Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Gracyn McPhail

20490578

24dfyj@queensu.ca

June 9, 2025

Dear Associate Dean,



I am submitting this petition to waive the requirement to withdraw for 1 year due to extenuating circumstances faced last year which affected my academic learning and success. During the September 2024- May 2025 school year I battled many challenges which included depression, anxiety, stress about money, and most of all, the PSAC strike. Throughout the entire year I suffered from depression and anxiety which made it near impossible to settle into the transition from high school to university. I have never dealt with mental illness before but I felt lost and alone causing me to spiral. Once I finally felt I was starting to be well adjusted to Queens, the PSAC strike began which strongly affected all of my courses as I am an arts and science major. This strike took away all support from Ta's and professors, changed the format of my classes, and caused all of my exams to be modified. For example, I took Psych 101 in both first and second semester of last year. Due to the strike, all lectures and labs for psych 101 were cancelled because our professor for the second half of the course was a student teacher. Due to this, we were given no time in class with a professor or lab time with a Ta. Psych 101 is already known to be one of queens more complex and tough classes which we were then forced to learn on our own and online. On top of lectures and labs being canceled, many of my exams were affected because professors were forced to change the weighting and layout of them. Such as, my psych 101 exam became entirely multiple choice without a single long or short answer question. My math exam also became almost entirely multiple choice which is not how we practiced our questions in class. The PSAC strike was an unavoidable event beyond my control which directly affected and ruined my first year at Queens university.

Throughout all of high school I was a strong student who consistently performed well academically allowing me to be accepted to Queens university with an 86 average. Therefore, this past academic year is not reflective of my work ethic or ability to perform in school. Due to the extenuating circumstances of the PSAC strike and my mental health, I was unable to fully perform academically as I know I can. I know that if I am given the opportunity to come back to queens this September I will succeed.

Please waive the withdrawal requirement and allow me to return to Queens for the September 2025-May 2026 school year to prove my academic ability and to continue my university career.


Sincerely Gracyn McPhail