Petition Letter
August 4th, 2016
Dear Dr. Bénard,
I am requesting permission to pursue Aegrotat standing in ENGL 100 (2015/2016), due to extenuating circumstances relating to a steep decline in my mental health over the latter portion of the 2016 Winter Term. This is needed due to the current grade I hold in the course, which is insufficient to allow me to enroll in courses required to complete my major, which is English.
My illness became active during late February, and persisted all the way to late June. In an attempt to reverse the course of my situation, I scheduled an appointment with my psychiatrist on the 24th of February in order to discuss coping strategies and revising my medication. Despite altering my medication and seeking support through psychotherapy sessions, my condition continued to worsen until it became clear that I was incapable of finishing the Winter Term in such a state. I have attached the letter from my psychiatrist, Dr. McCullough attesting to my illness.
The impact of my mental health upon my academic potential and performance during the 2015/2016 school year was profound and long lasting. For the duration of the periods during which I was unwell, I found myself operating with a severe cognitive deficit, which negatively impacted my performance in all areas. Specifically, my illness rendered me unable to process and absorb written or spoken language at a level that would permit me to succeed in an academic environment. Similarly, my ability to write coherently was vastly diminished during these times, to the extent that I was forced to rely heavily on my parents to even compose the necessary emails to alert my instructors regarding my predicament. In all of my courses, and in ENGL 100 in particular, it is necessary to do significant reading and to write essays; my illness rendered it almost impossible to engage in either effort to a degree necessary to complete my coursework.
In addition to ENGL 100, I was also taking POLS 110, HIST 121, PSYCH 100, and PHIL 115. My inability to cope with such a high volume of readings from all of these courses during the exam season, combined with the fact that the projects and examinations were heavily based in writing, compounded my existing difficulties and rendered me incapable of adequately fulfilling my academic responsibilities. In light of these issues, success in my courses was made extremely difficult, and I was forced to ask for exam and assignment deferrals in all of these courses . While I was initially planning on writing all of my deferred examinations, the long duration of my illness made that goal untenable. My current plan is to appeal for a Late Drop of PSYCH 100, and to be ask for Aegrotat Standing in ENGL 100. This would allow me to focus purely on my deferred exams for HIST 121 and PHIL 115, increasing my chances of success in both courses. My professor for ENGL 100, Dr. John Pierce, suggested that I pursue Aegrotat standing in his course, and was supportive of my effort to make this appeal. If need be, I have email documentation which will corroborate this statement.
Should my request be granted, there are a variety of measures of which I intend to implement in order to ensure that my academic performance is not jeopardized during this coming year. Firstly, I will make arrangements with accessibility services (with whom I have accommodations) in order to ensure that the exam season is made somewhat more manageable for me. I intend to seek accommodations for exams, as well as help regarding time management. In addition, I intend to make use of readily available support structures within Queens, such as the writing center, so as to improve my grades and diminish unhealthy levels of stress. Finally, I will remain in closer contact with my psychiatrist throughout the year so that any episodes of mental illness are caught and managed more quickly, without causing as much disruption to my coursework. Currently, I am taking medication which has been yielding positive results and is allowing me to function at a higher level than what was previously possible. This development gives me the confidence that I will be able to succeed academically over this coming year, and should I experience any future episodes of mental illness, they will be less severe than what transpired this past term.
I thank you for your consideration of this appeal. I am confident that should this appeal be granted, the measures that I have described above will allow me to succeed academically in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Ethan Dignam
Dear Dr. Bénard,
I am requesting permission to pursue Aegrotat standing in ENGL 100 (2015/2016), due to extenuating circumstances relating to a steep decline in my mental health over the latter portion of the 2016 Winter Term. This is needed due to the current grade I hold in the course, which is insufficient to allow me to enroll in courses required to complete my major, which is English.
My illness became active during late February, and persisted all the way to late June. In an attempt to reverse the course of my situation, I scheduled an appointment with my psychiatrist on the 24th of February in order to discuss coping strategies and revising my medication. Despite altering my medication and seeking support through psychotherapy sessions, my condition continued to worsen until it became clear that I was incapable of finishing the Winter Term in such a state. I have attached the letter from my psychiatrist, Dr. McCullough attesting to my illness.
The impact of my mental health upon my academic potential and performance during the 2015/2016 school year was profound and long lasting. For the duration of the periods during which I was unwell, I found myself operating with a severe cognitive deficit, which negatively impacted my performance in all areas. Specifically, my illness rendered me unable to process and absorb written or spoken language at a level that would permit me to succeed in an academic environment. Similarly, my ability to write coherently was vastly diminished during these times, to the extent that I was forced to rely heavily on my parents to even compose the necessary emails to alert my instructors regarding my predicament. In all of my courses, and in ENGL 100 in particular, it is necessary to do significant reading and to write essays; my illness rendered it almost impossible to engage in either effort to a degree necessary to complete my coursework.
In addition to ENGL 100, I was also taking POLS 110, HIST 121, PSYCH 100, and PHIL 115. My inability to cope with such a high volume of readings from all of these courses during the exam season, combined with the fact that the projects and examinations were heavily based in writing, compounded my existing difficulties and rendered me incapable of adequately fulfilling my academic responsibilities. In light of these issues, success in my courses was made extremely difficult, and I was forced to ask for exam and assignment deferrals in all of these courses . While I was initially planning on writing all of my deferred examinations, the long duration of my illness made that goal untenable. My current plan is to appeal for a Late Drop of PSYCH 100, and to be ask for Aegrotat Standing in ENGL 100. This would allow me to focus purely on my deferred exams for HIST 121 and PHIL 115, increasing my chances of success in both courses. My professor for ENGL 100, Dr. John Pierce, suggested that I pursue Aegrotat standing in his course, and was supportive of my effort to make this appeal. If need be, I have email documentation which will corroborate this statement.
Should my request be granted, there are a variety of measures of which I intend to implement in order to ensure that my academic performance is not jeopardized during this coming year. Firstly, I will make arrangements with accessibility services (with whom I have accommodations) in order to ensure that the exam season is made somewhat more manageable for me. I intend to seek accommodations for exams, as well as help regarding time management. In addition, I intend to make use of readily available support structures within Queens, such as the writing center, so as to improve my grades and diminish unhealthy levels of stress. Finally, I will remain in closer contact with my psychiatrist throughout the year so that any episodes of mental illness are caught and managed more quickly, without causing as much disruption to my coursework. Currently, I am taking medication which has been yielding positive results and is allowing me to function at a higher level than what was previously possible. This development gives me the confidence that I will be able to succeed academically over this coming year, and should I experience any future episodes of mental illness, they will be less severe than what transpired this past term.
I thank you for your consideration of this appeal. I am confident that should this appeal be granted, the measures that I have described above will allow me to succeed academically in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Ethan Dignam