Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

I, Julia MacAulay, am appealing to drop CHEM 281 (Fall, 2017).

I have been struggling with my mental and personal health in the past couple years, but it has substantially decreased since coming back to school this past September. I have been struggling with thoughts of depression, along with anxiety coming from school and family issues. I am a second year biology student, currently in five courses. I found first year very challenging and came out of the year feeling disappointed with myself. Due to the anxiety and stress from family issues and my school work, I am struggling significantly in my academic performance, specifically in CHEM281. Coming back to Queen's, I felt happier with myself then when I finished first year. However, my anxiety and depressed thoughts have only gotten worse since coming back, reaching a place where my mental health has been affected, which has then decreased my physical health. Being from Winnipeg, I can not talk to my therapist as much as I would like to, nor see my family much when I am here. I am finding it hard to have all this stress and not see anyone who I am close with.
Although I am registered in five courses, I am only appealing CHEM281 because this course has caused me to become very distressed and causing me extreme mental deterioration. If I could be appealed from CHEM281, I would feel a weight off my shoulders and able to focus my attention on my mental health, and not be overwhelmed and stressed to get up in the morning to attend this class. I am finding my other courses enjoyable and I am able to keep up with the course work, whereas I am finding CHEM281 almost impossible to keep up with and I feel as I am drowning in this course. I have tried reaching out for help, but it does not seem to help to relieve my anxiety with this course.
My anxiety has gotten worse due to school stress and recent family stress. Recently, one of my close family members admitted herself in a treatment facility in Calgary, and I am having a hard time coping with that change, especially since I am not anywhere near my family for support. The change was a shock to me because I thought after her past treatment attempts she was doing well. The news came as a surprise and very much affected my emotional and mental health.
Around a month ago, I accidentally split boiling water on my hand and had to go to emergency at KGH for treatment. This caused me severe physical pain, and I fell behind in my studies. At that time, I was determined that I could catch up to where I was supposed to be. This is why I did not drop this course before the drop date. I was able to catch up in all my courses, except for CHEM281. I have come to realize that CHEM 281 is really impacting my overall sense of well being, and I feel my mental health is decreasing significantly. My plan was to push through with it and finish the course as I don't like to give up, however considering how much suffering I have been through with this course and how fast my mental health is deteriorating due to this course, I think the best decision for me is to drop this course. I feel as if I am trapped in this course and there is no hope for me anymore, which is leading to more depressing thoughts, which are causing me to be tired and affecting my other courses and well being.
Since I have realized how bad my anxiety is and that my depressing thoughts are becoming more regular, I have planned to meet with a counsellor to seek support. I feel that staying in CHEM281 will do more harm to me and will have a negative impact to my health as well as affect my other studies.
I am enjoying my other courses in biology, and hope to continue to have success in my other courses in future studies. A chemistry course is required for my major (not specifically CHEM281) and I plan to seek academic counselling in order to find a more reasonable and practical course for me to fulfill this requirement in third year. In addition, in order to help cope with my mental health, I will seek help from the resources that Queen's offers, such as the Wellness Center and the Peer Support Center. This will help me in times of need so I have someone to talk to instead of sitting alone in my room. When I return home in December, I will talk to my family and set up a plan of action to deal with this anxiety and possibly find a therapist in Kingston.
My plans will support me in my academic goals, as long as my mental and emotional health. I would be so relieved to have CHEM281 not on my mind 24/7, causing major stress. Due to these extenuating circumstances, I really hope that my appeal will be granted and I will be able to drop CHEM 281. An extreme weight would be lifted off my shoulders and I would be able focus my energy on my other courses and succeed at Queen's University.


Thank you for your consideration,
Julia MacAulay