Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am appealing for credit standing in PHIL 115 (Fall 2010-Winter 2011), ECON 110 (Fall 2010-Winter 2011), and ECON 280 (Fall 2011); and to drop ECON 222 (Fall 2011) past the final day of examinations.

In April of 2012, I submitted an appeal to the Faculty of Arts & Science in which I requested to drop three courses beyond the final day of examinations: HIST 124 (Fall 2010-Winter 2011), POLS 110 (Fall 2010-Winter 2011), and PHYS P16 (Winter 2011). I would like to submit a credit standing appeal for the two additional courses I was enrolled in during the Fall 2010-Winter 2011 academic year: PHIL 115 and ECON 110. Please refer to the appeal letter I submitted in April of 2012 (pages 2-3 of the documents attached), which describes the extenuating circumstances that led to my poor performance during the Fall 2011-Winter 2012 school year. Referenced below is the key section describing the depressive episode I experienced during my first year Queen¿¿s:

I am asking for this consideration because of the depression and emotional distress I experienced during my first year of university. These feelings were triggered by a combination of leaving home and breaking up with my long-term girlfriend. They exposed what I believe to be residual issues I have had with body image and self esteem. These issues manifested within me as feelings of sadness, regret, and depression that I had never experienced before. I became increasing pessimistic about life, and I stopped looking forward to anything in my future. I detached myself from my friends and family and retreated into myself. I attempted to internalize these feelings and deal with them myself. I did not seek any help from friends or family or consult with any of the services available to students on campus. Undoubtedly, these decisions only made things worse.

As I became overwhelmed with these emotions, my effort level towards my schoolwork dropped as I began to effectively sabotage my future prospects. At the time, my state of mind made me feel like I had little hope for the future, and for that reason, I saw no purpose in my education. I experienced extreme bouts of insomnia in the evening, as I could not stop thinking about my regrets or stop my mind from racing. Sometimes I had no motivation to get out of bed in the morning, and often spent the whole day in my room. Not surprisingly, I quickly fell behind in my lectures and struggled to complete my assignments on time, if at all. These feelings of hopelessness and depression truly made me unable to accomplish anything productive, and by Christmas, I seriously contemplated dropping out of school. It was at this point that I had given up on my education at Queen¿¿s, and continued down a path of self-destruction of my future success.

The impact of this depressive episode on my academic performance was significant. In addition to failing the courses I successfully appealed to have dropped past the end of examinations in April 2012, my poor mental health adversely impacted my achievement in the other courses I was enrolled in. Even though I did not fail ECON 110 and PHIL 115, my performance was equally inferior to my failed classes and is not indicative of my academic abilities and work ethic. Considering that I was successful in my appeal to drop HIST 124, POLS 110, and PHYS P16, and my justifications for requesting credit standing in ECON 110 and PHIL 115 are identical to the reasons behind my April 2012 appeal, I would encourage the Associate Dean of Studies to allow me to receive credit standing in the additional Fall 2010-Winter 2011 courses I was enrolled in that are specified in this appeal. Please also refer to the documentation provided by my physician, Dr. Katherine Healy (page 4 of documents attached), which was also included in my April 2012 appeal.

I am also appealing to drop ECON 222 beyond the final day of the Fall 2011 examinations and receive credit standing in ECON 280. Even though my mental health had begun to improve over the summer and into my second year at Queen¿¿s, the lingering effects of my depressive episode continued to have an adverse affect on my academic achievement during the Fall 2011 term. Improvements to an individual¿¿s mental wellbeing do not take place in a linear fashion; mental health can improve for several months before a crisis, challenge, or change in circumstances can reverse the progress made. During my first summer back home from Queen¿¿s, I returned to the job at a hardware store I had worked at during high school. As I returned to fulltime work near my home in Toronto, I became more optimistic about life, and decided to return to Queen¿¿s in September, selecting Economics as my major. Despite my renewed positivity and effort, I still struggled to succeed academically with my Economics course load, reigniting and prolonging some of the depressive emotions I had experienced during my first year of study. While I had begun an ultimately eventually successful process of improving my mental wellbeing, my academic performance during the Fall 2011 term was not yet indicative of the work ethnic and achievement I would, and have displayed since.

In the Winter 2012 term, I switched out of Economics and enrolled in a variety of social science courses. My academic performance improved considerably alongside my mental health. One reason for this improvement was that additional time had elapsed from the depressive episode in my first year. Additionally, I found success in the new classes I had enrolled in, which also helped improve my mood. I also sought counselling from Health and Disability Services, which helped me to begin the process of talking about my depressive episode¿¿eventually resulting in the submission of my April 2012 appeal¿¿as well as preventing new episodes from occurring. After my second year, I selected Geography as my major, and my academic achievement continued to reach new levels. I am now pursuing a career in real estate development, and last summer, I was employed at a condominium development company in downtown Toronto. In September I will begin graduate school at Queen¿¿s, where my master¿¿s thesis will examine a public housing redevelopment project in Toronto. Compared to my first few semesters at Queen¿¿s, my mental health and outlook on life has improved considerably. I truly believe that if I had not experienced my depressive episode in first year, and the lingering effects of this episode in my second year, I would have attained a similar level of success in my studies as I do now. For this reason, I would be grateful for a consideration of the circumstances surrounding my lack of academic achievement during the time in question in reviewing my appeal. Receiving permission to drop and receive credit standing in the four courses I have specified would allow me to build on the improvements I have already made in terms of my mental health and academics since this difficult period of my life.

Thank you very much for your consideration of my appeal and for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Trevor Robinson