Petition Letter
To whom it may concern,
I am appealing to drop MATH 121 and ECON 212 past the academic deadline. During the first few months of 2020 my grandfather, who had been battling Parkinson's Disease for a number of years, had his health rapidly decline, and ultimately passed away on March 28th, 2020. Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, the majority of the family was unable to see him during his final few days, and were also unable to hold a celebration of life. This was an extremely difficult time for me, and after realizing the restrictions weren't going to be lifted anytime soon, we decided to go ahead ad bury his ashes with just our immediate family on June 18th, 2020. This brought up a whole wave of emotions I had been suppressing for weeks prior. I struggle with my mental health, and am medically diagnosed with a permanent disability due to this. My symptoms are particularly worse in times of high stress, and this, coupled with being a hypochondriac, made the entire COVID-19 pandemic as well as my Grandfathers passing, an extremely difficult time. I enrolled in summer courses, between his initial passing, and when we buried him, and hoped I would be able to keep my mind off of everything and get one step closer to my goal of graduating next year. Unfortunately, this obviously wasn't the case, as a class such as MATH 121 is a very intense course to take, especially condensed as it is over the summer term. Once I started experiencing a drastic increase in the symptoms related to my disability, I fell behind in some of my summer courses, and have been trying my hardest to catch up and submit deliverable material to the best of my ability. I have been able to catch up and do very well, in two other courses I am taking over the summer, ECON 223 and HLTH 230, but as I mentioned earlier, MATH 121 and ECON 212 are very intense, and fundamentally important to my degree so they are not classes in which I want to barely squeak by. During this summer I also reached out to my doctor, and QSAS and was granted a letter of accommodation to assist in scenarios where my disability significantly affects my ability to complete work to the best of my ability. This is a decision I wish I had made much sooner, as it it the only reason I was able to catch up in my other two courses this summer. QSAS has been extremely understanding and supportive of my situation, and has given me the added confidence that i desperately needed in my prior years here at Queen's. I have spoken with my professors regarding this situation, and due to my father undergoing heart surgery late next week, and the added stress that will undoubtedly bring, we decided instead of deferring the exams, it would be more beneficial to appeal to drop the courses, and take them in September when I will have a fresh start with the full support of QSAS. Moving forward I plan to continue my degree, with the goal of graduating in 2021. I will continue to frequently touch base with my QSAS advisor, who has been amazing, as well as the rest of my support system, to help get me though times which are mentally taxing, to help me reach my goals. Additionally, I plan to meet with an academic advisor to help me tweak my academic plan, to ensure I am not taking on too much too quickly, and to take into consideration the best way to complete the rest of my required courses. Included in this appeal is my letter of accommodation, my disability verification form filled out by my docotr, as well as my grandfathers obituary. I greatly appreciate you taking this time to consider my appeal.
Matheson Goff
I am appealing to drop MATH 121 and ECON 212 past the academic deadline. During the first few months of 2020 my grandfather, who had been battling Parkinson's Disease for a number of years, had his health rapidly decline, and ultimately passed away on March 28th, 2020. Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, the majority of the family was unable to see him during his final few days, and were also unable to hold a celebration of life. This was an extremely difficult time for me, and after realizing the restrictions weren't going to be lifted anytime soon, we decided to go ahead ad bury his ashes with just our immediate family on June 18th, 2020. This brought up a whole wave of emotions I had been suppressing for weeks prior. I struggle with my mental health, and am medically diagnosed with a permanent disability due to this. My symptoms are particularly worse in times of high stress, and this, coupled with being a hypochondriac, made the entire COVID-19 pandemic as well as my Grandfathers passing, an extremely difficult time. I enrolled in summer courses, between his initial passing, and when we buried him, and hoped I would be able to keep my mind off of everything and get one step closer to my goal of graduating next year. Unfortunately, this obviously wasn't the case, as a class such as MATH 121 is a very intense course to take, especially condensed as it is over the summer term. Once I started experiencing a drastic increase in the symptoms related to my disability, I fell behind in some of my summer courses, and have been trying my hardest to catch up and submit deliverable material to the best of my ability. I have been able to catch up and do very well, in two other courses I am taking over the summer, ECON 223 and HLTH 230, but as I mentioned earlier, MATH 121 and ECON 212 are very intense, and fundamentally important to my degree so they are not classes in which I want to barely squeak by. During this summer I also reached out to my doctor, and QSAS and was granted a letter of accommodation to assist in scenarios where my disability significantly affects my ability to complete work to the best of my ability. This is a decision I wish I had made much sooner, as it it the only reason I was able to catch up in my other two courses this summer. QSAS has been extremely understanding and supportive of my situation, and has given me the added confidence that i desperately needed in my prior years here at Queen's. I have spoken with my professors regarding this situation, and due to my father undergoing heart surgery late next week, and the added stress that will undoubtedly bring, we decided instead of deferring the exams, it would be more beneficial to appeal to drop the courses, and take them in September when I will have a fresh start with the full support of QSAS. Moving forward I plan to continue my degree, with the goal of graduating in 2021. I will continue to frequently touch base with my QSAS advisor, who has been amazing, as well as the rest of my support system, to help get me though times which are mentally taxing, to help me reach my goals. Additionally, I plan to meet with an academic advisor to help me tweak my academic plan, to ensure I am not taking on too much too quickly, and to take into consideration the best way to complete the rest of my required courses. Included in this appeal is my letter of accommodation, my disability verification form filled out by my docotr, as well as my grandfathers obituary. I greatly appreciate you taking this time to consider my appeal.
Matheson Goff