Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: This petition to waive the deadline regarding late petition acceptance covers a lot of the same ground that an actual petition letter would. Due to exentuating circumstances I was left unaware of the letter informing me about the Requirement to Withdraw for 1 year. Those extenuating circumstances are the death of my step-maternal grandmother with whom I had a close relationship, this event while personally impactful was not longterm, instead the secondary effects of this became my extenuating circumstances. Up until recently both of my parents were employed full-time, with my two younger siblings currently enrolled in elementary school. The death of my grandmother Margaret left my grandfather Walter without a carer, he is physically well for the most part but mentally quite frail. Due to conflicts and hesitancy within the family he has not been diagnosed with Alzheimers or any other memory related mental deficiency, however it cannot be denied. Being a person of his age practically left him without the means to care for himself after his wife who had performed all the domestic labor had passed and combined with his short term memory losses it was decided that he would be better cared for if he moved in with my family. Having the equivalent of a third small child at home who could not be sent away to a daycare or elementary school proved taxing on my parents. My grandfather could not be trusted to stay in the house by himself, there were a few times where he being in fine physical condition would go for walks only to later become lost once he had ventured long enough. I know my parents had to contact the police on at least one occasion in their efforts to find him. Due to this extenuating circumstance on top of looking after two small children, I moved back home temporarily. I won’t say I became his primary caretaker, his daughter (my step mother) certainly fulfilled that role, but I took on the responsibilities of an adult babysitter during the school days. Alternatively helping out with my little siblings to help facilitate a fuller coverage of care, relieving my parents whenever extenuating circumstances on their end prevented them from doing so. This was taxing. He would oftentimes forget where he was, or that his wife had passed. He grew to be impatient, suspicious and frustrated with the situation purely resulting from the confusion of change in scenery and company. This went on for months. All this time I’d attempted to keep up with my studies at night or on the off chance that he was occupied with other things during the day. It was difficult, and I was not up to the task. Knowing that I was in pretty rough academic standing, I chose to shut down and avoid whatever repercussions I suspected but dared not contemplate would come my way. I dutifully wrote my exams, even performing well on a couple of them, and afterwards completely shut out my academic life, instead rededicating myself to my domestic front and finding respite whenever I could. However, two weeks ago I helped my family move my grandfather into a retirement home, renting a U-haul and personally loading and unloading his belongings. Afterwards I returned to Kingston where I was still paying rent in search of employment. I’ve been dedicated to that uphill battle these last two weeks. It was only yesterday June 25th 2023 that I became aware firstly of the Requirement to Withdraw letter and accompanying deadline. Now that my domestic household no longer requires additional support, I can apply myself once more to my academic track, which I admit I had struggled with even in my first year due to shutting down in the Winter semester of 2022. In any event I believe I’ve properly outlined my extenuating circumstances and now that he has been moved into an old age home, those circumstances has resolved themselves, not that he no longer requires care but that he is in effect no longer in my charge. I know I’m a bit of a charity case, so I ask for pity and understanding. I’m hopeful that my third year at Queens University will be an opportunity to recover my academic standing and if given the opportunity I hope to restore faith not only in you the faculty but also in myself. Thank you for your consideration.