Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I have just completed my first year at Queen's in the Faculty of Arts and Science and I am in the Bachelor of Science (Honours) program. I'm appealing to drop BIOL 103, CHEM 112, MATH 121, and PHYS 117 and I'm also appealing for credit standing in PSYC 100 and BIOL 102.
The extenuating circumstance that affected my ability to perform academically that was beyond my control was an internal conflict within my family. More specifically, the arrest of my father on July 23rd 2015 who was charged with uttering threats of death or bodily harm and assault with weapon, and the restraining order that was placed on my father by the police on July 23rd 2015 and was dropped on September 2nd 2015. As a result of the incident that occurred in the late summer, I carried immense feelings of anger, confusion and distress from the events of that period of time which left a traumatic effect on my mental state.
The situation as outlined above had a direct effect on my academic performance as there were numerous traumatic aspects of the incident, which resulted in feelings of severe depression, isolation and paralyzing anxiety throughout my first year at Queen's. Additionally flashbacks of the incident resurfaced on numerous occasions during the first few weeks of University of while I tried to make friends within the halls of residence building I would call home for the many months to follow, and in the lecture halls where I expended a tremendous amount energy trying to absorb the contents despite the overwhelming anxiety and depression I was feeling.
I started having difficulties academically as early as the first week in Chemistry 112 when the grueling state of my mental health made actions such as taking the time necessary to explore Moodle website to locate what I needed to prepare for my labs and lectures, something that absolutely paralyzed me with anxiety. As a result, I was extremely under-prepared for the first week of lectures as I had not completed the pre-reading, and for my first chemistry lab session as I had not read the lab manual as thoroughly as needed. More so, work from each of the 6 courses I was taking suffered equally as I did not read any of the material beforehand to prepare myself sufficiently for the first few weeks of the first semester because my anxiety and depression had taken an excruciating toll on my mental state and I was unable to focus on the assigned work during all of first semester as a result. This left me unable to focus and work at my highest academic standing and thus reflected well into my academic performance in my second semester as I had a poor understanding from first semester.
During this time I did not consult with a healthcare professional or personal counsellor, as I wanted to consult with someone I had a more personal relationship with and not an individual I had never interacted with before. Thus I opted out of using a help line to confide my problems in and was filled with filled with anxiety about seeking out the help of a counsellor.
It wasn't until the end of the second semester that I realized the extent of how much trouble I was in, academically and mentally and realized that I needed to deal with my problems head on. As such, I took it upon myself to visit an academic advisor. I started using academic advising support on March 1st 2015 and scheduled several meetings with different academic advisors and finally opened up about what had happened in the summer and discussed the options that were available to tend to my mental health and academic needs. Shortly after these meetings I made a meeting to see the residence outreach counsellor on campus Nadia, had the first session on March 23, 2016 and had a total of 4 sessions with her to work through my problems at hand in the time I remained on campus. From there I made an appointment to consult with an on-campus physician Dr. L. Forster on April 12, 2016 who made a referral to a psychiatrist in Kingston to discuss the best course of treatment. It was suggested that I may benefit from counselling for trauma, group therapy, weekly physical exercise and from medication; however, the decision of medication was ultimately left up to a psychiatrist at the Personality Disorder Services LaSalle Mews in Kingston, Ontario that I am going to see on June 27th 2016. Additionally, I also in the process of finding counselling in my home city, Toronto for my history of family issues including physical and emotional abuse. Furthermore, the circumstances affecting my mental health and academics are being managed by seeking professional help so that they will not have a significant and detrimental effect on my future academic performance.
Upon my return to Queens in the fall for the upcoming year, I plan on making many paramount changes in order to achieve a successful return that adheres to the extensive areas of my health as an individual.
I plan to start by reaching out to the Professors and Teaching Assistants in my future courses by making substantial use of the many tools for learning that they have too offer to better my academic performance, as I strongly believe that this is an integral part in striving for a successful year back at Queens.
I plan to use the Student experience page as a compass, I intend to use the copious services offered, such as the Student Academic Success Services, The Student Wellness Services, and the Student Experience Office SOAR Videos to strengthen and hone my academic abilities to better prepare me for the challenges in the coming year ahead that will enable me to reach my highest potential as an individual both academically and mentally.
In addition to my academic success I also intend to take the necessary steps for ensuring that my mental health is also in check. I intend on lightening my course load by taking only 5 courses instead of 6 as I now understand the brutal consequences of biting off more than I can chew with my courses. I also intend to address my mental health by meeting with the disability services at Queens to ensure that accommodations on homework and exams are met. I will maintain regular meetings with a medical professional to discuss my mental health and, most importantly, remember to take care of myself.
My future plans will support my academic goals for the following year as getting the help that I need to address my mental health will allow me to cope with my mental health in a positive and healthy way. It will also hopefully leave plenty of room for me to focus my energy on preforming to my highest academic ability and engaging in academic events outside of lecture halls as I will now have the tools to help carve out a brighter future that adheres to my academic goals.