Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean (Studies)
Dunning Hall
94 University Ave
Queen¿¿s University

To whom it may concern,

I¿¿m writing this letter to appeal for the ability to drop all of my courses for rest of this semester (Winter 2019) with the potential of taking a year off next year to focus on my mental health and recovery.
As you may have noticed, I also appealed to drop my classes last semester as well. This was my previously diagnosed mental health disorders paired with an emotionally abusive relationship which triggered the beginning of disordered eating habits, spending habits and isolation causing me to fall extremely far behind in school. I returned this semester after taking some time off, hoping that the time off, prepared accommodations and lessened course load (3 courses rather than 5) would help me transition back into student life. Unfortunately, I misjudged my ability to recover in such a short period of time, and shortly after school started back up again, my disordered habits developed into a full-blown diagnosed eating disorder. Similar to the previous semester, I spent much of it guilty and embarrassed of myself, isolating and feeling out of control. The only thing keeping me here was participating in my club and having to go to work. I feel that the reason I continued these things but couldn¿¿t bring myself to do my school work is the idea that people were relying on me there.
Throughout the semester I tried my hardest to seek out help, had many visits home to see my family doctor, had many med changes and was referred to an outpatient program at the Ottawa General Hospital, which is where I live when not in school. Despite my efforts, there wasn¿¿t enough support available to help me here at Queen¿¿s and as I couldn¿¿t afford a private therapist, I only got worse. After a while, I gave up on school altogether because I felt it was too stressful to worry about while I was in such a horrible state mentally.
My future plan is to do some hard work this summer, using my part time job to pay for private specialized therapy, and hopefully participating in an outpatient program to recover from my ED and work on some core issues. Although I would really like to return to school next year, I may end up taking a year off to be sure that I am ready for my return.
I absolutely love being at Queens and will work my hardest to get myself to a point where I can return to my studies here in a healthy mental state. During my time here so far, I have learned so much both in my field of study and about myself. I am an active member of Trillers A Cappella and this is an important part of my life. It is with these learnings, the support of the programs offered at Queens and my support network that I am confident that I will reach my goal goals and continue to contribute to the Queens community in the near future.

I hope you will consider this appeal.

Sincerely,
Leah Duff
20067148