Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Academic),
I am appealing to drop the following courses: BIOL 303 (2011 Winter, 2012 Winter), BIOL 315 (2013 Winter, 2014 Fall), BIOL 316 (2015 Winter), BIOL 319 (2010 Winter, 2012 Summer), BIOL 322 (2010 Winter, 2013 Winter), BIOL 330 (2011 Fall, 2012 Fall, 2013 Summer), BIOL 331 (2013 Winter), BIOL 335 (2011 Fall), BIOL 341 (2011 Winter, 2012 Winter, 2013 Winter), BIOL 439 (2011 Fall), BIOL 508 (2015 Winter), BIOL 535 (2012 Winter), CHEM 281 (2008 Fall), ECON 223 (2015 Winter), ECON 243 (2015 Winter), ENGL 110A/B (2008 Fall/2009 Winter), MBIO 218 (2011 Winter).
The rational for this request is that I was experiencing a significant amount of depression and anxiety starting in the Fall of 2008 and lasting for the duration of my time at Queen??s. I still experience depression and anxiety now, but with the help of a psychologist I??ve been seeing for a over a year, I??m finally finding ways to cope with and manage my symptoms. Some of the ways my mental health issues impacted the courses I am appealing are that my ability to concentrate and absorbing and retaining information were very difficult. I also had a lack of energy, which often caused me to sleep for abnormally long periods of time and contributed to my difficulty concentrating and retaining information.
Starting in Fall 2008, my depression and anxiety started a result of several different factors. Immediately in September 2008, I began having serious conflicts with my roommates at that time which led to social isolation, fear, anxiety, and depression. This was also the exact same time that I could no longer ignore my sexual identity and began the slow process of coming to grips with my homosexuality. Unfortunately, I had a large amount of internalized homophobia which then developed into self-hate as I came to understand my same-sex attraction. My sexuality played a large role in my feelings of inadequacy as well as understanding that I can no longer achieve society??s hetero-normative ideal of masculinity or a family.
These factors began a growing downward spiral in my mental health as anxiety and depression took hold and severely impacted my ability to function normally. This resulted in my extremely poor academic performance that lasted through my entire time at Queen??s. The courses that I did not fail in were almost always exclusively courses that I had friends in that I knew would want to compare their academic results, so I focused what little energy and concentration I had into those courses. This was all part of creating a public facing façade that would show how I was functioning normally when I was in fact severely struggling with my mental health. If I couldn??t feel like I was ??normal? in terms of my sexuality, at least I could feel ??normal? in an academic sense in front of my classmates who would directly ask for my academic results in the courses we took together. Of course, as each semester went by and yet another failed course stacked on top of the last, my internalized monologue of academic normality crumbled around me and continued to strengthen the anxiety and depression that I felt.
For the courses that I failed, I didn??t drop those courses by the course drop date because I felt that there was usually some small way I could potentially end up passing the course. In reality, the symptoms of my depression and anxiety were far too strong for me to overcome and complete the necessary coursework.
I never asked for help during my time at Queen??s because I felt like it was never an option for me. I felt like asking for help would only compound my sense of personal and academic failure. At that point, my mindset was just to keep trying until I was able to succeed, which is also why I didn??t submit any academic appeals within the prescribed deadlines. Obviously, my symptoms would prevent that success, but it wasn??t something that I could grasp at that point in my life.
In terms of my academic future, if this appeal is successful, I would then have the GPA necessary to graduate with a three year General BSc in Biology immediately. I think this would also be the final chapter of my professional academic pursuits and would only be focusing on my career going forward. I would say that the single most important thing I??ve learned over the last fifteen months is the value of reaching out for help or saying that I??m not ok. Finding a psychologist that understands what I??m feeling and has taught me ways to cope with and manage my anxiety and depression has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I??ve attached a letter from my psychologist to support my appeal request.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
Duncan Peterson
I am appealing to drop the following courses: BIOL 303 (2011 Winter, 2012 Winter), BIOL 315 (2013 Winter, 2014 Fall), BIOL 316 (2015 Winter), BIOL 319 (2010 Winter, 2012 Summer), BIOL 322 (2010 Winter, 2013 Winter), BIOL 330 (2011 Fall, 2012 Fall, 2013 Summer), BIOL 331 (2013 Winter), BIOL 335 (2011 Fall), BIOL 341 (2011 Winter, 2012 Winter, 2013 Winter), BIOL 439 (2011 Fall), BIOL 508 (2015 Winter), BIOL 535 (2012 Winter), CHEM 281 (2008 Fall), ECON 223 (2015 Winter), ECON 243 (2015 Winter), ENGL 110A/B (2008 Fall/2009 Winter), MBIO 218 (2011 Winter).
The rational for this request is that I was experiencing a significant amount of depression and anxiety starting in the Fall of 2008 and lasting for the duration of my time at Queen??s. I still experience depression and anxiety now, but with the help of a psychologist I??ve been seeing for a over a year, I??m finally finding ways to cope with and manage my symptoms. Some of the ways my mental health issues impacted the courses I am appealing are that my ability to concentrate and absorbing and retaining information were very difficult. I also had a lack of energy, which often caused me to sleep for abnormally long periods of time and contributed to my difficulty concentrating and retaining information.
Starting in Fall 2008, my depression and anxiety started a result of several different factors. Immediately in September 2008, I began having serious conflicts with my roommates at that time which led to social isolation, fear, anxiety, and depression. This was also the exact same time that I could no longer ignore my sexual identity and began the slow process of coming to grips with my homosexuality. Unfortunately, I had a large amount of internalized homophobia which then developed into self-hate as I came to understand my same-sex attraction. My sexuality played a large role in my feelings of inadequacy as well as understanding that I can no longer achieve society??s hetero-normative ideal of masculinity or a family.
These factors began a growing downward spiral in my mental health as anxiety and depression took hold and severely impacted my ability to function normally. This resulted in my extremely poor academic performance that lasted through my entire time at Queen??s. The courses that I did not fail in were almost always exclusively courses that I had friends in that I knew would want to compare their academic results, so I focused what little energy and concentration I had into those courses. This was all part of creating a public facing façade that would show how I was functioning normally when I was in fact severely struggling with my mental health. If I couldn??t feel like I was ??normal? in terms of my sexuality, at least I could feel ??normal? in an academic sense in front of my classmates who would directly ask for my academic results in the courses we took together. Of course, as each semester went by and yet another failed course stacked on top of the last, my internalized monologue of academic normality crumbled around me and continued to strengthen the anxiety and depression that I felt.
For the courses that I failed, I didn??t drop those courses by the course drop date because I felt that there was usually some small way I could potentially end up passing the course. In reality, the symptoms of my depression and anxiety were far too strong for me to overcome and complete the necessary coursework.
I never asked for help during my time at Queen??s because I felt like it was never an option for me. I felt like asking for help would only compound my sense of personal and academic failure. At that point, my mindset was just to keep trying until I was able to succeed, which is also why I didn??t submit any academic appeals within the prescribed deadlines. Obviously, my symptoms would prevent that success, but it wasn??t something that I could grasp at that point in my life.
In terms of my academic future, if this appeal is successful, I would then have the GPA necessary to graduate with a three year General BSc in Biology immediately. I think this would also be the final chapter of my professional academic pursuits and would only be focusing on my career going forward. I would say that the single most important thing I??ve learned over the last fifteen months is the value of reaching out for help or saying that I??m not ok. Finding a psychologist that understands what I??m feeling and has taught me ways to cope with and manage my anxiety and depression has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I??ve attached a letter from my psychologist to support my appeal request.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
Duncan Peterson