Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: May 23, 2017

Dear Dr. Johanne Benard,

My name is Edward Joseph Lansang, student number 10134021, and I hope this letter finds you well. I am here today to ask for your help, to allow me to get my life back on track. Specifically, I am writing to ask to late-drop courses that I took in my time at Queen¿¿s during a period of depression and anxiety. I am also asking to waive my Requirement to Withdraw for 1 year. These courses are MATH 121 (2015 Summer), BIOL 205 (2015 Fall), BIOL 243 (2015 Fall), CHEM 211 (2015 Fall), and BIOL 202 (2016 Winter).

These courses comprise the majority of my studies taken during my second year at Queen¿¿s. I was, at the time, attempting to pursue a career in the sciences, likely brought about by a number of physicians in my family. That was wrong of me. Studying science was not, and is not, what I want to do, or where I feel like I belong. As a result, I suffered from depression and anxiety over the course of that year, and was extremely unable to apply myself to my studies. Things felt pointless, and I felt worthless, both resultant of my inability to apply myself and because of my academic performance. Attempts that I made to study for my school were met with fear, anger, and frustration, and these feelings directed themselves at myself, my personal relationships, and my schoolwork, anything towards which I could lash out. It was a bad time, and I contemplated suicide for much of it. It took serious jeopardizing of my personal relationships before I began to see how grossly I was affected. I was truly depressed. I began attending counselling sessions, both in Toronto and at Queen¿¿s, and was able to garner advice towards finding an area of study that would properly appeal to me. I also learned ways to apply myself through feelings of stress, as well as ways to combat depressive/suicidal thoughts when they entered my head. I then switched academic directions, and have been taking Arts courses for the duration of my third year. If you were to look at my grades, there would be marked improvements in my performance, as I was able to put myself in a better frame of mind and study in an area to which I felt like I belonged. I am asking you today to, please, allow me to drop the courses that I should not have taken in the first place, and to allow me to stay at Queen¿¿s. These courses, and my performance in them, have resulted in me being unable to bring my GPA out of Academic Probation, despite my markedly better performance over my third year. I think that my performance has been trending upwards sufficiently, but a withdrawal from Queen¿¿s would put a halt on many plans that I have been trying to make for my future, plans that I was unable to make or comprehend in my previous depressive state. Studying English has provided a true home for me now, a home that I do not want to leave. A proper field of study has helped my mental health immensely. Thanks to the Arts, I feel as though I have gotten better, or that I am somehow cured, if that is possible, and yet I cannot move forward without getting these courses out of my record. If these courses were to be dropped, I would not be required to withdraw from Queen¿¿s University for a year, and my GPA would be pulled out of academic probation. I really do feel that I have gotten better over my third year, and I think that my academic performance would reflect that. I was just unable to overcome the sheer number of courses that I took during my second year, and the weight of my failure bears down all the harder on my shoulders.

These courses have haunted me since I stepped foot in their classrooms. With these courses dropped, I would be able to hold my head up high, back at Queen¿¿s for my fourth year. Even if the courses were not dropped, I truly think that I have been on nothing but an upward trend since changing the focus of my studies. My provided documentation would show that I was having issues during my first and second year, and that I was thinking of ways to fix said issues. I really think that my academic performance improved sufficiently during my third year now that I¿¿ve changed my academic focus. It was just not enough to overcome how affected I really was by my depression, and that is why I am coming to you for help. I need your help, Doctor, to drop the courses that I never should have taken, and to allow me to move forward at Queen¿¿s University. I hope that you will grant my request, and I look forward to hearing back from you. I want to do right by myself, by my family, and by Queen¿¿s University. I know that you can help me. Thank you very much for your time, and have a good day.
Sincerely,
Edward Joseph Lansang