Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 8501
Submitted: December 14, 2021 at 12:45:29 PM
First Name: Elena
Last Name: Lawton
Student Number: 20232976
Email: 20eml2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: POLS & PHIL
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHIL 260
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Atkinson,
My name is Elena Lawton and I am a second year student majoring in Political Science and Philosophy.
Over the course of the fall 2021 semester I have been faced with mental health challenges which have impacted my academics, as a result I am submitting this appeal to drop PHIL 260, Logic (Fall 2021).
My challenges grew out of an impaired ability to adjust to the social and interpersonal dynamics of moving to a house with 4 other students and attending in person classes for the first time in over a year. After a period of attempting to balance the mounting stresses associated with these major changes, I returned home over the fall reading break to speak to my parents about the issues I was experiencing. They felt that I might just need more time to adjust to these major changes, but suggested an appointment with my family doctor as I was also experiencing some physical symptoms of concern.
When I was able to speak to my doctor on October 19th, we addressed treatment for the physical symptoms and set a plan to follow up in two weeks to discuss further strategies. Unfortunately, things deteriorated, and in the following days I had a severe panic attack which impacted my performance on my in-person midterm for PHIL 260. In hindsight, some of my social anxiety, especially leading up to this midterm was likely Covid-related, as I felt quite apprehensive about an in-person gathering of that size.
While social anxiety has been one source of stress, my general anxiety has been triggered by a variety of things, from pre-existing and new adjustment stressors. Consequently, panic attacks have become a staple of my daily life and are often preceded or followed by periods of depression as well. With this, I have found sleeping, focusing and eating at times to be very difficult tasks. The compounding effect of all of these factors has also made the prospect of continuing on tough at times. This is something that has been exacerbated recently, which prompted another appointment with my family doctor this past week when I returned home again.
My PHIL 260 course had initially started out well, as I had an 83% heading into the midterm. On November 1st, I learned that I did not receive a passing grade on the midterm that I had written while in a poor mental state in addition to also having lingering physical symptoms. I was also notified that the physical exam would be returned on November 3rd. The days following November 1st were extremely difficult mentally, and I was not in a condition to even process the idea of a course drop that same day. This point in time was a breaking point of sorts, and set off a period of worsening depression and anxiety.
Since then, I have tried on my better days to keep up with my course work, PHIL 260 included. However, this course was further impacted when I was unable to write my next test on November 19th due to a technical difficulty in which the derivation template provided by my professor could not be transferred to OnQ in order to answer any questions. I cannot realistically salvage this course, and have put my usable time into catching up with my other courses that have been impacted by my ongoing difficulties.
I have also returned to my family home (my parents growing increasingly concerned about my mental health drove out to bring me home after classes ended the week of November 29th) and I have found the ratio of good to bad days better in this environment. I have tried to maximize the good days by further catching up and preparing for my exams in the courses where it is still possible to complete the requirements. This is part of the plan that I have made with my family doctor, which also includes therapy and lifestyle changes as next steps for dealing with these issues.
I am requesting your help and understanding with this matter, and support as I develop strategies to manage my mental health concerns. I have hope that I will be able to complete my undergrad at Queen??s with improved mental health over time as I work towards improvement.
Sincerely,
Elena Lawton
My name is Elena Lawton and I am a second year student majoring in Political Science and Philosophy.
Over the course of the fall 2021 semester I have been faced with mental health challenges which have impacted my academics, as a result I am submitting this appeal to drop PHIL 260, Logic (Fall 2021).
My challenges grew out of an impaired ability to adjust to the social and interpersonal dynamics of moving to a house with 4 other students and attending in person classes for the first time in over a year. After a period of attempting to balance the mounting stresses associated with these major changes, I returned home over the fall reading break to speak to my parents about the issues I was experiencing. They felt that I might just need more time to adjust to these major changes, but suggested an appointment with my family doctor as I was also experiencing some physical symptoms of concern.
When I was able to speak to my doctor on October 19th, we addressed treatment for the physical symptoms and set a plan to follow up in two weeks to discuss further strategies. Unfortunately, things deteriorated, and in the following days I had a severe panic attack which impacted my performance on my in-person midterm for PHIL 260. In hindsight, some of my social anxiety, especially leading up to this midterm was likely Covid-related, as I felt quite apprehensive about an in-person gathering of that size.
While social anxiety has been one source of stress, my general anxiety has been triggered by a variety of things, from pre-existing and new adjustment stressors. Consequently, panic attacks have become a staple of my daily life and are often preceded or followed by periods of depression as well. With this, I have found sleeping, focusing and eating at times to be very difficult tasks. The compounding effect of all of these factors has also made the prospect of continuing on tough at times. This is something that has been exacerbated recently, which prompted another appointment with my family doctor this past week when I returned home again.
My PHIL 260 course had initially started out well, as I had an 83% heading into the midterm. On November 1st, I learned that I did not receive a passing grade on the midterm that I had written while in a poor mental state in addition to also having lingering physical symptoms. I was also notified that the physical exam would be returned on November 3rd. The days following November 1st were extremely difficult mentally, and I was not in a condition to even process the idea of a course drop that same day. This point in time was a breaking point of sorts, and set off a period of worsening depression and anxiety.
Since then, I have tried on my better days to keep up with my course work, PHIL 260 included. However, this course was further impacted when I was unable to write my next test on November 19th due to a technical difficulty in which the derivation template provided by my professor could not be transferred to OnQ in order to answer any questions. I cannot realistically salvage this course, and have put my usable time into catching up with my other courses that have been impacted by my ongoing difficulties.
I have also returned to my family home (my parents growing increasingly concerned about my mental health drove out to bring me home after classes ended the week of November 29th) and I have found the ratio of good to bad days better in this environment. I have tried to maximize the good days by further catching up and preparing for my exams in the courses where it is still possible to complete the requirements. This is part of the plan that I have made with my family doctor, which also includes therapy and lifestyle changes as next steps for dealing with these issues.
I am requesting your help and understanding with this matter, and support as I develop strategies to manage my mental health concerns. I have hope that I will be able to complete my undergrad at Queen??s with improved mental health over time as I work towards improvement.
Sincerely,
Elena Lawton
Documentation
Professional Letter: Doctors Note Elena Lawton.jpg
