Petition Letter
To the Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing for credit standing in three courses in Fall 2016: BIOL 334, BIOL 339 and GEOL 200. Secondly, for Winter and Summer 2017 I would like to appeal to drop all my courses past the academic deadline except for BIOL 403.
Beginning around Christmas-time in 2015 my life at home took a turn for the worse. My single parent had suddenly relapsed and was now struggling with severe alcohol dependence. This resulted in violence, emotional abuse, and extreme stress over time. The progression toward the most severe impacts was slow, allowing me to successfully complete the Winter 2016 semester with minimal disturbance. This was partly thanks to receiving support from doctors and counsellors at student wellness services which I first reached out to in January 2016. My doctor at student wellness services informed me that I was suffering from symptoms of low-mood and possible depression at which time I began drug therapy. With such therapies time is required to determine if it is effective so I continued taking medication once I had returned home through the summer of 2016.
Living at home with a parent suffering from alcohol dependence for the summer of 2016 was particularly straining on my mental health. It was little reprieve to return to my studies in Fall 2016 after leaving my sibling at home to struggle with the new circumstances and how they impacted her own mental health. Although I was able to complete my courses, it was this constant worry compounded with being called upon to assist with matters, big and small, related to my parent¿¿s condition that caused me to receive much lower grades than I would have otherwise. I believe all my courses were negatively affected however I am requesting credit standing in only the three that were affected most severely. These three courses were disproportionately affected because they were structured around novel and unfamiliar material which requires increased capacity in order to learn. For the other two courses I had previously learned much of the material from my experience with biology since they are related to what I am interested on focussing on in my career.
Following my struggles and poor performance in Fall 2016 I made the decision to complete the full school year in the hopes that conditions would improve. Unfortunately, things only worsened culminating in a serious event that required rehab for my parent. In Winter 2017 I discovered that the medication I was taking was ineffective and was unsatisfied with the response from my doctor at student wellness services who I saw in January 2017. This led to feelings of hopelessness which with the situation at home, caused a drastic decline in my mental health making it difficult to concentrate in an academic setting.
In April 2017, during the exam period, there was a serious incident related to the alcohol dependence affecting my family. I felt that my only option to keep everyone I cared about safe was to return home immediately to assist and also convince my parent to pursue some type of rehabilitation. This, of course, left me unable to sit for exams and it was uncertain whether I would be in a position to continue at Queen¿¿s. This unavoidable obstacle that was put before me during the most volatile period in my life caused further declines to my mental health and is the reason I am appealing to drop all my courses in Winter 2017 except BIOL 403. This course was not affected because it is not formatted traditionally, it is a practical skills training course that contains a practical exam in the final week of classes rather than a proctored exam during the exam period so I was able to complete all the components of this course prior to facing the challenges of April 2017.
Finally, I am appealing to late-drop BIOL 307, my sole course of Summer 2017, which occurred in May. I had already fully paid for this field course prior to the events of April 2017, it was partially financed by my parent so we decided it was in our financial interest to go despite my poor mental health and my parent¿¿s unstable recovery from alcohol dependence. However, when I returned after two weeks, I found that the situation at home had not improved but rather worsened. It is for this reason plus the reasons I have laid out pertaining to Winter 2017 that I am appealing. These factors precluded me from being able to finish the required report for BIOL 307 once I returned home.
My parent has now been alcohol free for over a year and I have learned new strategies for improving my mental health, for example, regular exercise. Upon returning to my studies in 2019 I decided to complete a few semesters before submitting this appeal in order to prove that I am capable of achieving much more and that the grades that appear on my transcript during this difficult time in my life do not represent me or my ability. I also attempted to repeat the courses which were failed in Winter 2017 but this has been difficult because of changing course offerings and times that do not work with my schedule. I will be applying to Master¿¿s programs in the Fall and would like them to understand that I am about hard work and achievement, not failing and near-failing grades. During my final semesters at Queen¿¿s it was my goal to achieve more than ever before which I believe I have done. It was also an important goal to continue to build habits that will benefit my mental health. On the advice of my long-time family physician I stopped using medication to treat symptoms of depression and began diet alterations along with regular exercise and counselling on an as-needed basis. I often tweak these routines but overall, I have been feeling and functioning much better than I was in 2017.
Regards,
Mitchell Bierd
I am appealing for credit standing in three courses in Fall 2016: BIOL 334, BIOL 339 and GEOL 200. Secondly, for Winter and Summer 2017 I would like to appeal to drop all my courses past the academic deadline except for BIOL 403.
Beginning around Christmas-time in 2015 my life at home took a turn for the worse. My single parent had suddenly relapsed and was now struggling with severe alcohol dependence. This resulted in violence, emotional abuse, and extreme stress over time. The progression toward the most severe impacts was slow, allowing me to successfully complete the Winter 2016 semester with minimal disturbance. This was partly thanks to receiving support from doctors and counsellors at student wellness services which I first reached out to in January 2016. My doctor at student wellness services informed me that I was suffering from symptoms of low-mood and possible depression at which time I began drug therapy. With such therapies time is required to determine if it is effective so I continued taking medication once I had returned home through the summer of 2016.
Living at home with a parent suffering from alcohol dependence for the summer of 2016 was particularly straining on my mental health. It was little reprieve to return to my studies in Fall 2016 after leaving my sibling at home to struggle with the new circumstances and how they impacted her own mental health. Although I was able to complete my courses, it was this constant worry compounded with being called upon to assist with matters, big and small, related to my parent¿¿s condition that caused me to receive much lower grades than I would have otherwise. I believe all my courses were negatively affected however I am requesting credit standing in only the three that were affected most severely. These three courses were disproportionately affected because they were structured around novel and unfamiliar material which requires increased capacity in order to learn. For the other two courses I had previously learned much of the material from my experience with biology since they are related to what I am interested on focussing on in my career.
Following my struggles and poor performance in Fall 2016 I made the decision to complete the full school year in the hopes that conditions would improve. Unfortunately, things only worsened culminating in a serious event that required rehab for my parent. In Winter 2017 I discovered that the medication I was taking was ineffective and was unsatisfied with the response from my doctor at student wellness services who I saw in January 2017. This led to feelings of hopelessness which with the situation at home, caused a drastic decline in my mental health making it difficult to concentrate in an academic setting.
In April 2017, during the exam period, there was a serious incident related to the alcohol dependence affecting my family. I felt that my only option to keep everyone I cared about safe was to return home immediately to assist and also convince my parent to pursue some type of rehabilitation. This, of course, left me unable to sit for exams and it was uncertain whether I would be in a position to continue at Queen¿¿s. This unavoidable obstacle that was put before me during the most volatile period in my life caused further declines to my mental health and is the reason I am appealing to drop all my courses in Winter 2017 except BIOL 403. This course was not affected because it is not formatted traditionally, it is a practical skills training course that contains a practical exam in the final week of classes rather than a proctored exam during the exam period so I was able to complete all the components of this course prior to facing the challenges of April 2017.
Finally, I am appealing to late-drop BIOL 307, my sole course of Summer 2017, which occurred in May. I had already fully paid for this field course prior to the events of April 2017, it was partially financed by my parent so we decided it was in our financial interest to go despite my poor mental health and my parent¿¿s unstable recovery from alcohol dependence. However, when I returned after two weeks, I found that the situation at home had not improved but rather worsened. It is for this reason plus the reasons I have laid out pertaining to Winter 2017 that I am appealing. These factors precluded me from being able to finish the required report for BIOL 307 once I returned home.
My parent has now been alcohol free for over a year and I have learned new strategies for improving my mental health, for example, regular exercise. Upon returning to my studies in 2019 I decided to complete a few semesters before submitting this appeal in order to prove that I am capable of achieving much more and that the grades that appear on my transcript during this difficult time in my life do not represent me or my ability. I also attempted to repeat the courses which were failed in Winter 2017 but this has been difficult because of changing course offerings and times that do not work with my schedule. I will be applying to Master¿¿s programs in the Fall and would like them to understand that I am about hard work and achievement, not failing and near-failing grades. During my final semesters at Queen¿¿s it was my goal to achieve more than ever before which I believe I have done. It was also an important goal to continue to build habits that will benefit my mental health. On the advice of my long-time family physician I stopped using medication to treat symptoms of depression and began diet alterations along with regular exercise and counselling on an as-needed basis. I often tweak these routines but overall, I have been feeling and functioning much better than I was in 2017.
Regards,
Mitchell Bierd