Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,


My name is Jaewoong Moon, a third year Life Sciences specialization student. I am appealing for an aegrotat credit for BCHM 310 (full year course, 14/15) and NSCI 414 (winter, ¿¿15).

The reason I wish to appeal is because I have been dealing with severely depressive symptoms starting from the winter break. I am frequently in low moods and very often have thoughts of dying. It was manageable during the beginning of the semester and that is why chose to continue my education. However, in the past month and a half my symptoms have become much worse. Alongside the general sadness and thoughts of suicide, I have been losing motivation and interest. I find myself persistently vexed at every little option I am presented with as even making the simplest of decisions become monumental tasks. I am also facing wide range of cognitive challenges such as memory deficits and problems thinking clearly. Due to these issues I have been unable to focus in class, keep up with material, and complete assignments to my ordinary standards. This has become particularly difficult for courses that are memorisation-intensive, such as NSCI 414 and (particularly) BCHM 310. This has been furthered by antidepressants. These drugs were prescribed to me as a short term measure of inhibiting suicidal thoughts. Though they have been effective, I am constantly drowsy and fatigued which only exacerbates my inability to focus. For these reasons, I am very out of touch in terms of class content and I do not think my performance in school will reflect my ordinary self. However, I wish to capitalize on the grades that I was able to achieve in these classes.

I plan on continuing to see a personal counsellor regularly while staying on the medication to inhibit negative thoughts. I will use therapy and meditation to achieve a greater level of self-awareness so that I can better understand the triggers of such depressive spirals. This will also help me find personally relevant ways of treating myself in times of stress. This being said, I plan on extending my undergraduate career with another semester. I am going to try and improve my conditions over the summer and return in the next fall term. If my appeal were to be granted, I believe it will reduce a great amount of stress in my life and help me get an early start to getting better. It will allow me to allocate much of my energy to largely neutralizing my depressive symptoms. Furthermore, I can also be more proactive with various treatment types, such as neurofeedback. If need be, I will see a psychiatrist to receive more intensive counselling and/or medicinal intervention.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Yours sincerely,


Jaewoong Moon