Petition Letter
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Chris (Dong Chan) Song, and I am currently in my sixth year at Queen's University. I am writing this letter to appeal to waive the 21-day deadline to drop two courses, PHIL 271 and ENGL 259.
Because of my ongoing chronic chest pain and back pain from bulging lumbar disc, I was not able to appeal to drop PHIL 271 within the 21-day or one term deadline. During the summer of 2014, I was always heavily medicated because of both my chest and back pain. Furthermore, both the bodily pain and the loss of my close friend in September of 2013 had caused unbearable mental stress. Although I was able to start managing my physical pain, mental illness was something I did not know how to address properly. I figured busying myself with work and surrounding myself with other people would alleviate my depression. As a result, I applied to Starbucks and was employed in late August of 2014. Because of my desperate need to find ways to deal with my mental stress and depression, and because of the timing and of my employment and beginning of school in September, I had completely missed the timing to appeal to drop PHIL 271 on time.
In addition, the reason why I failed ENGL 259 is not because I enrolled late. After consulting with an academic advisor and with my professors in the Fall of 2014, I decided to take a medical leave until I can recover both mentally and physically. However, because of my status here in Canada as an international student, I was not allowed to be away from school. As a result, I had no choice but to re-enroll despite my conditions. I was well aware of the fact that I would be enrolling late into classes, and that there would be a lot of workload ahead for me, but it did not change the fact that I was not prepared to be back in school. I had tried my absolute best to endure and to excel but my body and my mind did not allow that to happen. I was very discouraged by my academic results that year, along with the ongoing stress from bodily and mental pain. Consequently, it did not occur to me at the time to drop the course.
I am fully aware of my mistakes that have led me to this point in my life. Although these physical illnesses legitimately hindered both my personal and academic lives, I realize that they cannot be the only excuse for my failures. The summer after failing ENGL 259, I was seriously considering my life going forward, whether I should even bother continuing my education. After a lot of consideration and consulting from friends and family, I had decided to continue on and keep pursuing my education here at Queen's University. I had decided to endure and pursue my dream and goal of attending a law school. If it were not for that desire and passion for studying law, I would not have stayed extra two years in undergrad, and I would not have bothered to appeal to grant these two courses dropped. I realize that being physically and mentally ill, no matter how much, is not the best excuse for not being proactive in appealing to drop courses on time, but I hope you understand the degree to which I had been suffering, and the time of consideration and consultation that I needed in going forward with my life. Since then, I have been actively seeking ways to be treated for both my physical and mental health. I can confidently say that I am dealing with my bodily and mental pain much better than I had before. I hope to be able to provide more detail and information with my letter of appeal in dropping ENGL 259 and PHIL 271, and I hope that you understand the painful yet valuable journey that I have experienced so far at Queen's University. Thank you for your consideration, and I truly hope to hear back soon with your decision.
Yours truly,
Chris (Dong Chan) Song
Student ID: 10020503
My name is Chris (Dong Chan) Song, and I am currently in my sixth year at Queen's University. I am writing this letter to appeal to waive the 21-day deadline to drop two courses, PHIL 271 and ENGL 259.
Because of my ongoing chronic chest pain and back pain from bulging lumbar disc, I was not able to appeal to drop PHIL 271 within the 21-day or one term deadline. During the summer of 2014, I was always heavily medicated because of both my chest and back pain. Furthermore, both the bodily pain and the loss of my close friend in September of 2013 had caused unbearable mental stress. Although I was able to start managing my physical pain, mental illness was something I did not know how to address properly. I figured busying myself with work and surrounding myself with other people would alleviate my depression. As a result, I applied to Starbucks and was employed in late August of 2014. Because of my desperate need to find ways to deal with my mental stress and depression, and because of the timing and of my employment and beginning of school in September, I had completely missed the timing to appeal to drop PHIL 271 on time.
In addition, the reason why I failed ENGL 259 is not because I enrolled late. After consulting with an academic advisor and with my professors in the Fall of 2014, I decided to take a medical leave until I can recover both mentally and physically. However, because of my status here in Canada as an international student, I was not allowed to be away from school. As a result, I had no choice but to re-enroll despite my conditions. I was well aware of the fact that I would be enrolling late into classes, and that there would be a lot of workload ahead for me, but it did not change the fact that I was not prepared to be back in school. I had tried my absolute best to endure and to excel but my body and my mind did not allow that to happen. I was very discouraged by my academic results that year, along with the ongoing stress from bodily and mental pain. Consequently, it did not occur to me at the time to drop the course.
I am fully aware of my mistakes that have led me to this point in my life. Although these physical illnesses legitimately hindered both my personal and academic lives, I realize that they cannot be the only excuse for my failures. The summer after failing ENGL 259, I was seriously considering my life going forward, whether I should even bother continuing my education. After a lot of consideration and consulting from friends and family, I had decided to continue on and keep pursuing my education here at Queen's University. I had decided to endure and pursue my dream and goal of attending a law school. If it were not for that desire and passion for studying law, I would not have stayed extra two years in undergrad, and I would not have bothered to appeal to grant these two courses dropped. I realize that being physically and mentally ill, no matter how much, is not the best excuse for not being proactive in appealing to drop courses on time, but I hope you understand the degree to which I had been suffering, and the time of consideration and consultation that I needed in going forward with my life. Since then, I have been actively seeking ways to be treated for both my physical and mental health. I can confidently say that I am dealing with my bodily and mental pain much better than I had before. I hope to be able to provide more detail and information with my letter of appeal in dropping ENGL 259 and PHIL 271, and I hope that you understand the painful yet valuable journey that I have experienced so far at Queen's University. Thank you for your consideration, and I truly hope to hear back soon with your decision.
Yours truly,
Chris (Dong Chan) Song
Student ID: 10020503