks, and furthermore prevented me from submitting the petition within the 21 day deadline, as I was not in a place where I could confront what was happening to me, let alone have the motivation to make the petition at the time. A major part of my issue was denial about what I was struggling with. I was not able to confront what was happening to me until after the 2022 December exam period, where I finally entered a period of clarity about my situation; the only reason I did not submit this petition at that time is because I needed to wait to be able to meet with my psychiatrist to get all the proper documentation. Although I am obviously still dealing with mental health issues, I feel I have made significant improvement, especially when it comes to my way of thinking and my clarity. I know that now that I am doing better, my marks will not suffer in the way they were before, and I would really like the opportunity to not let the marks I was getting during my period of struggle be reflected in my GPA, which is why I am requesting for credit standing status and/or pass/fail status.
I am trying to be proactive and prevent a situation like this from ever arising again. I am continuing treatment from my psychiatrist and have started to make numerous lifestyle changes. I have also decided to switch my major (which means MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112 will no longer be counted towards my degree). These factors will help me deal with my mental health issues and prevent me from falling back into the state I was in during 2022. I know how much better I will be able to do in school now that I am not suffering in the way I was before.
In terms of proration, the reason I would prefer MATH 110, MATH 121, and CHEM 112 be granted credit standing or pass/fail status instead of proration is because I worry that the content I lost last semester will continue to impact me this semester, although I understand if proration is the only option.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Sascha Kaplan
Student number: 20277745