Petition Letter
I am appealing to drop 2 (PATH 310, PHIL 203) of my 5 courses for this winter 2019 semester, as I have been dealing with increasing mental health issues this year. The nature of these health issues is that they are recurring and debilitating to academic function. My ability to handle school work ranges drastically depending on my mental state and is unfortunately unpredictable.
This semester, after reading week, my mental health issues recurred due to personal prompts, and left me unable to attend classes, participate in work load, meet assignment deadlines and attend midterms. During this time, I withdrew and continued to withdraw as the workload and problems built up and I was not able to face a decision on March 1st, the last drop date. I was alone, scared and worried and only able to make and attend appointments starting mid March to address missed work. The support network I established in first semester includes Dr. Butt, OT Tess Grant, QSAS Advisor Bonney Hunt and school counsellor Farrah Nanji and after consulting with them, we came to the conclusion that instead of withdrawing completely, it would be best to withdraw from some of the course load that had suffered most, and salvage what we could out of this semester.
It is with great difficulty that I admit I am overwhelmed and cannot handle the full-time exam period. I realize that this is beyond the drop deadline but the idea of losing all of my credits, my tuition, my GPA, and my efforts before the extenuating circumstances is depressing. I have been able to maintain passing marks this year, but I am no longer content with just scraping by. I was able to handle my course load for the duration of the first month and a half as my medication and mental health were going smoothly, so I am still avidly seeing my support network and doing my best to overcome these mental health issues. This will take a lot of dedication and time that requires a lighter course load then I have, but I have no doubt that I can do it if given the chance.
This semester, after reading week, my mental health issues recurred due to personal prompts, and left me unable to attend classes, participate in work load, meet assignment deadlines and attend midterms. During this time, I withdrew and continued to withdraw as the workload and problems built up and I was not able to face a decision on March 1st, the last drop date. I was alone, scared and worried and only able to make and attend appointments starting mid March to address missed work. The support network I established in first semester includes Dr. Butt, OT Tess Grant, QSAS Advisor Bonney Hunt and school counsellor Farrah Nanji and after consulting with them, we came to the conclusion that instead of withdrawing completely, it would be best to withdraw from some of the course load that had suffered most, and salvage what we could out of this semester.
It is with great difficulty that I admit I am overwhelmed and cannot handle the full-time exam period. I realize that this is beyond the drop deadline but the idea of losing all of my credits, my tuition, my GPA, and my efforts before the extenuating circumstances is depressing. I have been able to maintain passing marks this year, but I am no longer content with just scraping by. I was able to handle my course load for the duration of the first month and a half as my medication and mental health were going smoothly, so I am still avidly seeing my support network and doing my best to overcome these mental health issues. This will take a lot of dedication and time that requires a lighter course load then I have, but I have no doubt that I can do it if given the chance.