Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean, Dr. Benard,

I'm writing this letter because I have missed the deadline to drop fall term classes and unfortunately I need to drop the remaining 4 courses I am enrolled in. Those courses are ECON 222, ECON 239, ENSC 290, and FILM 240. There are many reasons behind my decision to drop these courses this late in the semester. It all started last year, my first year at Queens. Academically, I had a strong year, and I was proud of the grades I achieved. However emotionally I did not have a good year. I was not planning on returning to Queens for year two, I had applied to different schools, and wanted to pursue my economics degree closer to home. This unfortunately did not work out, as a result my I had no school to attend in September so my parents pushed me to return to Queens. I decided to give it another shot. Now because I didn't hear from the other institutions until July, I was forced to move into an apartment by myself, located near west campus. All of my friends were located closer to the school, and already had full households. I've never lived alone before and I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how lonely it can get at night, having always had someone with me to talk too. This was difficult for me to handle mentally. By October, I realized that economics was not for me, I was struggling in both economics courses I was enrolled in. I was having a difficult time focusing on school because I was studying something that really didn't interest me, and also living in a place that I never wanted to be. I started falling behind in school, not being able to focus in lectures, barely eating anything because of how miserable I felt, I ultimately hated my life. Then by the beginning of November I realized that I needed to leave Queens. With the help from my parents, and my family doctor, we decided that it was not best for me to continue studying at Queens for the remainder of the semester. The constant stress was taking a toll on my mental and physical strength, something that I've never experienced before.

My plan right now is to study Kinesiology, or sociology, I would like to study either course closer to home, possibly in Toronto. I'm passionate about both courses and can see myself succeeding in them. At the time of the deadline to drop courses, I just was not ready to accept the fact that I needed quit what I was studying and study something I love. I didn't know what depression or even stress really felt like before this semester started. However by October I was hardly eating or sleeping, I routinely felt like I should just get up and run away, it was really a terrible feeling. These feelings made it impossible for me to concentrate on school. Since my departure from Queens in early November, I have decided to change my life up, surrounding myself with people that are supportive of me. I'm taking a few on-line courses so that I can prepare myself come September when I study either Kinesiology or Sociology. The reason I need to drop these courses is so that it will not harm my GPA thus lessoning my chances of attending a school in September. Thank you I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter, I will send a Doctors note, as well as a note from my parents confirming everything I have stated in this letter.

Sincerely,

Michael Racioppo