Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am appealing to drop the courses BIOL350, BIOL339, and GERM101, which I have been enrolled in this 2015 Fall term, and have not yet completed. I have been struggling with severe depression and anxiety for almost two years now and it has greatly affected my academic performance. In January 2015 I was the victim of a sexual assault which caused me to drop most of my courses and appeal a failed course which was granted. The roots of my struggle with depression and anxiety were pre-existing and were greatly exacerbated by the assault. I enrolled full time at Queens in September in hopes that involvement in the Queens community through classes and the social activities would help distract me from my internal struggle. I have since realized that the roots of my psychological distress are much deeper than I thought.
Having already submitted an appeal for a course in the winter 2015 term due to psychological distress following the assault I felt great pressure to return with a full course load and succeed in all courses. I was in denial of the way my depression and anxiety was affecting my studies until a series of breakdowns in late November and early December. As I have been living in Kingston continuously for over 2 years, away from my family doctor in Toronto, I sought psychological and medical help from a variety of sources. I have visited many physicians at CCK walk-in clinic, Queens Student Wellness Services, Hotel Dieu Hospital and Kingston General Hospital. My depression and low mood caused me to miss many classes, and miss many opportunities of connecting with classmates regarding school work. My constant anxiety makes checking emails and other forms of communication near impossible, and my frequent panic attacks involving an inability to breath, sleep or eat led me to check into the emergency department of Hotel Dieu and KGH on 3 occasions. I was put in contact with social workers after I was unable to contact my previous counsellor Hagar Prah.
Physicians at Queens have started me on a treatment regimen for anxiety and depression and have advised me to seek consistent medical attention and psychiatry at home with my family in Toronto, away from the academic and social pressures of Queens. I plan to take the rest of the school year off, and will consider returning to complete my degree in September 2016, if approved by my family and medical professionals. After many psychological breakdowns I found myself unable to stay in Kingston and finish my final exams, and am in the process of meeting with a psychiatrist and counsellor in Toronto.
I regret that it has taken me so long to recognize the severity of my condition, and realize that my mental state is intrinsically connected to my ability to perform academically. I do plan to finish my degree eventually, but would be completely discouraged if the three courses listed above were recorded as fails. If my appeal is granted I believe in time I would finally be able to reach my academic potential, excel in school and graduate with a degree that I am proud of, allowing me to move forward and excel in other aspects of life. Supporting documentation from my family physician Denise Cole, Queen¿¿s Wellness physician Darren Lett and Hotel Dieu Emergency Physician Karen Graham are attached.