Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whomever it may concern,
I am Ryan Lai (20126732), and I wish to request an appeal to drop class PHIL 157 Fall Term 2018. My reasons for not dropping the class prior to the deadline was due to an unforeseen circumstance of my grandfather requiring a surgery. This surgery was decided without consulting me. My grandfather was going to receive a Haemodialysis Catheter insertion and I was informed that I was to return home to act as a translator along with extra help. The family situation was ill fitted for a surgery as only my uncle and I were present during this time, my aunt had recently given birth and was unable to move around while my immediate family worked in China. This was the 22nd of October. As I am the only English speaker in my family, it was necessary for me to return home. I did not first plan to drop this class. However, after a successful surgery some complications arose as the wound began to bleed. Due to this, I had to stay home for another 2 weeks acting as translator along with aiding my family. During those two weeks, I missed important deadlines for this class and had passed the deadline to submit a heavily weighted assignment. It was also during the beginning of the complications that the class drop deadline had also passed. Other assignments other than this class were less heavily weighted and also had a fall term exam. As this class does not, the assignments were weighted significantly higher. Given these uncontrollable circumstances, I wish to appeal to drop PHIL 157. As I have set goals on doing the LSAT, and applying to become a lawyer, I hope that this unfortunate circumstance would not affect my chances of applying to law school. I realize that law school is extremely competitive and previous grades will be reviewed. Because of this, I realize simply dropping the class will not be sufficient. I plan on retaking this class during the winter term and ensure a high grade to continue on my goals.

Yours faithfully,
Ryan Lai