Petition Letter
Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,
I am petitioning to drop BIOL300 (Fall 2023). I started out this year with some very disheartening personal news which sent me on a depressive spiral through most of this semester. It has been up and down but for the past 3 months I have been dealing with a rather severe depressive episode that made it very hard for me to get out of bed somedays let alone get down to work. The Biol 300 course gave me particular grief given how a not insignificant amount of the mark is decided by both attendance and weekly assignments, both of which I found very hard to keep up with given my mental state. This was made worse when in week 6 I took ill and have just recently started to fully recover from this illness. It was not covid but more likely a horrible case of the flu which also made things worse. I took time during these circumstances to try and deal with it on my own, such as contacting youth crisis lines and going to a walk-in to make sure I didn’t have more severe health issues when it came to me being sick. I also took time to visit course question sessions when I was feeling well enough to try and better understand course materials.
I would like to only drop this course as I found it particularly hard to keep up with and I feel that I would be able to do a much better job in this course when I am in a better mental state. I thought I would be able to power through this depressive episode, like I had done previously, but the past few months were harder than I thought and I realize now that I had bit off more than I could chew given the circumstances. I feel that dropping this course in particular would be beneficial to me as it would allow me to better focus on the other courses that I am taking this semester and recover from the troubles that I have been dealing with.
I am taking some personal steps such as signing up for accommodations with accessibility services, applying for academic consideration, and trying to sign up for cognitive behavioral therapy to make sure that this does not happen again. I do have a chronic condition, but what I have experienced these last few months has gone beyond that. This depressive episode has had an impact on my academic performance this semester. I did not reach out earlier when I needed the help so I am taking steps now to be better prepared if this happens again. I am confident that if I was able to retake this course in a better mental state I would be able to perform up to my usual standards. I am having to deal with a lot right now, but I will keep trying and will do better next time now that I am getting and seeking the help that I need.
I am hoping that you will understand and I have attached the necessary documentation in order to assist with this petition to drop BIOL 300.
Best,
Gavin Cordon
I am petitioning to drop BIOL300 (Fall 2023). I started out this year with some very disheartening personal news which sent me on a depressive spiral through most of this semester. It has been up and down but for the past 3 months I have been dealing with a rather severe depressive episode that made it very hard for me to get out of bed somedays let alone get down to work. The Biol 300 course gave me particular grief given how a not insignificant amount of the mark is decided by both attendance and weekly assignments, both of which I found very hard to keep up with given my mental state. This was made worse when in week 6 I took ill and have just recently started to fully recover from this illness. It was not covid but more likely a horrible case of the flu which also made things worse. I took time during these circumstances to try and deal with it on my own, such as contacting youth crisis lines and going to a walk-in to make sure I didn’t have more severe health issues when it came to me being sick. I also took time to visit course question sessions when I was feeling well enough to try and better understand course materials.
I would like to only drop this course as I found it particularly hard to keep up with and I feel that I would be able to do a much better job in this course when I am in a better mental state. I thought I would be able to power through this depressive episode, like I had done previously, but the past few months were harder than I thought and I realize now that I had bit off more than I could chew given the circumstances. I feel that dropping this course in particular would be beneficial to me as it would allow me to better focus on the other courses that I am taking this semester and recover from the troubles that I have been dealing with.
I am taking some personal steps such as signing up for accommodations with accessibility services, applying for academic consideration, and trying to sign up for cognitive behavioral therapy to make sure that this does not happen again. I do have a chronic condition, but what I have experienced these last few months has gone beyond that. This depressive episode has had an impact on my academic performance this semester. I did not reach out earlier when I needed the help so I am taking steps now to be better prepared if this happens again. I am confident that if I was able to retake this course in a better mental state I would be able to perform up to my usual standards. I am having to deal with a lot right now, but I will keep trying and will do better next time now that I am getting and seeking the help that I need.
I am hoping that you will understand and I have attached the necessary documentation in order to assist with this petition to drop BIOL 300.
Best,
Gavin Cordon