Petition Letter
I am appealing for a waiver of the 21-day deadline, in order to submit an appeal to drop my Winter 2015 courses.
Due to unforeseen extenuating circumstances, namely an ongoing struggle with clinical depression, I was unable to begin the appeals process in due time. I had begun to fight a mild onset of general melancholy and malaise at the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester, but once the Winter 2015 semester began in January, the problem became more pronounced and persistent, though I was unable to recognize it as symptoms of depression at the time.
As of the date of writing, I continue to struggle with this serious psychological challenge, and am currently under medical and psychological care of professionals, who have also provided documentation as to the duration and current state of my mental health.
The depression manifested itself in several significant ways which gravely affected my ability to begin the appeals process: during much of winter semester, but culminating in March and April 2015, I found myself unable to get out of bed, much less attend to the matters of academic accommodation; I found my decision-making abilities impacted, which contributed to missing the deadline to begin the appeals process, as well as being unable to decide on the best course of action; finally, the more I was forced to face the severity of my academic standing, the more helpless and hopeless I felt, and the more debilitating my depression became, a vicious cycle which exacerbated the situation to no end. These difficulties persist even as I sought medical and psychological treatment this past summer, such that I was unable to begin this process until now.
Should my appeal to waive the 21-day deadline be granted, I will be proceeding to submit an appeal to drop my Winter 2015 courses, for the same extenuating circumstances as outlined above. I wish to drop the courses so that I will be able to retake them with no academic penalty in the future, if and when my mental health is stable enough for me to resume my education. In the meantime, I will continue to undergo treatment with my physician and psychologist, as well as exploring other therapeutic methods.
Thank you for your attention and consideration of my appeal.
Due to unforeseen extenuating circumstances, namely an ongoing struggle with clinical depression, I was unable to begin the appeals process in due time. I had begun to fight a mild onset of general melancholy and malaise at the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester, but once the Winter 2015 semester began in January, the problem became more pronounced and persistent, though I was unable to recognize it as symptoms of depression at the time.
As of the date of writing, I continue to struggle with this serious psychological challenge, and am currently under medical and psychological care of professionals, who have also provided documentation as to the duration and current state of my mental health.
The depression manifested itself in several significant ways which gravely affected my ability to begin the appeals process: during much of winter semester, but culminating in March and April 2015, I found myself unable to get out of bed, much less attend to the matters of academic accommodation; I found my decision-making abilities impacted, which contributed to missing the deadline to begin the appeals process, as well as being unable to decide on the best course of action; finally, the more I was forced to face the severity of my academic standing, the more helpless and hopeless I felt, and the more debilitating my depression became, a vicious cycle which exacerbated the situation to no end. These difficulties persist even as I sought medical and psychological treatment this past summer, such that I was unable to begin this process until now.
Should my appeal to waive the 21-day deadline be granted, I will be proceeding to submit an appeal to drop my Winter 2015 courses, for the same extenuating circumstances as outlined above. I wish to drop the courses so that I will be able to retake them with no academic penalty in the future, if and when my mental health is stable enough for me to resume my education. In the meantime, I will continue to undergo treatment with my physician and psychologist, as well as exploring other therapeutic methods.
Thank you for your attention and consideration of my appeal.