Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom this may concern,

My name is Joud Qumizakis, student number 20305550. I am writing this letter to
petition to drop a course after the academic deadline. I am a political studies major, hoping to
attend law school after I complete my bachelor’s degree. In hopes of completing a minor in
mathematics alongside my major, I took MATH 121 as a prerequisite course. I was originally
enrolled in the course in the fall of 2022 but had to drop it during the winter term due to an
exacerbation of my disability. I spoke to an academic advisor and my QSAS advisor, and we all
agreed this would be the best decision for me. I enrolled in the course again during the summer,
but unfortunately, my mental health had been extremely unstable over the few months during
which I was enrolled in the course. I was unable to sleep most nights due to chronic stress and
overwhelm caused by this course and it got to the point where I started to feel physically ill as
well. My medication had not been effective either, so I was left feeling quite hopeless and weak.
I had had many communications with the professor and teaching staff, discussing my inability to
complete the assigned tasks of the course. Over the last 2 years, I have been diagnosed with
several different mental health disorders, all of which directly impact my ability to perform
academically. In this course, I struggled to keep up with my online lectures, finish assignments,
and write exams due to my disability. I have included documentation to support this in my
petition. This was not easy on me at all, especially being away from my family and having little
support on campus.

I have been struggling with depression over the last few years and at times, it has
hindered my ability to function and carry out daily tasks. This is something I am currently
seeking treatment for, and my doctor and I have been working together to find the most suitable
and effective solution. Because I took this course out of pure interest since it is not a requirement
for my degree, I do not want my lack of well-being to impact my GPA and overshadow all of my
hard work. If you look at my other grades from last year you will see that they are much better
than my grade in this course. I have placed a tremendous amount of effort into my work for all
my courses but unfortunately have not seen the same result in this course. I have been committed
to improving my situation by consulting mental health professionals, speaking with my
academic advisors, and asking for help when I need it. I extremely value my education and I do
not want this situation to impact my love for learning and pursuing higher education in the
future.

I sincerely hope that you will consider my request given my circumstances and that you
will grant my request to drop this course. Additionally, if you require any more information from
me or my doctor, please let me know and I will do my best to provide you with the necessary
information. Thank you for your time and understanding.

Sincerely,
Joud Qumizakis