Petition Letter
Greetings Dr. Stephenson,
I am petitioning to drop MATH 121/124 (Fall-Winter, 2022-23), BIOL 103 (Winter, 2023), PHYS 117 (Summer, 2023), BCHM 102 (Fall, 2023), HLTH 230 (Fall, 2023), and MUSC 271 (Fall, 2023). Also, I would like to petition for a credit standing for BCHM 218 (Summer, 2023).
My problems start all the way in my first year at Queen’s when I tried to study and learn at the same pace as others while suffering from a severely draining condition without any accommodations. I’ve explained my condition in a previous petition, but it is best described as an unpredictable illness that fluctuates in severity. As a result, by the end of first year I was in dire straits regarding my courses. To get ahead next year and to ease the burden school takes on my condition, I took 3 summer courses of which 1 (CISC 101) was a May-June course that I fully completed. The other 2 were May-August courses that happen to coincide with my condition worsening in July. Due to this, I was not able to complete the finals for these courses and negotiated another date to write them. All of this compounded into me writing a petition many months ago for MATH 121/124 and BIOL 103 because I felt like I needed more time to complete them after I had finally gotten some help from the school (QSAS). Since that first petition I sent in September, my condition has considerably worsened and as such, I have not been able to complete my outstanding work for those classes. I felt a lot better mentally from the summer term going into my Fall 2023 term and had the help of QSAS which I had freshly registered with at the tail end of the summer term. I even took a reduced course load (3 courses) for the fall term because I believed I could finish both my old and new courses with the new help. This optimism was crushed as my condition worsened suddenly near the end of November. As this was past the drop deadline for my fall courses, I reached out to each of my professors and spoke to them about what was possible for completing the work I had missed due to my condition. They were very helpful in creating plans with me for finishing the course work, but it just was not possible given the circumstances of my illness. It just was too much for me to do course work and try to delegate time to study for outstanding deferred exams. QSAS accommodations simply were not enough help for what I was going through and were given to me far too late. The compounded leftover work from first year plus the new courses was just too much for me after my health took a dive for the worse. I tried to take courses in the winter of 2024, but after I realized how bad my health had gotten, I decided to drop all my classes and petition to drop these ones so that I could have a fresh start after a much-needed break from school. Exams, midterms, and tests take the greatest tolls on me because they give the most stress. Even after going mostly online after learning from my last petition, tests inevitably made it near impossible for me to keep up with the rest of the class as I was continually bedridden. I kept my word from the last petition and stayed in touch with my doctor for most of the fall/winter terms which is what lead me to making my decision in taking a break from school and learning what works given my circumstances.
It has been a while since I dropped my courses in winter and decided the path I wanted to take forward. I want to be able to maximize the help the school can provide me with. I want to speak to my QSAS advisor about new accommodations and adjustments related to tests so that I can succeed in my next year. Alongside this, I want to retake the courses I’m dropping sometime later when I’m healthier and when they’re not hovering as skeletons from my first-year closet and giving me stress that makes my condition worse. Almost all my professors supported that I move forward with a petition and try to get back on my feet after a break. I’m actively speaking with my doctor to find solutions to the random slumps I feel throughout the year that hit instantly like a train and are completely unpredictable. I just want the chance to make a comeback and succeed at Queen’s. I’m doing everything in my power to help myself get to a point where I can triumph on my own and I want to start with this petition.
I am petitioning to drop MATH 121/124 (Fall-Winter, 2022-23), BIOL 103 (Winter, 2023), PHYS 117 (Summer, 2023), BCHM 102 (Fall, 2023), HLTH 230 (Fall, 2023), and MUSC 271 (Fall, 2023). Also, I would like to petition for a credit standing for BCHM 218 (Summer, 2023).
My problems start all the way in my first year at Queen’s when I tried to study and learn at the same pace as others while suffering from a severely draining condition without any accommodations. I’ve explained my condition in a previous petition, but it is best described as an unpredictable illness that fluctuates in severity. As a result, by the end of first year I was in dire straits regarding my courses. To get ahead next year and to ease the burden school takes on my condition, I took 3 summer courses of which 1 (CISC 101) was a May-June course that I fully completed. The other 2 were May-August courses that happen to coincide with my condition worsening in July. Due to this, I was not able to complete the finals for these courses and negotiated another date to write them. All of this compounded into me writing a petition many months ago for MATH 121/124 and BIOL 103 because I felt like I needed more time to complete them after I had finally gotten some help from the school (QSAS). Since that first petition I sent in September, my condition has considerably worsened and as such, I have not been able to complete my outstanding work for those classes. I felt a lot better mentally from the summer term going into my Fall 2023 term and had the help of QSAS which I had freshly registered with at the tail end of the summer term. I even took a reduced course load (3 courses) for the fall term because I believed I could finish both my old and new courses with the new help. This optimism was crushed as my condition worsened suddenly near the end of November. As this was past the drop deadline for my fall courses, I reached out to each of my professors and spoke to them about what was possible for completing the work I had missed due to my condition. They were very helpful in creating plans with me for finishing the course work, but it just was not possible given the circumstances of my illness. It just was too much for me to do course work and try to delegate time to study for outstanding deferred exams. QSAS accommodations simply were not enough help for what I was going through and were given to me far too late. The compounded leftover work from first year plus the new courses was just too much for me after my health took a dive for the worse. I tried to take courses in the winter of 2024, but after I realized how bad my health had gotten, I decided to drop all my classes and petition to drop these ones so that I could have a fresh start after a much-needed break from school. Exams, midterms, and tests take the greatest tolls on me because they give the most stress. Even after going mostly online after learning from my last petition, tests inevitably made it near impossible for me to keep up with the rest of the class as I was continually bedridden. I kept my word from the last petition and stayed in touch with my doctor for most of the fall/winter terms which is what lead me to making my decision in taking a break from school and learning what works given my circumstances.
It has been a while since I dropped my courses in winter and decided the path I wanted to take forward. I want to be able to maximize the help the school can provide me with. I want to speak to my QSAS advisor about new accommodations and adjustments related to tests so that I can succeed in my next year. Alongside this, I want to retake the courses I’m dropping sometime later when I’m healthier and when they’re not hovering as skeletons from my first-year closet and giving me stress that makes my condition worse. Almost all my professors supported that I move forward with a petition and try to get back on my feet after a break. I’m actively speaking with my doctor to find solutions to the random slumps I feel throughout the year that hit instantly like a train and are completely unpredictable. I just want the chance to make a comeback and succeed at Queen’s. I’m doing everything in my power to help myself get to a point where I can triumph on my own and I want to start with this petition.