Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean of Arts and Science,
I am appealing to waive the 21-day/one-term appeal deadline. Below, the grounds for this request are described.
I have attended Queen's University for the past five years. As noted in the attached Psychiatry Consultation Report provided by Student Wellness Services, I have experienced significant, recurring, and ongoing symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder for much of my life, most notably during the last six years. The effects that these have had on my mental health, academic career, and personal life have required me to take medical leave since Reading Week to address them.
Over these six years, these disorders and their symptoms have greatly impacted my ability to perform to my full academic ability, to address their effect on my academic career, and to successfully understand, manage, and treat them. Although the first and third components of that statement are relevant, I plan to address and explain them further in my next letter, should this appeal be granted. In this letter, I will focus on the second component of that statement, being that these disorders have affected my ability to address their impact on my academics and to appeal within the deadlines.
When I am experiencing the symptoms caused by these disorders, I find that they affect my judgement, resourcefulness, and ability to make decisions. In other words, I find myself struggling or unable to formulate and stick to plans, my thoughts are aloof and unfocused, and I tend to feel apathetic about different situations and circumstances that I am in. Drawing from this, one can imagine that during the times that I have experienced these symptoms, it has not been conducive to starting a process such as an appeal or successfully seeking proper support. As stated in the supporting documentation, I have had recurring and sever experiences with these symptoms.
Over the years, when I have been in the correct state of mind to perhaps address certain academic outcomes, it seemed impossible, daunting, and sometimes useless to do so. I often felt as though any attempt to seek help or support would be hopeless or unwarranted and that no appeal would be granted. In my earlier years at Queen's, I was unaware that the issues I was experiencing were grounds for any sort of accommodation or appeal. Once I knew more about the symptoms that I was experiencing, their effects, and the appeal process, I often felt as though it would be an impossible task to repair my academic record. I was struggling simply to stay afloat within each academic year and couldn't fathom undergoing any process such as this that would truly address the underlying mental illnesses that I have struggled with. I have consciously waited until a time when I am in a better state of mind and have a professional support system in place to address this.
When looking at my academic and appeal history, one may question why I was unable to address the outcomes related to my mental illnesses, but was still able to successfully complete appeals in February of 2014 and September of 2016. To put it simply, it has taken many years to recognize the symptoms I have experienced, to determine what to do about them, and to trust the different resources on campus. It was less difficult to formulate an appeal for a physical illness in 2012/2013 and an acute panic attack - related to the completion of my coursework for GRMN 101 - in September of 2016. This is because it is much easier to draw a connection from and explain the impact of physical illness and acute incidents in a letter than it is to do so for chronic mental illnesses. Those experiences are often seen as more concrete and legitimate than an ongoing mental illness, due to the stigma and misinformation that surrounds mental health and illnesses.
During the past five years I have tried many different methods to manage and deal with the symptoms that I was experiencing from the above mentioned disorders, although they were only diagnosed this past year. I have sought out professional help at Student Wellness Services, seeing a counsellor for a short time in 2014 with little success. From there, I have worked on a continuous basis, with significant time taken away from my academics, to learn about my personal mental illnesses and effective ways to manage them. Since the beginning of September 2016, I have been working with a doctor and a counsellor from Student Wellness Services, with much better results. Even so, it has only been since this January that I have felt as though my efforts have been somewhat effective. In addition, it has been only recently that I have felt in any frame of mind to address the poor academic outcomes caused by my struggles with the above-mentioned disorders and to make these appeals.
If this appeal to waive the deadline is granted, my next step will be appealing to drop specific failed courses, largely on the grounds of the above and the effect that these disorders have had on my academic performance throughout my time at Queen's University. The impact that these disorders have had, specifically on the courses in which I have received an F, cannot be emphasized enough. I plan to explain these impacts in much greater detail in my next appeal letter and to share more supporting documentation, should this opportunity be granted. Please contact me at any time if you wish to have more information before considering this appeal.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Lily Helmer-Smith
I am appealing to waive the 21-day/one-term appeal deadline. Below, the grounds for this request are described.
I have attended Queen's University for the past five years. As noted in the attached Psychiatry Consultation Report provided by Student Wellness Services, I have experienced significant, recurring, and ongoing symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder for much of my life, most notably during the last six years. The effects that these have had on my mental health, academic career, and personal life have required me to take medical leave since Reading Week to address them.
Over these six years, these disorders and their symptoms have greatly impacted my ability to perform to my full academic ability, to address their effect on my academic career, and to successfully understand, manage, and treat them. Although the first and third components of that statement are relevant, I plan to address and explain them further in my next letter, should this appeal be granted. In this letter, I will focus on the second component of that statement, being that these disorders have affected my ability to address their impact on my academics and to appeal within the deadlines.
When I am experiencing the symptoms caused by these disorders, I find that they affect my judgement, resourcefulness, and ability to make decisions. In other words, I find myself struggling or unable to formulate and stick to plans, my thoughts are aloof and unfocused, and I tend to feel apathetic about different situations and circumstances that I am in. Drawing from this, one can imagine that during the times that I have experienced these symptoms, it has not been conducive to starting a process such as an appeal or successfully seeking proper support. As stated in the supporting documentation, I have had recurring and sever experiences with these symptoms.
Over the years, when I have been in the correct state of mind to perhaps address certain academic outcomes, it seemed impossible, daunting, and sometimes useless to do so. I often felt as though any attempt to seek help or support would be hopeless or unwarranted and that no appeal would be granted. In my earlier years at Queen's, I was unaware that the issues I was experiencing were grounds for any sort of accommodation or appeal. Once I knew more about the symptoms that I was experiencing, their effects, and the appeal process, I often felt as though it would be an impossible task to repair my academic record. I was struggling simply to stay afloat within each academic year and couldn't fathom undergoing any process such as this that would truly address the underlying mental illnesses that I have struggled with. I have consciously waited until a time when I am in a better state of mind and have a professional support system in place to address this.
When looking at my academic and appeal history, one may question why I was unable to address the outcomes related to my mental illnesses, but was still able to successfully complete appeals in February of 2014 and September of 2016. To put it simply, it has taken many years to recognize the symptoms I have experienced, to determine what to do about them, and to trust the different resources on campus. It was less difficult to formulate an appeal for a physical illness in 2012/2013 and an acute panic attack - related to the completion of my coursework for GRMN 101 - in September of 2016. This is because it is much easier to draw a connection from and explain the impact of physical illness and acute incidents in a letter than it is to do so for chronic mental illnesses. Those experiences are often seen as more concrete and legitimate than an ongoing mental illness, due to the stigma and misinformation that surrounds mental health and illnesses.
During the past five years I have tried many different methods to manage and deal with the symptoms that I was experiencing from the above mentioned disorders, although they were only diagnosed this past year. I have sought out professional help at Student Wellness Services, seeing a counsellor for a short time in 2014 with little success. From there, I have worked on a continuous basis, with significant time taken away from my academics, to learn about my personal mental illnesses and effective ways to manage them. Since the beginning of September 2016, I have been working with a doctor and a counsellor from Student Wellness Services, with much better results. Even so, it has only been since this January that I have felt as though my efforts have been somewhat effective. In addition, it has been only recently that I have felt in any frame of mind to address the poor academic outcomes caused by my struggles with the above-mentioned disorders and to make these appeals.
If this appeal to waive the deadline is granted, my next step will be appealing to drop specific failed courses, largely on the grounds of the above and the effect that these disorders have had on my academic performance throughout my time at Queen's University. The impact that these disorders have had, specifically on the courses in which I have received an F, cannot be emphasized enough. I plan to explain these impacts in much greater detail in my next appeal letter and to share more supporting documentation, should this opportunity be granted. Please contact me at any time if you wish to have more information before considering this appeal.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Lily Helmer-Smith