Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans,
My name is Shaneen Khan and I am a first year Artsci student with an undeclared major. I am a full time student and have taken 4 full year courses and 2 single semester courses (1 for each semester). I am appealing a required 1 year withdrawal that I was notified of on May 21st, 2019. I am appealing on the grounds of my mental health and its significant influence on my actions during the school year that placed me under extenuating circumstances.

My struggle with consistent high levels of anxiety and depression have been present all throughout my teenage years, and only heightened in my transition into university. Despite struggling for many years, I never seeked treatment or support from family, friends, or professionals in the past. My approach has always been to hide the fact and continue life per usual, despite its incredibly debilitating effects. For reference, my parents are first generation South Asian immigrants and have had stigmatizing understandings on mental health in the past, making an already intimidating subject even more difficult for me to address.

I went into university with the same mindset of keeping my struggles to myself while ignoring the root problem. This approach was volumes more difficult to maintain in university and my poor mental health was clearly reflected in my marks. I failed a single semester course during the fall semester and was just barely passing every other course due to high levels of anxiety, depression and poor stress management skills. My mental health only worsened as the school year progressed into the second semester.

Although I was just scraping by in school, I never dropped my courses by the drop deadline because at that point I wholeheartedly believed I would pass everything regardless if the marks were low, and I planned to retake the one course I did fail. School became extremely daunting and my worst stressor. I only managed to keep up with any work by cramming or submitting work in late. Regardless of getting the work submitted, this method only reflected my lowest level of my academic skill. My mental health significantly affected every aspect of my life, but I still chose to tolerate it as it was.

It was not until near the end of the school year and passed the drop deadline (March 1st) that my mental health depleted to levels far beyond my control. One month before exams, I experienced my first panic attack that left me highly traumatized. After this event, I was no longer able to tolerate my mental health and was dealing with dangerous levels of anxiety and depression and essentially became non-functioning as a human. Following the event was a series of anxiety attacks (far more frequent than usual) that made daily tasks impossible, much less school work. Because of this, I was unable to submit any final assignments and was unable to attend my exams, which of course led me to fail almost everything. I passed one full year course with a C and a single semester course with a D-, solely due to the reason that neither of those courses included exams and because my initial marks were high enough to allow me to pass without submitting the final assignments. I was under extenuating circumstances beyond my control because of the state of my mental health that inhibited any possibility of success.

It was not until over a month later after exams ended that I began to recover from the event. After the panic attack, I had no choice but to open up and tell my family about my struggle with my mental health, which was crucial in recovering. Having my family¿¿s support was extremely impactful and allowed me the courage to seek professional help. I am now receiving different kinds of treatment to help with my mental health. I had my first wellness counselling session by making an appointment at Student Wellness where I have been working on anxiety and stress management skills. Because I live in Kington, ON, I will be taking advantage of student wellness services being open and more accessible throughout the summer. I have talked to my family physician on multiple occasions now of my struggles and am now being prescribed Venlafaxine, which treats anxiety and mood. I have had a thorough discussion with an academic advisor to assist and educate me on academic decision making and the best steps to take next for my future.

If I am given the chance to continue schooling next year I plan to take a very light course load in comparison to my first year. An issue I faced was the initial rocky transition into university and I plan to avoid that obstacle by taking a lighter course load that I can gradually increase in the coming of years for a smoother transition.

Ironically, such a dark school year has left me in a healthier place of mental/emotional growth and with a better understanding of myself. I feel it was necessary for me to have experienced this year to see these extremes in my mental health and to truly acknowledge deep seeded personal issues that I now have the chance to improve. I strongly believe a one year withdrawal will cause my brutal first year to go in vain and will inhibit my ability to move forward, progress further and grow from my experience.

Sincerely,
Shaneen Khan