Petition Letter
I am writing to tender my official appeal to drop ASTR 101 from my Fall 2021 semester. As you can see from my past grades, I am as fairly good student with a good average. Though I may not want to make many excuses for my drop in academic performance with ASTR 101, I would like to explain the circumstances which led me to my low grade in the course and my unwillingness to take the final examination.
At the end of 2020, I experienced a traumatic event that changed my entire personality with an emotional and physical abuse I suffered from a man in my life. I went through night terrors and extreme depression before I reached out for help. I was officially diagnosed with PTSD with chronic depression and anxiety in the summer of 2021. I thought that I would be able to handle my full time job, my schooling and my mental health but I was severely wrong. I had days without sleep form the nightmares and had PTSD panic episode constantly. It disrupted my home life and my professional life as well as my school. I had a severely hard time keeping up with assignments and finding motivation.
For the examination, I have always tried to do exams on campus or in a separate space of my home. I have a severe fear of using web cams which is why I have none in my home. I wrote to my professor to have my examination deferred and he said he would get back to me in an email but there was no further communication. I also wrote to the exam office for a deferral to find a space to write the exam outside my home. With COVID-19 this has proved to be impossible as all exams were moved online. My home is my safe space and the fact that I have to have someone watching me inside my safe space increases my panic tenfold. While taking astronomy 101 I was also taking a writing course that I actually excelled in. Writing was an escape for me and I continually write blogs and stories as an escape from symptoms.
I have recently been prescribed new medication for depression and an increased dosage for my PTSD but it can take up to 5 weeks before I see improvement in symptoms. I currently using a online platform to take to certified listeners for my depression and I am on a list to see a mental health professional within a month. I am hoping this will help improve symptoms for this current semester. I have already obtained space outside my home for my biology exam this semester to take online if no in person examinations are allowed.
I hope the university will consider my extreme circumstances and allow the drop of this course to continue my academic career with my best foot forward.
Thank you,
Ianna Jasinski
At the end of 2020, I experienced a traumatic event that changed my entire personality with an emotional and physical abuse I suffered from a man in my life. I went through night terrors and extreme depression before I reached out for help. I was officially diagnosed with PTSD with chronic depression and anxiety in the summer of 2021. I thought that I would be able to handle my full time job, my schooling and my mental health but I was severely wrong. I had days without sleep form the nightmares and had PTSD panic episode constantly. It disrupted my home life and my professional life as well as my school. I had a severely hard time keeping up with assignments and finding motivation.
For the examination, I have always tried to do exams on campus or in a separate space of my home. I have a severe fear of using web cams which is why I have none in my home. I wrote to my professor to have my examination deferred and he said he would get back to me in an email but there was no further communication. I also wrote to the exam office for a deferral to find a space to write the exam outside my home. With COVID-19 this has proved to be impossible as all exams were moved online. My home is my safe space and the fact that I have to have someone watching me inside my safe space increases my panic tenfold. While taking astronomy 101 I was also taking a writing course that I actually excelled in. Writing was an escape for me and I continually write blogs and stories as an escape from symptoms.
I have recently been prescribed new medication for depression and an increased dosage for my PTSD but it can take up to 5 weeks before I see improvement in symptoms. I currently using a online platform to take to certified listeners for my depression and I am on a list to see a mental health professional within a month. I am hoping this will help improve symptoms for this current semester. I have already obtained space outside my home for my biology exam this semester to take online if no in person examinations are allowed.
I hope the university will consider my extreme circumstances and allow the drop of this course to continue my academic career with my best foot forward.
Thank you,
Ianna Jasinski