Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Patrick Sakamoto
19 Hillendale Avenue
Kingston, ON., K7M 1S2
April 29, 2015

Dr. Johanne Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen¿¿s University
94 University Avenue
Kingston, ON., K7L 3N6

To Dr. Johanne Bénard:

I am appealing to drop ENGL 200 (F/W 2015), ENGL 234 (Winter 2015), ENGL 237 (Winter 2015), ENGL 259 (Winter 2015), ENGL 271 (Winter 2015), and ENGL 278 (Winter 2015) after the course drop deadline.

The reason for this appeal is due to the domestic and family problems that have occurred over the past year. Mid way through October of 2014, my grandfather became very ill and was hospitalized due to these health issues. Due to the structure of our family and cultural background I was obligated to travel to and from Kingston and Mississauga repeatedly every few days. As the eldest grandson, it was my responsibility to return home and care for him in any way possible. These responsibilities included, but were not limited to, taking him to scheduled appointments, running errands for both of my grandparents as well as assisting with documentation organization for my father¿¿s records regarding my grandfather¿¿s care. Such documentation included receipts for medical treatments and medications. While it was certainly my intention to succeed this past school year, my responsibility for my family, as dictated by my cultural background, forced me into a position I could not avoid or work around. This caused me to miss a large portion of classes and assignments, leading to my inability to perform well in the fall semester. With a full course load of five classes in the semester, the four weeks of constant travel led to my inability to complete the semester.

I began the winter semester attending all of my classes. However, on January 15th I was notified by my parents that a very close family friend had lost her battle against cancer. Although I knew that she was under treatments of chemotherapy, I was unaware of how her situation was progressing. She was in her mid-forties, and left behind a single dad caring for three children, all of which are under the age of 12. Upon receiving the news, it was demanded of me by my parents that I return home to assist with funeral arrangements and caring for the children. During this time, their family made arrangements to find a new place to live. I was made responsible for helping with the move using my vehicle to transport belongings. Because of this, I missed an additional month and a half of classes, causing me to miss the mid-term essay deadlines for all of the winter courses. By the time I was able to return to Kingston on Tuesday, March 3rd and bring focus back on my studies, the course drop deadline of February 27th had already passed. The stress and grief I was dealing with brought all of my focus to my family, which in turn caused me to miss the course drop deadline. I did not have the opportunity to check on my academic situation during this time, and by the time I had the chance to sit down and figure out what to do, it was already too late. I continued to work through the semester on my academics but, due to monetary constraints, I was forced to find work to pay off rent and insurance on my vehicle in order to stay in Kingston.

After switching majors from Philosophy to English at the end of the 2014 winter term, I was certain that I would succeed in my studies. I firmly believe that the Fall 2014-Winter 2015 year is not related to my ability to perform in the English stream. Due to the circumstances I have endured this year, my performance this year is not a reflection of what I will achieve in the future. My academic plan is to retake these courses in the upcoming year. I will not take a course load of five courses per semester, but rather four classes per semester to focus my efforts on my studies. I have spoken to a personal counsellor as well as an academic advisor regarding this past year and have identified several methods which will assist in the year to come. I will make the effort to contact the academic advisement office at the beginning of the upcoming school year in order to seek advice regarding my academic progress. I have found a summer job and will be working for the duration of the summer to ensure I have the necessary funding to attend classes and pay for tuition, rent, and insurance for the year to come. I have also been informed by the personal counsellor that I am welcome to speak with her if an instance arises which will cause additional emotional and psychological stress.
Sincerely,
Patrick Sakamoto