Petition Letter
I am requesting a credit received in GNDS 375 and GNDS 401 because of the death of a close friend. My friend was Carley Allison, a student at Queen¿¿s, who had to drop out in November due to worsening conditions from a rare form of lung cancer. At the beginning of the winter semester, it was discovered that her chemo and radiation therapy was not working, and as a result she would only possibly live until the end of 2015. Receiving this news was horrific, and it greatly impacted my ability to sleep, to focus, to be emotionally stable, and ultimately to function. At the time, I was still going through medication changes for depression, and the discontinuation of one medication had trying consequences. Although the Carley situation was far more taxing than the mental health issues (which I had been working at since the fall semester, and had made great strides in as evidenced in the attached doctors note), some of the unresolved medication problems certainly exacerbated the difficulties I faced as I attempted to cope with her death.
I spent nearly every weekend back in Toronto with the family, sometimes being there into the week. When I was in Kingston, I had trouble going to class simply because of the distress, sleep deprivation, and depression. I handed in nearly every single assignment late. Even when I was able to receive accommodations, my fogged mental state and emotional distress prevented me from writing and reading to the best of my ability.
I met with, and exchanged emails with each of my instructors. They were confused as to why I had missed so many classes, and why a great deal of my work was incomplete or handed in late. When I explained the situation to each of them, they were both very pleasant and supportive.
I received notice in March that Carley¿¿s situation had rapidly deteriorated, and that she only had a few months to live. At the time, I was employed by the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Society as the Equity & Diversity Deputy Commissioner, which I had to resign from due to the immense emotional stress that I was under. I also worked for the AMS Pub Services as a bartender, which I had to take a leave of absence from. Additionally, I volunteered for the mental health awareness committee, which I had to cancel multiple presentations for. Unfortunately, the extra time on my hands did very little to help me to improve my academic standing, as the psychological consequences of her death were just too much. In all facets of my life, this tragedy had severe impacts.
In late March, I received notice from Carley¿¿s family that she had entered palliative care. She passed away on Tuesday, March 31st. I had been in Toronto with the family since the end of the previous week, and I missed that following week of class. I remained in Toronto with the family for nearly three weeks, helping to attend to funeral matters, and to provide emotional support as needed. I was able to receive extensions on a paper and take-home exam for GNDS 375, and for my final paper for GNDS 401. While these accommodations did give me extra time to prepare, I was still extremely far behind because of the length of the tragedy, which had dated back to the beginning of the semester. I had not been able to do readings in either class since week 3, and I had been to very few classes. Since the papers were heavily based on class readings, I had to essentially learn full courses while in a mentally and emotionally distraught state, in order to write my papers. It was simply infeasible for me to be able to do well on these papers, and my marks reflected the insurmountable obstacles.
A major component of my mark in each class was based upon in-class exercises, and participation/attendance. As mentioned previously, I missed many classes. When I was in class, I often had to remove myself as a result of emotional breakdowns. I very rarely participated. Ultimately, I experienced great difficulty trying to focus on the material covered in and out of class.
The circumstances of the situation were extenuating beyond my control, and undoubtedly impacted my academic performance. I have been on the honour role for the past two years, and in those classes I received a B- and a C. This is highly uncharacteristic of me, and can only be explained by the circumstances, which I have just mentioned.
Please feel free to contact my instructors, as they can certainly speak to the circumstances that I detailed.
I spent nearly every weekend back in Toronto with the family, sometimes being there into the week. When I was in Kingston, I had trouble going to class simply because of the distress, sleep deprivation, and depression. I handed in nearly every single assignment late. Even when I was able to receive accommodations, my fogged mental state and emotional distress prevented me from writing and reading to the best of my ability.
I met with, and exchanged emails with each of my instructors. They were confused as to why I had missed so many classes, and why a great deal of my work was incomplete or handed in late. When I explained the situation to each of them, they were both very pleasant and supportive.
I received notice in March that Carley¿¿s situation had rapidly deteriorated, and that she only had a few months to live. At the time, I was employed by the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Society as the Equity & Diversity Deputy Commissioner, which I had to resign from due to the immense emotional stress that I was under. I also worked for the AMS Pub Services as a bartender, which I had to take a leave of absence from. Additionally, I volunteered for the mental health awareness committee, which I had to cancel multiple presentations for. Unfortunately, the extra time on my hands did very little to help me to improve my academic standing, as the psychological consequences of her death were just too much. In all facets of my life, this tragedy had severe impacts.
In late March, I received notice from Carley¿¿s family that she had entered palliative care. She passed away on Tuesday, March 31st. I had been in Toronto with the family since the end of the previous week, and I missed that following week of class. I remained in Toronto with the family for nearly three weeks, helping to attend to funeral matters, and to provide emotional support as needed. I was able to receive extensions on a paper and take-home exam for GNDS 375, and for my final paper for GNDS 401. While these accommodations did give me extra time to prepare, I was still extremely far behind because of the length of the tragedy, which had dated back to the beginning of the semester. I had not been able to do readings in either class since week 3, and I had been to very few classes. Since the papers were heavily based on class readings, I had to essentially learn full courses while in a mentally and emotionally distraught state, in order to write my papers. It was simply infeasible for me to be able to do well on these papers, and my marks reflected the insurmountable obstacles.
A major component of my mark in each class was based upon in-class exercises, and participation/attendance. As mentioned previously, I missed many classes. When I was in class, I often had to remove myself as a result of emotional breakdowns. I very rarely participated. Ultimately, I experienced great difficulty trying to focus on the material covered in and out of class.
The circumstances of the situation were extenuating beyond my control, and undoubtedly impacted my academic performance. I have been on the honour role for the past two years, and in those classes I received a B- and a C. This is highly uncharacteristic of me, and can only be explained by the circumstances, which I have just mentioned.
Please feel free to contact my instructors, as they can certainly speak to the circumstances that I detailed.