Petition Letter
June 16, 2014
J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D. and Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Deans (Studies),
I am writing to appeal the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a period of one year, as extenuating circumstances, specifically depression, have negatively impacted my academic performance during the two years of study I have been at Queen¿¿s.
Over my two years of study at Queen¿¿s, I have been suffering from depression, with it having worsened during my second year of study. In my situation, suffering from depression impacted my academic performance a great deal, as I oftentimes found myself unable to focus on the tasks set out for me in my courses during the school year. This meant I often fell behind in readings, or found myself unable to focus on my lectures. It also meant that I failed to complete assignments during the course of the year, as my struggles with depression seemed to overwhelm my ability to complete schoolwork. On numerous occasions, I found myself unable to take the steps to leave my house and attend classes, as I felt overwhelmed by not only my coursework but by life in general. This situation occurred frequently with both ENGL 200 and ENGL 290, the required courses for my degree program. Due to frequent absences brought on by this feeling, I fell behind on lectures and readings in my courses. By falling behind in my readings, I felt a great deal of anxiety about showing up to class, which worsened my emotional and mental states in regards to attending class. These kinds of episodes increased in frequency as the year progressed, becoming more prevalent in the later stages of second semester, especially in the last few weeks of classes. As I found myself unable to deal with my schoolwork my academic performance degraded a great deal. I failed to hand in a number of assignments during the year, as I struggled with a sense of apathy towards school and in my everyday life. Essentially, I felt as though none of what I was doing really mattered. This feeling was its worst during the winter exam period, as I struggled to attempt any studying for the year. At the same time, I found myself on other occasions to be overly emotional and unable to do schoolwork as I couldn¿¿t do it properly in the emotional state I was in.
During the school year, I did not attend any form of counselling or therapy to help deal with my depression, nor have I done that in the past. I also did not speak with my instructors or teaching assistants about the nature of my problem. However, I am currently taking steps to deal with my depression in a more suitable fashion, as I have begun to seek out professional help on the matter, including setting up sessions with Health, Counselling and Disability Services at Queen¿¿s, as well as looking for options off-campus.
J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D. and Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Deans (Studies),
I am writing to appeal the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a period of one year, as extenuating circumstances, specifically depression, have negatively impacted my academic performance during the two years of study I have been at Queen¿¿s.
Over my two years of study at Queen¿¿s, I have been suffering from depression, with it having worsened during my second year of study. In my situation, suffering from depression impacted my academic performance a great deal, as I oftentimes found myself unable to focus on the tasks set out for me in my courses during the school year. This meant I often fell behind in readings, or found myself unable to focus on my lectures. It also meant that I failed to complete assignments during the course of the year, as my struggles with depression seemed to overwhelm my ability to complete schoolwork. On numerous occasions, I found myself unable to take the steps to leave my house and attend classes, as I felt overwhelmed by not only my coursework but by life in general. This situation occurred frequently with both ENGL 200 and ENGL 290, the required courses for my degree program. Due to frequent absences brought on by this feeling, I fell behind on lectures and readings in my courses. By falling behind in my readings, I felt a great deal of anxiety about showing up to class, which worsened my emotional and mental states in regards to attending class. These kinds of episodes increased in frequency as the year progressed, becoming more prevalent in the later stages of second semester, especially in the last few weeks of classes. As I found myself unable to deal with my schoolwork my academic performance degraded a great deal. I failed to hand in a number of assignments during the year, as I struggled with a sense of apathy towards school and in my everyday life. Essentially, I felt as though none of what I was doing really mattered. This feeling was its worst during the winter exam period, as I struggled to attempt any studying for the year. At the same time, I found myself on other occasions to be overly emotional and unable to do schoolwork as I couldn¿¿t do it properly in the emotional state I was in.
During the school year, I did not attend any form of counselling or therapy to help deal with my depression, nor have I done that in the past. I also did not speak with my instructors or teaching assistants about the nature of my problem. However, I am currently taking steps to deal with my depression in a more suitable fashion, as I have begun to seek out professional help on the matter, including setting up sessions with Health, Counselling and Disability Services at Queen¿¿s, as well as looking for options off-campus.