Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am appealing to drop French 106 for the fall 2017 semester. The reason I am doing so is really unfortunate, I have not been able to perform to my best abilities academically. This has been cause of a tragic family event. On the day of October 28th, 2017 after my football game at McMaster University, I was given the news that my uncle Hubert Bangu has passed away. This was a sudden and very sad death, this affected me so much do to the fact that me and my cousins were so close with our uncle. After hearing the news after my game I told coach Pat Sheahan and he allowed me to stay home for that weekend since I am from Hamilton and grieve with my family in time of need. This tragic event happened on October 28th of 2017, Causing me to grieve with my family for a few days and not focus on work but to focus on my family and my wellbeing. All of this overwhelming news affected me to lose focus in school to the point where I did not expect to do so poorly because I was so upset. When recognition of lost time and the decrease in grades it has already been passed November 3rd. Which is why I didn¿¿t meet the deadline of dropping this course because I was dealing with my uncle¿¿s death for the next week or two. Also because I did not know how much this death would really affect me, I believed that I was going to pull through without realizing how much I was in shock. After realizing I tried to get back to work as hard as I could, I was determined to finish strong with great marks. Which meant seeking extra help from TA¿¿s and my fellow classmates, unfortunately this was not the case for this course. French 106 course is an online course; this means I do not have any real face to face conversation or help with not only students but TA¿¿s as well like I do with my other classes. With that being said my other classes have also all allowed me to do extra work to catch up with my pears. When I asked Catherine Dhavernas the professor of the course of French 106, I was not only denied but she also advised to apply for this appeal. This was because in her online course they do not accommodate these requests. After this situation I still finished the Online group project because my pears depended on me for their mark. That would still not be enough to succeed and catch up like the chance my other classes gave me. If this appeal is granted my plan is to retake this course either next year or in the summer, so I can achieve academic success. This event has taught me that tragic things in life happens sometimes so that¿¿s why we should be more prepared. This late mistake of thinking I could be successful academically while grieving and being shock has taught me many things. Like to be more prepared in dropping a course at an earlier date on time if dealing with a death in the family, or seeking academic help right away. To get back on track my plan is to take no online classes and lighter course load. In terms of dealing with a death I should seek counseling, expressing myself could possibly help with the process. I want to thank you for your time.

Take care