Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,
Associate Dean (Studies)

I am appealing to drop DEVS 392 (Fall, 2016) after the academic deadline as extenuating circumstances in my personal life impacted my performance in this class. The circumstance that impacted my performance in DEVS 392 involved new episodes of anxiety in myself due to a family issue, as well as feeling unsafe in the class environment.

I started to feel anxiety starting May 2016 when my younger sister's depression got to a point where she attempted suicide. My sister and I have been very close our whole lives and I have always worried about her mental health, which she has struggled with most of her life. The event this past May made me worry about her even more than I ever had before, but she was starting her first year at Queen's in September 2016 so I felt hopeful and excited. When she came to Queen's her mental health plummeted again as she was away from my parents and no longer had weekly appointments with her psychiatrists and therapists. She decided to leave Queen's about a month after she arrived to take better care of herself. Although I was happy that she made the right decision, I felt for the first time in my life, serious anxiety about whether she was ok or not.

Having my sister leave Queen's because her depression got so much worse again made me feel constantly worried and anxious. I called her everyday to make sure she was ok while my parents were at work. I started to have small anxiety attacks worrying about her. I found it difficult to focus on my schoolwork if I hadn't talked to her that day. And with the immensely heavy work load of DEVS 392 I found myself falling behind. I felt anxious about Emma, and I felt anxious that my entire course mark relied on 3 papers only 1200 words each. I couldn't focus during class because I was worrying about my sister, and I found my anxiety got even worse outside of class when I would try to work on assignments. Another factor that made DEVS 392 so difficult for me on top of my anxiety was that I felt uncomfortable and unsafe in the classroom as a result of the professor's lack of empathy and understanding. Each week I walked into class feeling uncomfortable and I left feeling stupid and discouraged. If I asked the professor a question, her answer made me feel like I shouldn't have asked at all. The combination of feeling constant worry and anxiety about my sister and feeling scared and unsafe going to DEVS 392 classes made me not want to go at all. I have never dealt with anxiety before so when I started feeling this way about my sister and how I would pass this class I didn't know how to deal with it. I spoke with an academic counsellor and we decided together that focusing on my other four courses that I was excelling in and handling my worry and anxiety was most important. I weighed my options and figured applying for an appeal, and trying to get ahead of my anxiety would be the best idea.

Once I made this decision I felt relief that I didn't have to face this professor anymore and that I could talk about how I felt. I had a phone appointment with my family doctor to get a referral to a therapist to talk through how I feel about my sister. Over the winter break I met with my doctor in person and she showed me some ways to cope with my anxious feelings and understand when I am feeling anxious. My plan for the future is to not only be more attentive to how my anxious feelings, but also reach out to friends, family, my doctor or someone at the Queen's Student Wellness center instead of ignoring it and letting it impact my academics.