Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

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

My name is Graem Bradley, I am a second year student here at Queen's and I am writing to you regarding the dropping of GPHY 242, 101, and 227 (All from Fall, 2014). The reason behind my appeal for the late dropping of these courses is a combination of physical and psychological reasons and is as follows.

To open, at the start of the semester around the beginning of October, I began to suffer from bouts of high blood sugar (I am a type 1 juvenile diabetic) which has the effect of greatly wearing me down (I experience tiredness, the ability to focus or concentrate becomes very difficult or non-existent, my whole body can become 'clammy' and in particular my hands can sweat so much that the paper I might be writing on becomes wet and often is useless, extreme thirst and dehydration can result from frequent urination) thus I lose the power to do most of my academic work. Further more, not only is it high blood sugar that complicates things but also low blood sugar can have adverse effects on my ability to do work. Symptoms include tiredness, shaking extremities, extreme hunger and the list goes on. Combined they can be detrimental to a diabetic if experienced frequently enough and can greatly lower the function of ones immune system. Thus I found myself experiencing high blood sugars sometimes days at a time and no matter what I tried to do to correct it (IE give myself insulin) it didn't seem to go away and from there the complications deepened. I began to get sick as my immune system wasn't functioning properly and when diabetics get sick with even the common cold or flu the symptoms they experience are greater than that of a person without. Unfortunately also associated with illness in diabetics is high blood sugar and I found myself in a cycle of sickness, high blood sugar, infected injection sites and overall unhealthiness. These fluctuations in my blood sugar didn't prove to be detrimental on not only my health but also my academics as I found myself behind with the inability to do good work. I had communicated with my TAs and professors about the issue and had my accommodations with the DSO changed to cover in-semester work not only exams hoping to resolve this issue but I still continued to have spikes in my blood sugar making even catching up a challenge.

Speaking now on the psychological side of things I have had a lot on my mind both at home and at school and have also found it to greatly wear me down mentally. Due to legal agreements I will not delve into I found myself having the opportunity to go to university presented for a short period of time only immediately after highschool finished. Throughout highschool I took a broad width of different classes in an attempt to keep my options open when I began applying into different faculties at different schools because I didn't have an exact path I knew I wanted to take. After accepting my offer to Queen's (my top choice) I did the same thing in first year, taking a broad selection of classes in order to keep my options open for selecting a major. However throughout first year and especially near the end of it I began to question my purpose in going to university especially because I didn't know what I was even doing or what I would do in place of what I was doing or what I would actually want to take or find real interest or enjoyment in. This created a grey space in my head where foggy ideas of what could be, what I want, what I was even doing and what made me happy developed. These began to weigh on me heavily and I found occupied much of my thought. Subsequently this was reflected in my academics as I dropped from the Arts and Science Honors classification I was admitted into to trying to find a major I didn't completely hate (a strong word but how I felt at the time), wouldn't mind forcing myself to complete as this was my only chance and one I had the grades to get into. A Bachelor of Science in Geography seemed to fit that classification as I had passed some of the prerequisites and was able to enroll in the program. This brings us to the start of my second year, this year, where thoughts of what I truly want and the always-waiting answer of I don't even know waited. My indecisiveness eventually caught up to me and circumstances had me questioning whether or not I could even complete this semester without going completely crazy. After failed attempts of forcing myself to enjoy what I was doing, the work I was trying to complete whilst also attempting to successfully manage my health complications I became more worn down than I had imagined possible. Lacking sleep and motivation to complete things as simple as cooking full meals not to mention schoolwork I began to lose my grasp on what was happening and how much time was going by.

If this appeal is granted I plan to return home to give myself time away from the stressful environment of school and work to reserve time to find a path I would like to follow. I am hoping that by taking time away and giving myself time to think and explore I will be able to better orient myself on what I do truly enjoy and what truly sparks interest within me. During this time I will analyze, select and enroll in winter semester courses pertaining to found interest. From there I hope to return in the winter semester and have a better grasp on what my purpose is at the post-secondary institution we call Queen's. I also plan on attending counseling to make sure that my mental health stays intact as well as having more regular specialist appointments to monitor my physical health as a diabetic. Upon my return I also plan on using campus resources more effectively to aid in my success as a student and prevent getting behind if I end up having more health issues. Additionally after meeting with a Career Counselor I have been presented with methods to help me find what I am better suited for and what I would most likely find greater interest in as well as resources like book series to also aid in finding a more suited direction of academic travel.

Thanks and much appreciation,

Graem Bradley

Documentation (a doctors note) should have already been sent and received by the appropriate offices as it was done on Queen's campus through HCDS (Health, Counseling, and Disability Services) at The La Salle Building.