Petition Letter
I am appealing to drop ARTH348, Arts of the Arctic, after the course drop deadline due to recently poor mental health conditions. ARTH348 is scheduled on Monday mornings from 11:30am to 2:30pm in Macdonald Hall, and I am also scheduled to attend ARTH212 from 2:30-5:30pm, in the same building. I started experiencing increasingly depressive episodes from November 2015 into the 2016 winter term, ones that started after first year, but I quickly brushed them off as I attributed my stress to the weather and other, smaller issues. Unfortunately, my degree program is largely lecture-based; I could not take a straight 6 hours of class in my low state of mind. My misguided plan was that I would alternate classes every week; go to Arctic one week, Medieval the other. I found myself skipping the Arctic class altogether, but attending the Medieval class because I simply could not leave my bed before 12pm. In my lethargic mood and uninterested attitude, I found it hard to reconcile my past feelings about school with what I was feeling then. I simply was not interested in the material I once loved. I used to absolutely enjoy class, and tried to participate when I could. Instead, I could not leave my bed some Monday mornings in fear of sitting in class with my thoughts, and slept most of the time. In terms of my mental health, I thought I would have an easier time in the warmer months, but waiting only served to be detrimental to my grades, and the emotional stress manifested as hours spent in bed. I didn¿¿t drop the course before the deadline because I thought I was okay and that I could power through the next two months of school. The stress of writing a research paper in ARTH348, as well as other assignments, compounded on me in the form of a mental block. I would get anxious while reading research and go to sleep instead of writing. I didn¿¿t notice I was going through such a depressive episode until my roommate noticed, and referred me to the counselling services on campus. Last week, I met with a counsellor there to discuss the best course of in terms of managing my grades and making sure I got the help I needed; this was the first time I had spoken to someone regarding my mental health in just under a year. We came up with the plan to appeal to drop ARTH348 as we felt it was not representative of the work I know I am capable of doing, and I knew my performance in the course was affected severely by my depressive episodes. I have made an appointment with a family doctor to discuss further strategies for me, but in the mean time I know I can carry the load of my three other courses just fine. I want to graduate on time and manage my school work, but I also want to do that without the weight of depression. Thank you for considering my appeal to drop ARTH348.