Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am petitioning to seek a late drop from Film 335 - Culture and Technology in the Winter 2024 semester. Because of personal circumstances beyond my control, I did not complete the course work and I expect to receive a failing grade. I am otherwise a good student. My cumulative GPA is 3.60. In the Fall 2023 semester, I received an A or A- in all of my Film courses, which is my major. I have never failed a course before, neither in secondary nor post-secondary education.
In this particular course, I participated actively until I had some personal issues, including psychological challenges. I handed in the group presentation assignment in mid-March, worth 25%, and received a B+ grade. The major final assignment was a research paper. I submitted a detailed proposal for it, including citations, and received positive peer reviews. For reasons that I describe below, I never finished or submitted the final paper itself by the deadline. I asked my Professor if I could submit it late, but he refused because it would be unfair to my fellow students, which I understand.
The combination of factors from my job, class schedule, particular workload demands, and mental health struggles snowballed towards the end of March and I was unable to manage the demands of my academic and employment responsibilities. I thought I was procrastinating in this course, but I now recognize my inaction as a sign of depression and anxiety.
I worked a part-time job for all of the 2023/2024 year. This job, Walkhome, a chaperone service for Queen’s students and the Kingston community, demanded my time up until 3:00 AM multiple times per week. In the Fall term, this did not trouble me. I was able to deny shifts on nights when I had morning classes and I could catch up on sleep on other mornings. In the Winter term, I had no such luxury. Every weekday except for Friday in the Winter term, I had a class that started early in the morning. All of these classes were at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, which was a substantial distance from my home both on foot and by public transportation. Since I needed my part-time job to pay for rent, groceries, and utilities, I had no choice but to lose a lot of sleep. As a result, I developed insomnia and my schoolwork began to suffer.
In addition to the sleeplessness factor, two of my classes (Film 387 - Cinematography and Aesthetics and Film 392 - Video Production) required heavy coursework. Both involved film production -- scriptwriting, camera work, equipment management, and scheduling -- as well as post-production -- editing, sound design, colour grading, etc. These classes commanded the majority of my attention, especially as the sole editor of the 392 final project and the one whose house was the shooting location. In short, between my sizeable production workload, late nights at work, and early morning classes, I had growing mental health problems.
To ensure that my future academic career is better, I have contacted Student Wellness Services and met with Peter Kerby to help identify the nature of my issues. Peter has directed me to the Embedded Counsellor program at Queen’s and I am confident that they will help me learn how to manage my time and energy more healthily. In addition, Peter supports this petition.
If it is at all possible, I would like to drop from 335 despite the passed deadline. I did not realize the severity of my struggles until beyond Week 8 and I only wish to resuscitate my GPA in any way I can. I am confident that I am putting supports in place to prevent this issue from arising again.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jeremy Jordan
I am petitioning to seek a late drop from Film 335 - Culture and Technology in the Winter 2024 semester. Because of personal circumstances beyond my control, I did not complete the course work and I expect to receive a failing grade. I am otherwise a good student. My cumulative GPA is 3.60. In the Fall 2023 semester, I received an A or A- in all of my Film courses, which is my major. I have never failed a course before, neither in secondary nor post-secondary education.
In this particular course, I participated actively until I had some personal issues, including psychological challenges. I handed in the group presentation assignment in mid-March, worth 25%, and received a B+ grade. The major final assignment was a research paper. I submitted a detailed proposal for it, including citations, and received positive peer reviews. For reasons that I describe below, I never finished or submitted the final paper itself by the deadline. I asked my Professor if I could submit it late, but he refused because it would be unfair to my fellow students, which I understand.
The combination of factors from my job, class schedule, particular workload demands, and mental health struggles snowballed towards the end of March and I was unable to manage the demands of my academic and employment responsibilities. I thought I was procrastinating in this course, but I now recognize my inaction as a sign of depression and anxiety.
I worked a part-time job for all of the 2023/2024 year. This job, Walkhome, a chaperone service for Queen’s students and the Kingston community, demanded my time up until 3:00 AM multiple times per week. In the Fall term, this did not trouble me. I was able to deny shifts on nights when I had morning classes and I could catch up on sleep on other mornings. In the Winter term, I had no such luxury. Every weekday except for Friday in the Winter term, I had a class that started early in the morning. All of these classes were at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, which was a substantial distance from my home both on foot and by public transportation. Since I needed my part-time job to pay for rent, groceries, and utilities, I had no choice but to lose a lot of sleep. As a result, I developed insomnia and my schoolwork began to suffer.
In addition to the sleeplessness factor, two of my classes (Film 387 - Cinematography and Aesthetics and Film 392 - Video Production) required heavy coursework. Both involved film production -- scriptwriting, camera work, equipment management, and scheduling -- as well as post-production -- editing, sound design, colour grading, etc. These classes commanded the majority of my attention, especially as the sole editor of the 392 final project and the one whose house was the shooting location. In short, between my sizeable production workload, late nights at work, and early morning classes, I had growing mental health problems.
To ensure that my future academic career is better, I have contacted Student Wellness Services and met with Peter Kerby to help identify the nature of my issues. Peter has directed me to the Embedded Counsellor program at Queen’s and I am confident that they will help me learn how to manage my time and energy more healthily. In addition, Peter supports this petition.
If it is at all possible, I would like to drop from 335 despite the passed deadline. I did not realize the severity of my struggles until beyond Week 8 and I only wish to resuscitate my GPA in any way I can. I am confident that I am putting supports in place to prevent this issue from arising again.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jeremy Jordan