Petition Letter
Intro and Requests
The following appeal will be split into two segments, as this appeal covers two separate school years with two distinctly different but significantly debilitating sets of circumstances. The two medical notes are appropriately dated for the timeframes referenced. I am submitting a singular appeal at the advice of Heather Carter, who informed me of a restructuring of the appeal process, so this is somewhat of a long letter as a result.
From the 2017-2018 school year: I am appealing to drop HIST 286 from Fall 2017, extend an incomplete on COMM 407 from Fall 2017, to drop OR extend an incomplete on POLS 395 from fall 2017, and to drop DEVS 300 from winter 2018. To expand on POLS 395: I had an arrangement with the professor to complete the course this semester in two 50 chunks. After submitting the first component by the agreed-on deadline, I never heard back from him. This can be demonstrated by email evidence if necessary. For reasons that will be described below, I was not well enough to expend effort pursuing him on the matter. I am willing to accept a drop but wish to complete the course if possible.
From the 2015 Fall semester: I am appealing to drop DEVS 320, change DEVS 340 to a ¿CR¿¿, and to change on Econ 111 to ¿CR¿¿.
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances
2017-2018
I will first explain the circumstances I experienced during the 2017-2018 school year. As noted in Dr. Bahji¿¿s medical note, I have been experiencing an illness that completely impaired my ability to attend school, and my ability to do schoolwork to a standard of a normal student. Studying became an impossibility despite constant effort. Simple life tasks like leaving my house became tremendously difficult to do. In December this illness caused me to go through the most frightening experience of my life, one that mentally traumatized me for the remainder of the school year; a several day stay at Kingston General Hospital where I came close to dying. This illness has gone improperly treated for years and I believe is a principal cause as to why I have experienced inconsistent success at Queen¿¿s.
This is not something that I have simply stood back and allowed to consume my life. Throughout my time at Queen¿¿s, I was in constant contact with many doctors about this issue, desperately trying to become the ¿normal¿¿ student I was all throughout high school. This had inconsistent, temporary success. I sought out doctors many times over the years, knowing something was wrong, but not knowing what that problem was and especially not knowing how to fix it. This entire process has been nothing short of torture for me, as I have very high aspirations, like many others here at Queen¿¿s.
This illness was severe enough to impact all my courses beyond repair before any positive recovery trend could be observed by myself and my doctors, which is why I am submitting this appeal. In the ¿Future Plan¿¿ section I will describe my present situation and why I believe that this will never happen again. Next, I will explain the Fall 2015 situation.
Fall 2015
First, I will explain why I did not appeal these courses within the deadline, and why it is so late. As noted in Dr. Lakoff¿¿s letter, the extent of this illness was academically and personally impairing. This disease is a separate health issue from the one I experienced this academic year. This disease caused me to sleep from 15-20 hours a day and caused the level of concentration required for university study to become impossible. Dr. Bahji stated that this disease is one that people normally do not go to work or school with while it is in its severe stages. I was severely distressed during this time, felt alone, and felt like I did not belong at Queen¿¿s. My life was in a complete state of disarray and I believed my professional life was over. I took a semester away from school after the Fall, and I entirely stayed in bed recovering. I sincerely did not have the organizational capacity to launch an appeal during the required timeframe because of the aforementioned reasons. I am launching this appeal now because I have finally surpassed the mental and physical trauma that this disease caused me through Dr. Bahji¿¿s help, and the submission of this letter will be strongly symbolic of my personal closure on the matter.
The impact it had on my studies during the semester can be deduced from the previous paragraph. It is simply impossible to do well in classes when I was experiencing physical exhaustion of that magnitude, and this is supported by Dr. Lakoff¿¿s letter. Even when I was rarely feeling well enough to do work, I was so behind and had missed so much class that completing the work to a normal standard was not possible.
Future Plan
I have been seeing several new doctors since the Fall of 2017, Dr. Bahji being one of them, and it appears that in recent months I am making a noticeable upward trend towards recovery with a new medication and distinctly different treatment plan. Over approximately the past two months I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my concentration and productivity. I have been able to negotiate incompletes independently with several professors, and I have been sticking to a solid study schedule. My life is measurably more organized, and my mental state is optimistic. If this appeal is granted I will complete the courses as required when available.
With this special treatment plan, I am feeling better than I have in years. I am excited and able to do the work required of me. I will never be in this situation again because I am finally receiving proper treatment for my health issue, and I have an appropriate support network in place that consists of many doctors and counsellors. My Grave¿¿s Disease is also presently inactive. Finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The submission of this appeal is a significant step in me releasing the past and moving forward into the future. If more documentation or information is required, please ask and I will provide it. Please consider granting this appeal.
The following appeal will be split into two segments, as this appeal covers two separate school years with two distinctly different but significantly debilitating sets of circumstances. The two medical notes are appropriately dated for the timeframes referenced. I am submitting a singular appeal at the advice of Heather Carter, who informed me of a restructuring of the appeal process, so this is somewhat of a long letter as a result.
From the 2017-2018 school year: I am appealing to drop HIST 286 from Fall 2017, extend an incomplete on COMM 407 from Fall 2017, to drop OR extend an incomplete on POLS 395 from fall 2017, and to drop DEVS 300 from winter 2018. To expand on POLS 395: I had an arrangement with the professor to complete the course this semester in two 50 chunks. After submitting the first component by the agreed-on deadline, I never heard back from him. This can be demonstrated by email evidence if necessary. For reasons that will be described below, I was not well enough to expend effort pursuing him on the matter. I am willing to accept a drop but wish to complete the course if possible.
From the 2015 Fall semester: I am appealing to drop DEVS 320, change DEVS 340 to a ¿CR¿¿, and to change on Econ 111 to ¿CR¿¿.
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances
2017-2018
I will first explain the circumstances I experienced during the 2017-2018 school year. As noted in Dr. Bahji¿¿s medical note, I have been experiencing an illness that completely impaired my ability to attend school, and my ability to do schoolwork to a standard of a normal student. Studying became an impossibility despite constant effort. Simple life tasks like leaving my house became tremendously difficult to do. In December this illness caused me to go through the most frightening experience of my life, one that mentally traumatized me for the remainder of the school year; a several day stay at Kingston General Hospital where I came close to dying. This illness has gone improperly treated for years and I believe is a principal cause as to why I have experienced inconsistent success at Queen¿¿s.
This is not something that I have simply stood back and allowed to consume my life. Throughout my time at Queen¿¿s, I was in constant contact with many doctors about this issue, desperately trying to become the ¿normal¿¿ student I was all throughout high school. This had inconsistent, temporary success. I sought out doctors many times over the years, knowing something was wrong, but not knowing what that problem was and especially not knowing how to fix it. This entire process has been nothing short of torture for me, as I have very high aspirations, like many others here at Queen¿¿s.
This illness was severe enough to impact all my courses beyond repair before any positive recovery trend could be observed by myself and my doctors, which is why I am submitting this appeal. In the ¿Future Plan¿¿ section I will describe my present situation and why I believe that this will never happen again. Next, I will explain the Fall 2015 situation.
Fall 2015
First, I will explain why I did not appeal these courses within the deadline, and why it is so late. As noted in Dr. Lakoff¿¿s letter, the extent of this illness was academically and personally impairing. This disease is a separate health issue from the one I experienced this academic year. This disease caused me to sleep from 15-20 hours a day and caused the level of concentration required for university study to become impossible. Dr. Bahji stated that this disease is one that people normally do not go to work or school with while it is in its severe stages. I was severely distressed during this time, felt alone, and felt like I did not belong at Queen¿¿s. My life was in a complete state of disarray and I believed my professional life was over. I took a semester away from school after the Fall, and I entirely stayed in bed recovering. I sincerely did not have the organizational capacity to launch an appeal during the required timeframe because of the aforementioned reasons. I am launching this appeal now because I have finally surpassed the mental and physical trauma that this disease caused me through Dr. Bahji¿¿s help, and the submission of this letter will be strongly symbolic of my personal closure on the matter.
The impact it had on my studies during the semester can be deduced from the previous paragraph. It is simply impossible to do well in classes when I was experiencing physical exhaustion of that magnitude, and this is supported by Dr. Lakoff¿¿s letter. Even when I was rarely feeling well enough to do work, I was so behind and had missed so much class that completing the work to a normal standard was not possible.
Future Plan
I have been seeing several new doctors since the Fall of 2017, Dr. Bahji being one of them, and it appears that in recent months I am making a noticeable upward trend towards recovery with a new medication and distinctly different treatment plan. Over approximately the past two months I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my concentration and productivity. I have been able to negotiate incompletes independently with several professors, and I have been sticking to a solid study schedule. My life is measurably more organized, and my mental state is optimistic. If this appeal is granted I will complete the courses as required when available.
With this special treatment plan, I am feeling better than I have in years. I am excited and able to do the work required of me. I will never be in this situation again because I am finally receiving proper treatment for my health issue, and I have an appropriate support network in place that consists of many doctors and counsellors. My Grave¿¿s Disease is also presently inactive. Finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The submission of this appeal is a significant step in me releasing the past and moving forward into the future. If more documentation or information is required, please ask and I will provide it. Please consider granting this appeal.