ed miliband
26th March 2012, 17:13
as some of you may remember at the end of last year i was suffering from depression. i think it was mostly caused by anxiety about starting university, not liking most of the people i was living with, and "self-medicating" with alcohol - a vicious circle. this term has been much better (enjoy my course, met lots of new people, etc etc) but for about three weeks at the beginning of term i was still in a pretty bad way, and as such i did very little in that time but sleep, drink and browse the net. i didn't read any of my course material and didn't attend many lectures or seminars.
by the time i had recovered fully, the first round of essays for the term were due (three of 'em) and so i explained my situation and my department were sympathetic and gave me a fair bit of time to complete the work. i also do a history elective, and my history essay was due at the end of the extended period that i had been granted. i explained to the history department that i probably wouldn't be able to submit the essay on time and asked for a very modest extension of two days (actually extremely modest when you consider my dept gave me a months extention of their own accord) to make sure i could produce something satisfactory.
now i've received an email from the history dept asking for a note from my doctor to "prove" my story, and if i can't provide it my essay will not be marked and i'll essentially fail the module. however doctor's notes are only necessary if you apply for an extension on medical grounds - i didn't. i asked for an extension because i was ill at the beginning of term and this caused me to fall behind, which i think is understandable. i can hardly go to the doctor to ask for a note about something that happened over two months ago, especially something as subjective as a depressive episode. the joke is if i handed in the essay two days late without specifying a reason or asking for an extension i would have lost ten marks, yet for being honest (about something very personal...) re: my situation i'm being quite severely punished.
what's the best way to approach this?
by the time i had recovered fully, the first round of essays for the term were due (three of 'em) and so i explained my situation and my department were sympathetic and gave me a fair bit of time to complete the work. i also do a history elective, and my history essay was due at the end of the extended period that i had been granted. i explained to the history department that i probably wouldn't be able to submit the essay on time and asked for a very modest extension of two days (actually extremely modest when you consider my dept gave me a months extention of their own accord) to make sure i could produce something satisfactory.
now i've received an email from the history dept asking for a note from my doctor to "prove" my story, and if i can't provide it my essay will not be marked and i'll essentially fail the module. however doctor's notes are only necessary if you apply for an extension on medical grounds - i didn't. i asked for an extension because i was ill at the beginning of term and this caused me to fall behind, which i think is understandable. i can hardly go to the doctor to ask for a note about something that happened over two months ago, especially something as subjective as a depressive episode. the joke is if i handed in the essay two days late without specifying a reason or asking for an extension i would have lost ten marks, yet for being honest (about something very personal...) re: my situation i'm being quite severely punished.
what's the best way to approach this?