Petition Letter
I am appealing my inability to drop SOCY 122 after the designated drop date. The extenuating circumstances that led to this appeal are outlined below.
After consulting my family doctor in August 2021, and receiving her recommendation to go off of anti-depressant medication, I started my first semester at Queens University in September. My year started off well, and I was happy with my academic achievements overall. By the end of October, the change in the environment combined with the ongoing stress of Covid 19, caused my mental health to decline to the point where I was no longer able to keep up with my academics. As a result, I was unable to submit my fall essay on November 21st for my SOCY 122 course. Looking back, I was not mentally stable enough to ask for help, even from my parents.
When classes began again on January 10th, my mental health had deteriorated to a critical point. I was hospitalized on January 16th. Over the weeks that followed, I focused on arranging counseling from mental health professionals. This included a weekly call with my family doctor, calls with a psychologist and calls to arrange weekly sessions with a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy. After consulting a Pass Student Advisor on January 20th, she had recommended reaching out to my SOCY 122 professor, Prof. Singh, directly to try and remedy the issue of my fall essay. With the support of my parents, who now understood the full extent of my academic situation, we reached out to Prof. Singh on January 23rd by email in the hopes of creating an academic plan to help me succeed in his course. The email included a brief summary of my history with mental illness and informed Prof. Singh that I had recently been hospitalized due to my condition. The email concluded by asking for Prof. Singh's help to create a plan allowing accommodation for me, as I would like to continue your course but will need time to catch up as I recover. Prof. Singh responded by directing my family and I to the academic considerations team, stating that he would happily support me once the form is completed and I hear back from the Considerations Team.
I began the process with the Academic Considerations Team only to be directed to the Academic Accommodations team. This was a lengthy process but I finally spoke with Cristina Cardelus and received my letters of accommodation on February 14th. I emailed my letter of accommodation to Prof. Singh on March 2nd after struggling to identify where to upload my letter through the SOCY 122 OnQ page. I also asked about potentially submitting my fall essay in the winter term and informed Prof. Singh that if I was unable to receive leniency surrounding my fall essay I would be dropping the course. As I was expecting a response from Prof. Singh himself, I missed a reply that was made by a SOCY TA on his behalf on March 3rd. After reading the reply, which stated that there was no option for me to complete the fall essay, I immediately tried to drop the course on SOLUS. After realizing that I was unable to do so, I organized a meeting with Cristina Cardelus after returning to campus on March 11th.
Again, I am appealing to drop SOCY 122 past the drop deadline as a result of mental health-related circumstances. By dropping this course I will be able to focus my full attention on my remaining courses. Thank you for your consideration.
After consulting my family doctor in August 2021, and receiving her recommendation to go off of anti-depressant medication, I started my first semester at Queens University in September. My year started off well, and I was happy with my academic achievements overall. By the end of October, the change in the environment combined with the ongoing stress of Covid 19, caused my mental health to decline to the point where I was no longer able to keep up with my academics. As a result, I was unable to submit my fall essay on November 21st for my SOCY 122 course. Looking back, I was not mentally stable enough to ask for help, even from my parents.
When classes began again on January 10th, my mental health had deteriorated to a critical point. I was hospitalized on January 16th. Over the weeks that followed, I focused on arranging counseling from mental health professionals. This included a weekly call with my family doctor, calls with a psychologist and calls to arrange weekly sessions with a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy. After consulting a Pass Student Advisor on January 20th, she had recommended reaching out to my SOCY 122 professor, Prof. Singh, directly to try and remedy the issue of my fall essay. With the support of my parents, who now understood the full extent of my academic situation, we reached out to Prof. Singh on January 23rd by email in the hopes of creating an academic plan to help me succeed in his course. The email included a brief summary of my history with mental illness and informed Prof. Singh that I had recently been hospitalized due to my condition. The email concluded by asking for Prof. Singh's help to create a plan allowing accommodation for me, as I would like to continue your course but will need time to catch up as I recover. Prof. Singh responded by directing my family and I to the academic considerations team, stating that he would happily support me once the form is completed and I hear back from the Considerations Team.
I began the process with the Academic Considerations Team only to be directed to the Academic Accommodations team. This was a lengthy process but I finally spoke with Cristina Cardelus and received my letters of accommodation on February 14th. I emailed my letter of accommodation to Prof. Singh on March 2nd after struggling to identify where to upload my letter through the SOCY 122 OnQ page. I also asked about potentially submitting my fall essay in the winter term and informed Prof. Singh that if I was unable to receive leniency surrounding my fall essay I would be dropping the course. As I was expecting a response from Prof. Singh himself, I missed a reply that was made by a SOCY TA on his behalf on March 3rd. After reading the reply, which stated that there was no option for me to complete the fall essay, I immediately tried to drop the course on SOLUS. After realizing that I was unable to do so, I organized a meeting with Cristina Cardelus after returning to campus on March 11th.
Again, I am appealing to drop SOCY 122 past the drop deadline as a result of mental health-related circumstances. By dropping this course I will be able to focus my full attention on my remaining courses. Thank you for your consideration.