Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Naaman,
I am petitioning to obtain credit standing (CR) in HIST 109 (Winter 2025), PHIL 153 (Winter 2025), GPHY 101 (Fall 2024), ANAT 100 (Fall 2024) and HIST 246 (Winter 2026) as well as a delayed drop (DR) in Economics 256 (winter 2026).

I have struggled during my first two years here at Queen’s. In first year I believed that the issue was simply due to having difficulty transitioning from high school to university and from living at home with my family to residence accommodation with strangers. As second year started it quickly became apparent to me that there was a much deeper problem affecting my performance. First year classes were large and full of unfamiliar topics and people. I thought that the stress I felt and the desire to avoid those situations was just related to those issues. In second year, I was in smaller classes with people and material I recognized yet my apprehension was only increasing by the day. I was unable to sleep and was paralyzed by fear every time I prepared to go class. These feelings were extending to daily activities outside of school such that I was unable to leave the house. I knew at this point that this was much more than an adjustment problem and that I needed help to deal with what was clearly a worsening anxiety disorder. I reached out to my mom who arranged virtual counselling with a psychologist which I started in the fall of 2025. Although I was working hard to implement the strategies we devised, I was still losing ground in my coursework and as a result had a very unsatisfactory first term. Upon returning home for the Christmas break I met with my family physician to discuss my anxiety and started medication in addition to the cognitive therapy that I was working on with my counsellor. Returning for the winter 2026 term I had high expectations for my performance which in hindsight were unrealistic given the short period of counselling and medication I had received. While I was able to get to classes and begin functioning better in my activities outside of school, I was still struggling with attention and organizing my thoughts while studying and completing assignments. I was putting in effort but making minimal progress because of the chaos in my mind and I bounced back and forth between topics without being able to get a concrete grasp of the material. I made a virtual appointment with my family physician and she diagnosed me with ADHD in addition to the original anxiety diagnosis. As a result, I am now on both a stimulant medication for my ADHD and an SSRI for my anxiety. The Vyvanse was only started at the end of the term but I already feel it is effective.

During the 2025/26 academic year I also had a significant social stressors. I was involved in a relationship that I now recognize was very dysfunctional and detrimental to my mental health overall. This included a suicide attempt by my girlfriend on April 8, 2026 during preparations for the final exam period. She remained in the ICU on a ventilator for several days during which time it was not clear if she would survive. I did submit a consideration at that time but carried on and wrote all my exams nonetheless. I feel that this event had a significant impact on my performance during the exam period as well as during preparations for exams as I was trying to cope with her deteriorating mental health. My sister Charlotte who is also a Queen’s student and my biggest support in Kingston has been away on exchange in Switzerland this semester and I felt her absence most acutely during this time.

I have a concrete plan for academic success in place for the upcoming year. I will be continuing my weekly counselling sessions with my psychologist as well as having regular virtual assessments by my family physician to monitor my medications. My sister will again be in Kingston and will be a tremendous support daily. I have also moved on from the relationship I was involved in which I feel will undoubtedly improve my ability to focus on my academics. I am very motivated to remain in the honours economics/political science stream. I recognize that my performance in those areas has been inconsistent and that a solid foundation is necessary for future success. As a result, I plan to repeat my first-year political science courses as well as political science 242. I will also be repeating economics 212, 222, 231, 251 and 256. Seeing familiar material will allow me to work on my study skills so that I am better prepared for new material in third year. This grade remediation combined with approval of my petition will allow me to be well above the 2.6 GPA required for fourth year economics courses. I thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Ben Rooney.