Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I strongly feel as though I need to drop a course this semester because of uncontrollable external circumstances involving family and it has strongly affected my ability to do as well as I had hoped this semester. I am an extremely hard worker, and I have always tried my best and done well in the past. However, there have been a few issues that have arisen in my family, and I am unable to keep up with the amount of work I have to do for this course on top of my other courses. I was informed a few weeks ago, that my grandmother has been diagnosed with a very serious illness, and I have been traveling back and forth from Kingston to Collingwood to see her. My mother and father have also just begun separation in September, and are struggling with mental health, financial stability, and finding new housing. My mother especially is struggling and I have needed to spend more time with her and help her with her issues which have arisen from this stress, as well as having to take care of her mother who is also struggling with physical illness. Substance abuse has also been an issue regarding a member of my family recently and it has strongly affected the happiness of my siblings, myself and the ability to keep up with my work. I have gone to speak to a mental health advisor in Kingston, however, I no longer have time to see them due to the amount of work I need to keep up with. These issues have been affecting me for about 6 months, beginning in April 2019 and have so far, not eased up. I am also needing to find a new home here in Kingston due to housemates not getting along, which is the least of my problems at the moment, although looking at new homes does take away time from my school work on top of the other issues and found it worth mentioning.
The Law 201 course requires a lot of work including weekly quizzes, assignments, readings, videos, and polls. I have these activities in other classes and have no problem trying my best in everything I am faced with academically. However, I am feeling hopeless in achieving my goal for all of my classes as I am extremely overwhelmed with other issues and am unable to mentally and physically do well academically because of these reasons. I have attempted speaking to someone, and I have no time, nor does it help me a lot mentally, I have attempted to make an appointment with an academic advisor but I could not find time for that as well.
Thank you for your consideration,

Olivia Lloyd Baker