Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Subject: Formal Petition to Drop Grades for ANAT100, COGS100 and PHIL259 Courses

Dear receiver,
I am writing this formal petition to respectfully request the dropping of grades for the ANAT100, COGS100 and PHIL259 courses. I have encountered extenuating circumstances that have significantly impacted my academic performance in these courses.

First and foremost, I would like to provide an explanation of the extenuating circumstances that have affected my academic performance. I have been struggling with depression, which has had a profound impact on my ability to effectively engage in my studies. This condition emerged as a result of an incident that occurred in October 2022. The incident led to negative consequences, sanctions, and a prolonged period of emotional distress.

While I accept full responsibility for my actions and the consequences that followed, I would like to emphasize the impact this incident had on my mental well-being. The challenges I faced due to the incident were as follows:

I participated in multiple meetings and wrote appeals, which consumed a significant amount of my time during the months October and November. Thus, I could barely give any attention to my academics during this time. Also I had come to university 1 month late due to visa delay, so I could not have any academic progress in the first three months out of the four months of term 1.

Subsequently, I was compelled to move out of the residence and live off-campus. I was also then banned from even visiting any residence where basically all of my friends lived. This change resulted in a loss of my emotional support and negatively affected my friendships. I found myself in a state of complete isolation, lacking both mental and academic support.

Rumors surrounding the incident spread within the Indian friend group that I was a part of, causing fellow students to distance themselves from me. This further added to my isolation and increased my feelings of loneliness.

Being new to Canada, I struggled with the cultural adjustment, which was made even more challenging due to the absence of any emotional support. This situation caused immense dejection and distress. I was also banned from the dining halls and now had to cook by myself which I don't know how to. I ate only eggs, burgers and ramen, which affected my physical health also. I lost about 7kgs.

Moreover, I faced ongoing meetings for the incident while attempting to focus on my midterms. The impending outcome of these meetings, which would determine my residency status, severely hindered my ability to concentrate on my studies and in turn had extreme effects on my midterm grades.

The transition from the residence had adverse effects on my academics, social circle, physical health, and mental well-being.

Throughout this period, I experienced immense stress, anxiety, and depression. These factors made it extremely challenging for me to maintain focus and productivity in my academic endeavors.

At first I did not even realize that I had gone into depression and did not seek any medical help. But later on the situation hindered my ability to meet the academic requirements of the ANAT100, COGS100 and PHIL259 courses. Furthermore, as they were my elective courses, I underestimated their difficulty, especially given my background in mathematics and computers had nothing to do with these courses.


Regrettably, the extenuating circumstances emerged after the drop deadline for PHIL259 had passed, making it impossible for me to withdraw from the course at that point. Regarding ANAT100 and COGS100, I believed that as entry-level courses, I would be able to manage it despite the challenges. However, the volume of content and the unfamiliar nature of the subject matter overwhelmed me given my mental state.

I have been actively working on managing and resolving my extenuating circumstances. Now I can cook very well, have new friends and am also doing a job to keep myself busy and work on myself. I am now in a much better position to cope with my mental health condition and navigate my academic responsibilities more effectively.

To ensure my future academic success, I have developed a comprehensive plan that includes seeking support from a counselor, adjusting my academic workload to allow for better focus and commitment (meaning taking courses related to my main subject so that it i can understand concepts easily and not over burdening myself with courses.), and utilizing queens counseling resources.

In light of my extenuating circumstances and the efforts I am making to overcome them, I kindly request your understanding and support in dropping the grades for ANAT100, COGS100 and PHIL259 courses. By doing so, I believe I will be provided with a fair opportunity to demonstrate my true academic abilities without the undue impact of these circumstances.

This matters to me alot and I want to give my 100% to studies now. I want a somewhat fresh start so that I can prove my capabilities and achieve success. I request you to please consider helping me with this situation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my petition. I am more than willing to provide any additional documentation or information necessary to support my request. I look forward to a positive resolution that will enable me to continue my studies with renewed determination and focus.

I am attaching the supporting documents. Please have a look.

Thanking in Anticipation,
Sincerely,
Gunin Singh Bhatia
Student Number: 20348966
Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Date: May 31st, 2023