Petition Letter
To whom it may concern,
My name is Margot Histed, I am a Political Sciences student in my third year. I am submitting this appeal to request a late drop from the course - PHIL 316.
As I am sure many students can relate to, online learning has been a significant adjustment for me this year, one that has not come easy. I started the year with a lighter course load managing three courses in addition to my extra curricular commitments; this was not by design. Despite several attempts to enrol in an additional course for the first semester, to distribute my workload more evenly, the limited availability of core Politics courses prevented me from doing so. I adjusted to the online learning environment and became acquainted to this workload. However, as the Head of Dance for Project Red this year, my extra curricular responsibilities ramped up in the winter semester. Managing the switch to virtual choreographing and recording the entire show online, in addition to a five-course course load in the winter semester, has proved incredibly challenging.
The weekend we were due to film the dance scenes for the virtual show, my housemate unfortunately fell ill and had to be hospitalized with breathing issues. The whole house was told to await the results of a COVID-19 test and remain isolated for the time being. I was unable to be present and direct the choreography during this critical time, for the safety of the other dancers. Given all the work that I had put in, this was a very upsetting outcome. Leading up to the filming of the show, members of the club had to attend multiple long rehearsals from February 21st to March 7th in order to make up for lost in-person rehearsal time throughout the year. Due to the nature of my role, I had to attend extended rehearsals outside of these hours and lead one-on-one sessions with dancers as needed. As I am sure you can understand, this commitment made it very difficult to balance my academics.
Unfortunately, these circumstances caused my coursework in PHIL 316 to suffer. This chain of events, the scheduled filming for Project Red and my housemate falling ill, unfortunately coincided with an assignment deadline on March 6th. Feeling anxious and flustered from the events of the weekend, I went to submit my assignment (worth 25 of my grade) on Sunday evening, and realized that the Dropbox had in fact closed the night before. I am very worried as to how this will impact my overall grade, and feel that it will not serve as an accurate reflection of my efforts and academic performance thus far. You will see from my transcript that I have never before requested a late drop, or failed a course. Given these unique circumstances, I feel that this is the most appropriate course of action. If I were able to drop the course, I would welcome the opportunity to make up the credit this summer.
I would be grateful for your consideration.
Margot Histed
My name is Margot Histed, I am a Political Sciences student in my third year. I am submitting this appeal to request a late drop from the course - PHIL 316.
As I am sure many students can relate to, online learning has been a significant adjustment for me this year, one that has not come easy. I started the year with a lighter course load managing three courses in addition to my extra curricular commitments; this was not by design. Despite several attempts to enrol in an additional course for the first semester, to distribute my workload more evenly, the limited availability of core Politics courses prevented me from doing so. I adjusted to the online learning environment and became acquainted to this workload. However, as the Head of Dance for Project Red this year, my extra curricular responsibilities ramped up in the winter semester. Managing the switch to virtual choreographing and recording the entire show online, in addition to a five-course course load in the winter semester, has proved incredibly challenging.
The weekend we were due to film the dance scenes for the virtual show, my housemate unfortunately fell ill and had to be hospitalized with breathing issues. The whole house was told to await the results of a COVID-19 test and remain isolated for the time being. I was unable to be present and direct the choreography during this critical time, for the safety of the other dancers. Given all the work that I had put in, this was a very upsetting outcome. Leading up to the filming of the show, members of the club had to attend multiple long rehearsals from February 21st to March 7th in order to make up for lost in-person rehearsal time throughout the year. Due to the nature of my role, I had to attend extended rehearsals outside of these hours and lead one-on-one sessions with dancers as needed. As I am sure you can understand, this commitment made it very difficult to balance my academics.
Unfortunately, these circumstances caused my coursework in PHIL 316 to suffer. This chain of events, the scheduled filming for Project Red and my housemate falling ill, unfortunately coincided with an assignment deadline on March 6th. Feeling anxious and flustered from the events of the weekend, I went to submit my assignment (worth 25 of my grade) on Sunday evening, and realized that the Dropbox had in fact closed the night before. I am very worried as to how this will impact my overall grade, and feel that it will not serve as an accurate reflection of my efforts and academic performance thus far. You will see from my transcript that I have never before requested a late drop, or failed a course. Given these unique circumstances, I feel that this is the most appropriate course of action. If I were able to drop the course, I would welcome the opportunity to make up the credit this summer.
I would be grateful for your consideration.
Margot Histed