Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,
Subject: Petition to waive the requirement to withdraw for one year from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

I am writing to request special consideration to waive the requirement to withdraw for one year. There are several factors that have contributed to the decline of my academic grades starting in fall 2022 to spring 2024. I am solely responsible for this downfall of my academic standing and am determined to turn it around. I am presenting my case for you to consider the extenuating circumstances that have affected my academic performance over the past 2 years.

Fall of 2022
Two major reasons contributed to the decline in my academic grades starting in 2022.
1) Volleyball
I was the most touted and recruited high school volleyball player in Canada in 2020. I chose Queens University for its strong academic and volleyball programs. Although 18-22 hrs of weekly practice and weekend OUA competitions took time away from academics, I managed to balance my volleyball schedule and academics for the first two years. However, circumstances started to change in my third year. Despite my high skill level and without any valid reasons, I was not given any playing time on the court. The lack of constructive feedback regarding this decision left me confused and disheartened. Feeling more and more discouraged as the season progressed, the resulting depression led to a motivational decline and disinterest in my academic, volleyball and social activities on campus. My self confidence was severely affected.

As the joy I always felt playing volleyball started to disappear, I began to consider leaving the team at the midpoint of the 2022 season. This was initially discouraged by my father as he strongly believed it was important to honour my commitment to the team despite the challenging situation I was in. However, he later came to support this decision after recognizing the toll it was taking on my mental health.


2) Family Health
My grandfather, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020, started to exhibit increasing confusion and deterioration in judgement. In addition to personality and behavioural changes, he began to need assistance with daily routine activities. I would go home every 3 weeks to help with the increasing care that my grandfather required.

Fall of 2023
My grandfather started to display signs of severe dementia in fall 2023. There was an extreme decline in his cognitive abilities as well as increasingly aggressive behavioural changes. As a result of his violent physical behaviour, he was not a candidate for a long-term care home. PSW (Personal Support Worker) homecare support for his daily personal care was also not possible due to his physical aggression. My father took on the role of primary caretaker and I began to return home every weekend to assist him with the increasingly difficult talk of caring for my grandfather. This involved staying awake at night to calm his nocturnal hallucinations and violent physical behaviour. On January 30, 2024, my grandfather was admitted to the emergency room of Markham Stouffville Hospital where the doctors advised placing him in palliative care. However, he made a remarkable recovery and was transferred to the Recovery Department after 1 week. His violent physical behaviour required me to go daily to the hospital to feed him as the nurses were unable to handle him. He remained in hospital for 1 month until being discharged in our care. I remained home for the month he was in hospital as well as following his discharge. Home modifications were needed as he was no longer mobile or verbal. I stayed to help with the necessary preparations before returning to campus at the beginning of March.
My grandfather passed away on March 22, 2024. I returned home once again to assist my dad with the funeral arrangements. The service and burial was delayed until April 6, 2024 to accommodate the arrival of my uncles and relatives from abroad.
I prolonged my stay at home to be with my father who had a difficult time grieving the loss of grandfather. As this was our first time experiencing the loss of a family member, it was a difficult and challenging time for everyone. My academics took a backseat for those two months.
Discussing mental health concerns is often a taboo in our Asian culture. As a result, I struggled to talk about my increasing depression and did not seek any professional help at the time. I thought that I could catch up on my studies when they started to suffer.

The requirement to withdraw for one year notice dated May 24, 2024 meant I could no longer hide my academic standing from my father. He was disappointed and angry but reassured me that my mental health takes priority. He understands the obstacles that contributed to my academic decline and has encouraged me to seek professional help to address my mental health concerns. He fully supports my strong commitment to continuing my academic path provided it is done with focus and attention.