Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 1226
Submitted: June 15, 2015 at 11:12:06 PM
First Name: Sinan
Last Name: Malik
Student Number: 10028329
Email: 1sm40@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BCP
Plan: COMP
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,
My name is Sinan Malik, and I am a student at Queens University. My student number is 10028329. A few weeks ago I was made aware of a requirement placed upon me to withdraw from the University for one year.
I am appealing this decision on the grounds that this past year I have been experiencing extraordinary personal circumstances that have adversely affected my mental health and my studies, and I do not believe my recent performance is indicative of what I am can achieve. A number of personal circumstances have interfered with my ability to manage my anxiety. My anxiety over the last year has become unmanageable, to the point where it has physical effects on my day-to-day life.
In the first term of this past academic year, I found out that a woman whom I had gotten into an accident with about a year previously was suing me for personal damages due to the accident. This was a very stressful situation, as I have never had someone pursue legal action towards me, and I felt I had cooperated to the fullest extent with regards to filing a timely accident report and informing my insurance company. Later on in the term, my home was broken into and a number of personal effects were stolen. This contributed to a feeling of insecurity and lack of control, and it manifested itself in my behavior as a compulsive need to seal up windows in my home I felt were not safe.
In my second term, I was taking a Math course and I was working hard to do my very best. I received an A-, a B+ and an A on three out of four of my tests during the term. As policy allowed it, I could choose to drop one out of four of the tests. I did so, but when I wrote the exam, my mark fell from an A- to a D. My performance during the final exam itself severely hampered my previous academic efforts. I feel this is a good example of the fact that I have been held back by my ability to write exams. My stress level during exams is so intense that often at the start of the exam, I do nothing for up to 45 minutes, as I do not know where to begin or how to properly handle the exam. This is in spite of the fact that I have been keeping up with assignments and covering the course material as much as possible throughout the term. This inability to begin exam-writing has come up multiple times in courses I have taken, and once I have used up this much of the exam period panicking, I find it very difficult to calm myself down and continue as usual. I feel this too has hindered my ability to think clearly and apply my knowledge properly to the task at hand. Failing to perform on these exams despite putting in so much effort during the term seriously undermined my confidence, and made it even more difficult to engage fully in my studies as the year went on.
I had planned on appealing the courses from the first term of this past academic year, but I my feelings of not being deserving of a second chance as well as my worsening fear of failure caused me to put the appeals off and the deadline passed.
As well, my partner and I got into a very serious car accident last April for which my insurance company refused pay for any repairs. I have had to be the middle-man in negotiating with my partners' parents and my own. My father is very unreasonable, threatening legal action against my partner if I cannot convince their parents to help pay for repairs. This too has made it very difficult to approach my family about other problems while I am dealing with the issue of trying to have my car repaired.
More than anything I feel that a huge source of anxiety in my life is that at the beginning of this academic year I came out to myself as gay, and came to terms with that fact. This was initially difficult for me to come to terms with, as while my partner is incredibly supportive, my family and home situation are the polar opposite. My family moved to Canada about 7 years ago, and we are Pakistani. My parents are quite religious, and as such, they are of the opinion that being gay is both wrong and is a choice. At the moment I am not out to my parents. I have one younger brother who is also attending a different university, but I am not out to him either, as he has expressed extremely agressive and homophobic views to me in the recent past. Bringing up the topic of being gay is risky enough for me at the moment, as no one in my family believes they even know a gay person in their day-to-day lives, much less that it could be someone in their immediate family. I know they would not understand, because in the past they have told me directly they hold this viewpoint, obviously not realizing that I am, in fact, a member of the group for whom they hold such disdain. This issue has been a large source of anxiety for me, as my family does not know my full identity and they are very important to me. When in the past I had considered coming out to them, I remembered instances in which my mother and brother have both espoused very homophobic points of view and I retreat back to the safety of staying in the closet. I am reliant on them both financially and to be able to see other members of my extended family, and a huge worry for me is that when I do come out, they will not allow me to see any family members again and that they will refuse to have anything to do with me. This issue has kept me up and nights and truly caused a great deal of stress. Throughout this year as I began to associate with other queer-identified people, outside of my regular friends groups, I felt better about not being alone but at the same time more scared than ever about losing my family and my connection to home. It was only at the very end of this year that I have been coming out to my longtime friends and finding relief in their reactions.
The fact that these issues have been coming up for me while I have been trying to focus on my schoolwork has only diluted my attention to most of them, causing me to neglect my friends, stop pursuing my hobbies, and freezing under pressure when I most need to perform academically. I would ask that you please take them into account when making your decision regarding this appeal.
My strategies for managing my anxiety and my plan for moving forward academically are outlined in my academic plan, included as part of this appeal.
I have really been struggling with a number of issues and I am trying to find help and resources. I feel a constant source of anxiety within myself, and I do not believe leaving the University for a year will be productive in solving them. As my parents leave the country each academic year to go back to Pakistan when I am at school, I would be alone for a year and unable to engage with any of my peers to find strategies to help manage my anxiety or to come to terms with my identity. I believe it would cause more harm than good to my mental health and I would ask to please be able to remain to face my problems head-on.
Thank you. I hope you hear from you soon.
Respectfully yours,
Sinan Malik
My name is Sinan Malik, and I am a student at Queens University. My student number is 10028329. A few weeks ago I was made aware of a requirement placed upon me to withdraw from the University for one year.
I am appealing this decision on the grounds that this past year I have been experiencing extraordinary personal circumstances that have adversely affected my mental health and my studies, and I do not believe my recent performance is indicative of what I am can achieve. A number of personal circumstances have interfered with my ability to manage my anxiety. My anxiety over the last year has become unmanageable, to the point where it has physical effects on my day-to-day life.
In the first term of this past academic year, I found out that a woman whom I had gotten into an accident with about a year previously was suing me for personal damages due to the accident. This was a very stressful situation, as I have never had someone pursue legal action towards me, and I felt I had cooperated to the fullest extent with regards to filing a timely accident report and informing my insurance company. Later on in the term, my home was broken into and a number of personal effects were stolen. This contributed to a feeling of insecurity and lack of control, and it manifested itself in my behavior as a compulsive need to seal up windows in my home I felt were not safe.
In my second term, I was taking a Math course and I was working hard to do my very best. I received an A-, a B+ and an A on three out of four of my tests during the term. As policy allowed it, I could choose to drop one out of four of the tests. I did so, but when I wrote the exam, my mark fell from an A- to a D. My performance during the final exam itself severely hampered my previous academic efforts. I feel this is a good example of the fact that I have been held back by my ability to write exams. My stress level during exams is so intense that often at the start of the exam, I do nothing for up to 45 minutes, as I do not know where to begin or how to properly handle the exam. This is in spite of the fact that I have been keeping up with assignments and covering the course material as much as possible throughout the term. This inability to begin exam-writing has come up multiple times in courses I have taken, and once I have used up this much of the exam period panicking, I find it very difficult to calm myself down and continue as usual. I feel this too has hindered my ability to think clearly and apply my knowledge properly to the task at hand. Failing to perform on these exams despite putting in so much effort during the term seriously undermined my confidence, and made it even more difficult to engage fully in my studies as the year went on.
I had planned on appealing the courses from the first term of this past academic year, but I my feelings of not being deserving of a second chance as well as my worsening fear of failure caused me to put the appeals off and the deadline passed.
As well, my partner and I got into a very serious car accident last April for which my insurance company refused pay for any repairs. I have had to be the middle-man in negotiating with my partners' parents and my own. My father is very unreasonable, threatening legal action against my partner if I cannot convince their parents to help pay for repairs. This too has made it very difficult to approach my family about other problems while I am dealing with the issue of trying to have my car repaired.
More than anything I feel that a huge source of anxiety in my life is that at the beginning of this academic year I came out to myself as gay, and came to terms with that fact. This was initially difficult for me to come to terms with, as while my partner is incredibly supportive, my family and home situation are the polar opposite. My family moved to Canada about 7 years ago, and we are Pakistani. My parents are quite religious, and as such, they are of the opinion that being gay is both wrong and is a choice. At the moment I am not out to my parents. I have one younger brother who is also attending a different university, but I am not out to him either, as he has expressed extremely agressive and homophobic views to me in the recent past. Bringing up the topic of being gay is risky enough for me at the moment, as no one in my family believes they even know a gay person in their day-to-day lives, much less that it could be someone in their immediate family. I know they would not understand, because in the past they have told me directly they hold this viewpoint, obviously not realizing that I am, in fact, a member of the group for whom they hold such disdain. This issue has been a large source of anxiety for me, as my family does not know my full identity and they are very important to me. When in the past I had considered coming out to them, I remembered instances in which my mother and brother have both espoused very homophobic points of view and I retreat back to the safety of staying in the closet. I am reliant on them both financially and to be able to see other members of my extended family, and a huge worry for me is that when I do come out, they will not allow me to see any family members again and that they will refuse to have anything to do with me. This issue has kept me up and nights and truly caused a great deal of stress. Throughout this year as I began to associate with other queer-identified people, outside of my regular friends groups, I felt better about not being alone but at the same time more scared than ever about losing my family and my connection to home. It was only at the very end of this year that I have been coming out to my longtime friends and finding relief in their reactions.
The fact that these issues have been coming up for me while I have been trying to focus on my schoolwork has only diluted my attention to most of them, causing me to neglect my friends, stop pursuing my hobbies, and freezing under pressure when I most need to perform academically. I would ask that you please take them into account when making your decision regarding this appeal.
My strategies for managing my anxiety and my plan for moving forward academically are outlined in my academic plan, included as part of this appeal.
I have really been struggling with a number of issues and I am trying to find help and resources. I feel a constant source of anxiety within myself, and I do not believe leaving the University for a year will be productive in solving them. As my parents leave the country each academic year to go back to Pakistan when I am at school, I would be alone for a year and unable to engage with any of my peers to find strategies to help manage my anxiety or to come to terms with my identity. I believe it would cause more harm than good to my mental health and I would ask to please be able to remain to face my problems head-on.
Thank you. I hope you hear from you soon.
Respectfully yours,
Sinan Malik
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: To whom it may concern,
My name is Sinan Malik, and I am a student at Queens University. My student number is 10028329. A few weeks ago I was made aware of a requirement placed upon me to withdraw from the University for one year. This is my Academic Plan to deal with the circumstances outlined in my letter, included as part of this appeal.
At the moment I am enrolled in the General School of Computing here at Queens. However I have encountered difficulties in my studies thus far. I do not believe this is due to a difficulty I have with the course content, and rather I am far more capable of managing my courseload and content outside exam situations. I have very severe anxiety which causes me, to this day, to freeze up during the exam writing period and does not allow me to properly apply the knowledge and skills I develop during the term. I am retaking a course I failed this past term during the summer session. It is my hope that as I am managing my anxiety through a number of different methods, I will be able to do much better than I have in the past and this will help to raise my GPA. I also intend to retake certain courses I failed this past year in order to achieve the grades I know I am capable of achieving. As well, I do not intend to keep my plan in the General School of Computing. It is, and has been my intention to switch into the Cognitive Science stream in the School of Computing, which has a larger focus on non-computing courses. In the past I have done better in my Philosophy courses, and as Cognitive Science can have a Philosophy focus, this is what I wish to pursue. I have been unable to do so, however, as my GPA is as yet not high enough to switch into this stream. I believe I would be able to apply my strong analytic and communication skills in the courses that make up the Cognitive Science major in order to achieve higher grades and raise my GPA.
As I indicated in my letter, I have been experiencing a number of issues that have caused very serious anxiety in both my day-to-day life as well as during exam-writing situations. I approached my family doctor once I realized that the anxiety I had been facing has seriously adversely affected my academic performance, and she has referred me to a psychiatrist, so that if necessary I can be prescribed anti-anxiety medication to control my episodes of very serious anxiety. It is my intention to begin treatment as soon as possible, presuming the psychiatrist my family doctor has referred me to agrees that it is in the best interest of my mental health. As well, I have been going to the 519 Center while in Toronto to attend weekly support meetings for LGBTQ identified youth in order to come out to my family. I have also been in contact with a psychologist while I am in Toronto for counseling services
I have also reached out to Disability Services at Queens in order to receive an accommodation during my exam-writing period so that this does not happen again. I want to achieve the academic success I experience through the term reflected my in final exams as well, and I will take any further action necessary to prevent a repeat of the circumstances that brought me here.
While learning to fully manage my anxiety will continue to be a issue at hand for me, I believe the support network I have been working hard to create will help me succeed academically. Between my weekly meetings with people in similar situations, my upcoming psychiatrist appointment, my ongoing counseling appointments, and the fact I am and have been coming out to my friends, I believe I can manage my anxiety and focus my energy in a healthy productive way to be as successful as I can. Regardless of whether my appeal is granted, I will continue to seek counseling services to help me manage both my anxiety and the issues I am facing in my home life. I just want to express that I know I have not been performing to par, but that I am truly working as hard as I can to manage these circumstances and make sure that my academic future is more successful than I have experienced thus far. I hope this helps you understand the measures I have been taking to alleviate my situation. I have a serious interest in continuing my studies here at Queens this upcoming fall, and will be continuing to grow my support network so that upon returning to university I will be able to experience the success of which I know that I am capable.
Thank you. I hope you hear from you soon.
Respectfully yours,
Sinan Malik
My name is Sinan Malik, and I am a student at Queens University. My student number is 10028329. A few weeks ago I was made aware of a requirement placed upon me to withdraw from the University for one year. This is my Academic Plan to deal with the circumstances outlined in my letter, included as part of this appeal.
At the moment I am enrolled in the General School of Computing here at Queens. However I have encountered difficulties in my studies thus far. I do not believe this is due to a difficulty I have with the course content, and rather I am far more capable of managing my courseload and content outside exam situations. I have very severe anxiety which causes me, to this day, to freeze up during the exam writing period and does not allow me to properly apply the knowledge and skills I develop during the term. I am retaking a course I failed this past term during the summer session. It is my hope that as I am managing my anxiety through a number of different methods, I will be able to do much better than I have in the past and this will help to raise my GPA. I also intend to retake certain courses I failed this past year in order to achieve the grades I know I am capable of achieving. As well, I do not intend to keep my plan in the General School of Computing. It is, and has been my intention to switch into the Cognitive Science stream in the School of Computing, which has a larger focus on non-computing courses. In the past I have done better in my Philosophy courses, and as Cognitive Science can have a Philosophy focus, this is what I wish to pursue. I have been unable to do so, however, as my GPA is as yet not high enough to switch into this stream. I believe I would be able to apply my strong analytic and communication skills in the courses that make up the Cognitive Science major in order to achieve higher grades and raise my GPA.
As I indicated in my letter, I have been experiencing a number of issues that have caused very serious anxiety in both my day-to-day life as well as during exam-writing situations. I approached my family doctor once I realized that the anxiety I had been facing has seriously adversely affected my academic performance, and she has referred me to a psychiatrist, so that if necessary I can be prescribed anti-anxiety medication to control my episodes of very serious anxiety. It is my intention to begin treatment as soon as possible, presuming the psychiatrist my family doctor has referred me to agrees that it is in the best interest of my mental health. As well, I have been going to the 519 Center while in Toronto to attend weekly support meetings for LGBTQ identified youth in order to come out to my family. I have also been in contact with a psychologist while I am in Toronto for counseling services
I have also reached out to Disability Services at Queens in order to receive an accommodation during my exam-writing period so that this does not happen again. I want to achieve the academic success I experience through the term reflected my in final exams as well, and I will take any further action necessary to prevent a repeat of the circumstances that brought me here.
While learning to fully manage my anxiety will continue to be a issue at hand for me, I believe the support network I have been working hard to create will help me succeed academically. Between my weekly meetings with people in similar situations, my upcoming psychiatrist appointment, my ongoing counseling appointments, and the fact I am and have been coming out to my friends, I believe I can manage my anxiety and focus my energy in a healthy productive way to be as successful as I can. Regardless of whether my appeal is granted, I will continue to seek counseling services to help me manage both my anxiety and the issues I am facing in my home life. I just want to express that I know I have not been performing to par, but that I am truly working as hard as I can to manage these circumstances and make sure that my academic future is more successful than I have experienced thus far. I hope this helps you understand the measures I have been taking to alleviate my situation. I have a serious interest in continuing my studies here at Queens this upcoming fall, and will be continuing to grow my support network so that upon returning to university I will be able to experience the success of which I know that I am capable.
Thank you. I hope you hear from you soon.
Respectfully yours,
Sinan Malik
Documentation
Professional Letter: Sinan Malik Medical Note-0.jpeg
Professional Letter Detail: Letter from Medical Proffesional
Documentation Detail: Letter from Students' Partner