Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 1232
Submitted: June 16, 2015 at 9:57:48 AM
First Name: Jiaxu
Last Name: Wei
Student Number: 10152525
Email: jessie.wei@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: ENGL
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am a first year going into second year Arts and Science student here at Queen¿¿s university. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw form Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year. Last year, I had an unfortunate family problem beyond my control that directly affected my academic performance. Last year in October, my mother and I saw my father cheating at our own house with another person. Then he also insisted on a divorce. My father and I have always been very close, and I was deeply shocked and hurt so was my mother. What followed were my parents¿¿ messy divorce, the endless lawsuit and my mother¿¿s depression. My mother got worse around Christmas and when I went home for the holidays one day I caught her trying to commit suicide. I was terrified and devastated. After I came back to Queen¿¿s in the second semester, I couldn¿¿t fall asleep at night because I felt like I had to call my mom (there is a 12 hour time difference between us because she went back to China) and check on her in case she does it again, she has been very unstable ever since. That made me exhausted and unable to focus in class. I was traumatized by what I saw and been through in that period of time, I started compulsive behaviors around March last year before exam season. For example, I started going to the bathroom countless times a day when it was unnecessary. I would go to the bathroom 5-6 times within an hour of studying. In March and April, when I was supposed to spend most of my time studying and doing my assignments, instead I was obsessed in spending hours and hours repeatedly doing these useless things such as turning the light on and off, washing my hands, going to the bathroom when it was unnecessary, and just trying to distinguish what¿¿s real and what is an invention of my mind. I believe that all of above severely affected my first year academic performance that I did not give my regular performance.
Luckily, as time passes by, my situation has been stabilized now, and also I'm planning to seek for professional help. I think I will be able to adjust well and continue in my studies in the fall. I hope I can get an opportunity.
Sincerely,
Jiaxu Wei
I am a first year going into second year Arts and Science student here at Queen¿¿s university. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw form Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year. Last year, I had an unfortunate family problem beyond my control that directly affected my academic performance. Last year in October, my mother and I saw my father cheating at our own house with another person. Then he also insisted on a divorce. My father and I have always been very close, and I was deeply shocked and hurt so was my mother. What followed were my parents¿¿ messy divorce, the endless lawsuit and my mother¿¿s depression. My mother got worse around Christmas and when I went home for the holidays one day I caught her trying to commit suicide. I was terrified and devastated. After I came back to Queen¿¿s in the second semester, I couldn¿¿t fall asleep at night because I felt like I had to call my mom (there is a 12 hour time difference between us because she went back to China) and check on her in case she does it again, she has been very unstable ever since. That made me exhausted and unable to focus in class. I was traumatized by what I saw and been through in that period of time, I started compulsive behaviors around March last year before exam season. For example, I started going to the bathroom countless times a day when it was unnecessary. I would go to the bathroom 5-6 times within an hour of studying. In March and April, when I was supposed to spend most of my time studying and doing my assignments, instead I was obsessed in spending hours and hours repeatedly doing these useless things such as turning the light on and off, washing my hands, going to the bathroom when it was unnecessary, and just trying to distinguish what¿¿s real and what is an invention of my mind. I believe that all of above severely affected my first year academic performance that I did not give my regular performance.
Luckily, as time passes by, my situation has been stabilized now, and also I'm planning to seek for professional help. I think I will be able to adjust well and continue in my studies in the fall. I hope I can get an opportunity.
Sincerely,
Jiaxu Wei
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: My future plan for achieving academic success next year is that I would take lighter course load, which is 4 courses per one semester, and I would take summer courses during summer holidays. That way my course load is stretched out throughout the whole year. I am currently taking 2 first year summer courses, repeating Devs 100 so that my GPA would be higher. I wanted to major in English so I¿¿m planning on repeating English 100 next year. I will also take advantage of the Queen¿¿s learning commons the next school year. Since I¿¿m in arts, I plan to attend Active Reading and Note-making in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences workshop in September to begin my second year. And I will attend those workshops (e.g. exam prep, midterm prep) regularly. I will book appointments with the writing centre to discuss my essays before I hand them in. Also, I¿¿m very proactive in seeking professional help in order to overcome my OCD and anxiety. I just consulted with Frontenac Community Mental Health and Addiction Services and I will get a counselor, so I can speak to a professional about my problems and then overcome them with their help. I can already see both of my mother and I moving on from that unfortunate event and the pain it has caused. My mother¿¿s seeing a therapist now so her situation¿¿s also been stabilized, which means that now I don¿¿t have to worry about her all the time.
Documentation
Professional Letter: letter from Shuling Liu lbl035-1.pdf