Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The circumstances surrounding my appeal are that I was granted two incomplete grades at the end of the last term. One in Art History (ARTH 120) and one in Comics in Politics (GNDS 295). As a result of the two ??IN? grades being the system, my number of credits for the 2021-2022 academic year dropped below the 18-credit minimum, and I received a ??requirement to withdraw for one year? notice.

The circumstances leading up to the IN grades and my inability to pass certain other classes last semester were a series of mental and physical health issues that cascaded one after the other over the course of March and April and into May.

While I will lay out the specifics below, I think the most over-arching issue is my mental health, anxiety struggles, and inability to get any support last year for that. I have struggled with anxiety for many years, but last year, the issues described below caused my anxiety to become acute and rendered me practically non-functional regarding school work and other things. Accessing mental health support has been a national crisis since Covid began, and I certainly fall victim to that in the winter term.

What has changed since last semester? Over the summer, I have finally accessed regular psychological support with weekly sessions and other activities that have been a tremendous help. Also, I have been prescribed escitalopram oxalate, an anti-anxiety medication that has helped dramatically. Honestly, I feel like a different person.

Issues with roommates and other things made the fall term challenging; being unable to obtain any mental health support, candidly, I turned to marijuana to get me through. By Christmas, I realized that I had to stop that for my own physical health, and over the Christmas holiday, I stopped that cold turkey and got a new apartment, alone, near the university. I came back to Kingston with a rewed sense of engagement but also with some trepidation as I was still not able to access mental health support either in person or online. Then the following occurred:

-First, my friend Liam Geddes a fourth-year student who was on the rugby team, died after a fall. I am sure you know the sad event as it was significant news on campus. Liam??s passing hit me very hard.

-As I began to rebound from Liam??s shocking death, I myself slipped into my apartment and fell and hit my head. I went to Hotel Dieu and was diagnosed with a concussion.

-Four days after the concussion, I tested positive for Covid. Unfortunately, my symptoms were not mild, and I was out of commission for a week. Combined with the concussion, work was impossible. Needless to say, that set me back on my academic work considerably at a time year when losing even a day or two can be a problem.

-As I recovered from Covid and the concussion, I was then hit with the stomach flu that lasted essentially two weeks. Many other students (and I assume faculty and staff) had this flu. Again, my ability to work was very significantly diminished.

All these cascading events dramatically raised my anxiety and ability to cope with the end-of-year pressure. All of my professors were remarkably sympathetic. Unfortunately, for two of my classes, I could not get an IN: for China, After 1800 (HIST 299), I had not completed 60% of the work, so an IN was not possible; and for Toxins in Global History (HIST 223), I failed to make the application for the IN in time. Candidly, due to my anxiety, I was not dealing well with timelines and administrative matters.

As mentioned above, I was able to coordinate the IN grades for ARTH 120 and GNDS 295. I have submitted the required work in both courses and would expect that by the time you review this appeal, each IN will be replaced with my actual final grades.

I have passed both of those classes and therefore have the required 18 credits. Accordingly, with respect, the ??requirement to withdraw for one year? notice is not applicable nor valid.

I am back in Kingston and very keen to start a new year on a much better and more stable footing with mental health and other supports that have been well established over the summer. I am keen to start in-person classes, which, together with the mental health supports, I am sure will lead to a much more successful and fulling academic year this year.

I consider it very important for my own sense of worth and success that engage in school this year and set aside and overcome the troubles from last year and move on.