Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 839
Submitted: March 18, 2015 at 4:57:07 PM
First Name: Connor
Last Name: Luksys
Student Number: 10111965
Email: 13cml2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: FILM
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,
My name is Connor Luksys and I am writing to you in order to appeal to have the 21 day academic appeal deadline waived on the grounds of an ongoing extenuating circumstance. I wish to do this so that I may make a subsequent appeal to have failed courses dropped after the deadline.
The extenuating circumstance that prevented me from writing to you until now was a severe psychological challenge related to stress and anxiety. This circumstance became especially debilitating amidst my first year at Queen¿¿s University until the present, although I will focus on the timeline between when the courses which I hope to appeal to have dropped finished to the time of this appeal being initiated to concisely explain why I was unable to make an appeal until now. This timeline follows the failure of 4 of the 5 courses that I was enrolled in within my first year of post-secondary education during which time I was suffering from untreated mental health issues. After the final results of those courses, my inability to cope with the fact that I was having issues related to mental health continued in preventing me from effectively dealing with those issues. I continued on with an inability to share the problems I was having with any other people because of my fear of admittance, which only added stress. I had even made the misguided decision to enrol in an online course taking place during the summer before seeking any sort of counselling or external help for mental health whilst still being unfit to cope without such support. After also failing my online course I received my requirement to withdrawal for 1 year which I also could not appeal because of my fear and repression. I found even mundane living difficult and continued in this way for several months. During this time I became open about my situation only to the point of admitting that I was not going to be attending university until next Fall as an explanation forced from circumstance. This small admittance began the process of seeking out support for my mental health as I also finally became able to tell a close personal friend of mine about a significant event early in my life which relates to mental health and greatly contributed to my psychological stress. Through this friend¿¿s insistence and support, I came into contact with my counsellor whom I eventually became comfortable enough with to tell of several other events in my life which cause me psychological stress. Becoming more open about my general situation and recognizing that the way in which I was attempting to deal with the circumstance is what has allowed me to finally contact you and make this appeal.
Should this appeal to waive the deadline be granted, I plan to follow with a second appeal to have courses dropped on the grounds of extenuating circumstance wherein I will give a more detailed academic plan pertaining to specific courses. As of now, I have submitted my return to studies form and will be returning to enrolment at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2015. I plan to succeed in these courses through personal determination and the accommodation of my ongoing extenuating circumstance by maintaining regular meetings with my personal counsellor. These meetings will help me succeed in future studies by helping to support my mental health which in turn will prevent me from being debilitated in such a way where I am not able to participate in my education, as was the case during my first year and since then. I am now dedicated to my treatment and maintaining a mindset that will not cause a repeat of circumstance.
Thank you for your consideration and your understanding,
Connor Luksys
My name is Connor Luksys and I am writing to you in order to appeal to have the 21 day academic appeal deadline waived on the grounds of an ongoing extenuating circumstance. I wish to do this so that I may make a subsequent appeal to have failed courses dropped after the deadline.
The extenuating circumstance that prevented me from writing to you until now was a severe psychological challenge related to stress and anxiety. This circumstance became especially debilitating amidst my first year at Queen¿¿s University until the present, although I will focus on the timeline between when the courses which I hope to appeal to have dropped finished to the time of this appeal being initiated to concisely explain why I was unable to make an appeal until now. This timeline follows the failure of 4 of the 5 courses that I was enrolled in within my first year of post-secondary education during which time I was suffering from untreated mental health issues. After the final results of those courses, my inability to cope with the fact that I was having issues related to mental health continued in preventing me from effectively dealing with those issues. I continued on with an inability to share the problems I was having with any other people because of my fear of admittance, which only added stress. I had even made the misguided decision to enrol in an online course taking place during the summer before seeking any sort of counselling or external help for mental health whilst still being unfit to cope without such support. After also failing my online course I received my requirement to withdrawal for 1 year which I also could not appeal because of my fear and repression. I found even mundane living difficult and continued in this way for several months. During this time I became open about my situation only to the point of admitting that I was not going to be attending university until next Fall as an explanation forced from circumstance. This small admittance began the process of seeking out support for my mental health as I also finally became able to tell a close personal friend of mine about a significant event early in my life which relates to mental health and greatly contributed to my psychological stress. Through this friend¿¿s insistence and support, I came into contact with my counsellor whom I eventually became comfortable enough with to tell of several other events in my life which cause me psychological stress. Becoming more open about my general situation and recognizing that the way in which I was attempting to deal with the circumstance is what has allowed me to finally contact you and make this appeal.
Should this appeal to waive the deadline be granted, I plan to follow with a second appeal to have courses dropped on the grounds of extenuating circumstance wherein I will give a more detailed academic plan pertaining to specific courses. As of now, I have submitted my return to studies form and will be returning to enrolment at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2015. I plan to succeed in these courses through personal determination and the accommodation of my ongoing extenuating circumstance by maintaining regular meetings with my personal counsellor. These meetings will help me succeed in future studies by helping to support my mental health which in turn will prevent me from being debilitated in such a way where I am not able to participate in my education, as was the case during my first year and since then. I am now dedicated to my treatment and maintaining a mindset that will not cause a repeat of circumstance.
Thank you for your consideration and your understanding,
Connor Luksys
Documentation
Professional Letter: K3C summary.pdf
Decision Letters
Amendment to Appeal 839
Relevant Petition: 839
First Name: Connor
Last Name: Luksys
Student Number: 10111965
Email: 13cml2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: FILM
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHIL111
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2013
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PSYC100
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2013
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: SOCY122
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2013
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: GPHY101
Term: Winter
Year: 2014
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: FILM260
Term: Summer
Year: 2014
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,
My name is Connor Luksys and I am writing to you in order to appeal to drop the courses PHIL111, PSYC100, SOCY122, GPHY101, and FILM260 on the grounds of an ongoing extenuating circumstance which I am now accommodating.
The extenuating circumstance that I am referring to was a severe psychological challenge related to stress and anxiety. This circumstance became especially debilitating amidst, and in the aftermath of, my first year of enrollment at Queen¿¿s University, which is the timeline I will be focusing on in this letter. At the beginning of my first semester, I was enrolled in four full year courses and a half year course (COGS100). At this early point, my psychological challenge already began to debilitate me by making regular attendance and participation in my courses difficult as I went through sporadic lapses in which I would isolate myself from other people because of severe anxiety that would make even mundane living difficult. I soon dropped my half year course (COGS100) with no academic penalty in an attempt to alleviate some pressure off of myself under the faulty rationalization that what I was experiencing was merely a small adjustment period. I sought out no external help or counselling because I was unable to admit to myself, let alone another person, that I was struggling with mental illness at this time. Without proper counselling or adequate coping strategies, I continued to receive poorer and poorer grades as my stress and anxiety level increased. By the time I reached my second semester, I became to be even more frequently unable leave my on-campus residence room, attending minimal lectures, labs, or tutorials. I must point out the outlier on my transcript, FILM110, which is the only passing grade I have received from Queen¿¿s University. I attribute this abnormality to a friend of mine, whom was also taking the course. This person was very insistent that we attend our one lecture and tutorial together and would effectively pull me out of my room twice a week, allowing me to be present for the lectures and participate in the tutorials for the course. The situation for my other courses though was quite different as a more typical representation how my circumstance effected my education would be a case such as PSYC100 wherein I was only able to bring myself to the minimum level of attendance to keep myself from an automatic failure before the end of the course. By this second half to the end of the year, under the weight of all of my declining grades, my anxiety grew to the point where I was even unable to hand in any assignments that I had managed to complete through an irrational fear of being noticed which had the effect of completely inhibiting me from participating in my own education. At the beginning of the summer, after finally receiving my failing grades and a requirement to withdrawal for one year, I made the misguided choice of continuing with enrollment in an online course (FILM260) without making any adjustments in a continued repression and inability to cope with the fact that I was being severely debilitated by mental illness.
Should this appeal be granted, I intend to apply to a degree plan in Film & Media so that I may enrol in upper level courses within the Film program. As of now, I have submitted my return to studies form and will be returning to enrollment at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2015. I plan to participate, and succeed, in courses through personal determination and the accommodation of my ongoing extenuating circumstance by maintaining regular meetings with a personal counselor, whether it is with HCDS or my current personal counselor. These meetings will help me succeed in future studies by helping to support my mental health which in turn will prevent me from being debilitated in such a way where I am not able to participate in my education, as was the case during my first year and immediately thereafter. I am dedicated to my treatment and maintaining a mindset that will not cause a repeat of circumstance.
Thank you for your consideration and your understanding,
Connor Luksys
My name is Connor Luksys and I am writing to you in order to appeal to drop the courses PHIL111, PSYC100, SOCY122, GPHY101, and FILM260 on the grounds of an ongoing extenuating circumstance which I am now accommodating.
The extenuating circumstance that I am referring to was a severe psychological challenge related to stress and anxiety. This circumstance became especially debilitating amidst, and in the aftermath of, my first year of enrollment at Queen¿¿s University, which is the timeline I will be focusing on in this letter. At the beginning of my first semester, I was enrolled in four full year courses and a half year course (COGS100). At this early point, my psychological challenge already began to debilitate me by making regular attendance and participation in my courses difficult as I went through sporadic lapses in which I would isolate myself from other people because of severe anxiety that would make even mundane living difficult. I soon dropped my half year course (COGS100) with no academic penalty in an attempt to alleviate some pressure off of myself under the faulty rationalization that what I was experiencing was merely a small adjustment period. I sought out no external help or counselling because I was unable to admit to myself, let alone another person, that I was struggling with mental illness at this time. Without proper counselling or adequate coping strategies, I continued to receive poorer and poorer grades as my stress and anxiety level increased. By the time I reached my second semester, I became to be even more frequently unable leave my on-campus residence room, attending minimal lectures, labs, or tutorials. I must point out the outlier on my transcript, FILM110, which is the only passing grade I have received from Queen¿¿s University. I attribute this abnormality to a friend of mine, whom was also taking the course. This person was very insistent that we attend our one lecture and tutorial together and would effectively pull me out of my room twice a week, allowing me to be present for the lectures and participate in the tutorials for the course. The situation for my other courses though was quite different as a more typical representation how my circumstance effected my education would be a case such as PSYC100 wherein I was only able to bring myself to the minimum level of attendance to keep myself from an automatic failure before the end of the course. By this second half to the end of the year, under the weight of all of my declining grades, my anxiety grew to the point where I was even unable to hand in any assignments that I had managed to complete through an irrational fear of being noticed which had the effect of completely inhibiting me from participating in my own education. At the beginning of the summer, after finally receiving my failing grades and a requirement to withdrawal for one year, I made the misguided choice of continuing with enrollment in an online course (FILM260) without making any adjustments in a continued repression and inability to cope with the fact that I was being severely debilitated by mental illness.
Should this appeal be granted, I intend to apply to a degree plan in Film & Media so that I may enrol in upper level courses within the Film program. As of now, I have submitted my return to studies form and will be returning to enrollment at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2015. I plan to participate, and succeed, in courses through personal determination and the accommodation of my ongoing extenuating circumstance by maintaining regular meetings with a personal counselor, whether it is with HCDS or my current personal counselor. These meetings will help me succeed in future studies by helping to support my mental health which in turn will prevent me from being debilitated in such a way where I am not able to participate in my education, as was the case during my first year and immediately thereafter. I am dedicated to my treatment and maintaining a mindset that will not cause a repeat of circumstance.
Thank you for your consideration and your understanding,
Connor Luksys
Documentation
Professional Letter: K3C summary-0.pdf