Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Respected Associate Dean,
Hope you are in good health. I am Kashvi Nanda, a second-year International student going to Queens University. I wanted to bring to your attention that in the fall semester due to some extenuating and tragic circumstances, I was unable to perform to the best of my ability in ECON 244. Therefore, I am writing this to you formally as I am petitioning to drop this course after the academic deadline.
On October 15th ,2023 at exactly 10 pm (IST time), my paternal grandfather passed away. However, I did not know about this until the night of October 16th, 2023 . My mother broke the devastating news to me around 8 pm (EST) on the 16th of October. I cannot describe to you how broken and shocked I was to hear about this news. I was very shocked mostly because my grandfather had been doing extremely well and I had no idea that he had been critically ill for one week . His death was extremely sudden and not expected. The emotional toll it took on me made it hard for me to maintain my academic commitments. My ECON 244 midterm was on the 17th of October, 2023 and I was unable to give it as I was definitely not in a state to write that exam. Therefore, I emailed my professor and she cancelled my midterm. From this time onwards, I couldn’t perform to the best of my ability in this course. I was extremely grief stricken. In this course, I also had to go on a field trip on the 24th of October. This field trip was 10% of my final grade but due to my mental state, I was unable to go for the field trip as well. I would have performed much better if I would have been able to attend the field trip and sit for the midterm exam. As I missed the midterm and the field trip, the weightage of the course solely depended on 2 assignments and 1 final exam and this made it even harder for me. The unexpected circumstances affected my grades in this course. The loss of my grandfather had left me in pieces. I believe that I was the most shaken by the news as I had no idea about his critical condition as my family didn’t disclose it to me. The sudden news of his demise shifted me into the worst mental state I have ever been in. I also really wanted to go back to India at that point but due to high ticket prices and as it was the middle of the semester, I couldn’t go back. I felt extremely hopeless and helpless. I was broken as I was even unable to attend his last demise rites. I also started feeling guilty as I couldn’t even see him or speak to him for one last time. My anxiety and panic attacks didn’t help me concentrate in this course. My other courses did not have a midterm or any major assignment anytime close to my grandfather’s demise. Therefore, I was able to manage my other courses but I had really slipped in ECON 244 and the pressure made it even harder to concentrate in this course.

I understand that I should have dropped this course much before in time but I just wanted to complete it.I am definitely at fault for not dropping this course before the academic deadline and I will keep this is in mind for the future. I have also started taking therapy which is helping me cope with the loss and seeking academic help is also helping me plan my academic responsibilities better. I am also visiting India this winter and this is helping me get closure on my grandfather’s unexpected demise. Visiting my family has made me stronger mentally and I am now prepared to face the academic challenges of the next semester. I have to visit the mental health resources in Queens next semester for regular check-ins and I will also take regular academic advising. I am now in a much better condition mentally and I am energized to start my next semester with full enthusiasm and I will strive to lift up my GPA.I trust in your fairness to evaluate this matter and arrive at a decision in accordance to the tragic situation that I faced.
Thank you ,
Regards,
Kashvi Nanda(she/her)