Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies, Sue Blake,

A) I am appealing the Faculty of Arts & Science's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for a minimum of one year. Secondly, I am appealing for credit standing in PSYC 271 (Fall, 2015) and to drop the following courses of my 2015-2016 academic term: PSYC 100 (Fall 2015-Winter 2016), ARTH 228 (Winter 2016). I am also appealing to waive the deadline for appeals regarding my first year academic term (Fall 2014-Winter 2015).

B) I know details are not as important as the effects, but I think you can only understand the gist of what was going on by being informed of some of the details. I think it is important to know that I do not come from a background of wealth or a supportive family structure. I came here alone as nobody from my high school attended the university, meaning I had no friends or support. During first year, I had a roommate who bullied me alongside three other girls on my floor. This included a group chat where I was constantly made fun of (regarding who I was, where I came from) and maximum exclusion. It became so severe that other people on my floor would not want to associate with me, including my don who provided me with no support and befriended the three girls. I grew extremely isolated, extremely depressed, and extremely anxious. I had never experienced a panic attack prior to first year, and during the year anxiety was my worst enemy and only companion. I did not know how to cope. I was too anxious to go to class, too anxious to go to the dining hall to eat by myself, I would wait until my roommate would leave so I could cry (one time she had caught me crying and told everyone I was mentally unstable and crazy). I urge you to understand how hard it is to go to class when you are alone and scared of what everyone must think of you. I could not think of academics when I was questioning why I was even here. My floor had scarred me in my ability of reaching out and making friends, and most importantly in feeling okay with who I was. Thankfully with second year, being in a house allowed me to meet more people and not have to associate with my floor (and my roommate had transferred schools). Unfortunately, adjustment is a learning curve, and not something that happens overnight, meaning my depression and anxiety were still very real and extreme and something I still deal with today. Alongside my mental health issues, my mom had a cancer scare late October. This is what led me to seek out academic advising and counselling, as it was paralyzing to think that I would end up completely alone in this world (I have no contact with my dad and live only with my mom, with no siblings). This is where PSYC 271 goes downhill, as well as PSYC 100, as they both took place during the fall. I was referred to a physician who confirmed I had severe depression. I continued counselling to the very end of the school year and will resume when I am back in Kingston. Through counselling, a lot of underlying problems were revealed concerning my background and family structure/personal life, which only contributed to developing depression and anxiety, and it was concluded that I would have to go further than counselling to combat these underlying issues (which is why I will be starting CBT, stated in my academic plan).

I think it is a privilege to be here and I know that staying here will ultimately help me in becoming who I want to be. I know in my heart that I would be so much worse off if I was not at Queen's, considering where I come from and my familial background. I cannot think of a better place to progress and prosper, nor would I want to. I sincerely hope you take this into consideration. I feel in my heart this cannot be the end. On the Queen's site it says that we are more than just a number, and to this I respond: There is still a brain here. There is still a person here with potential and experiences and emotions, and I am asking you to not discard me like I am only the sum of my GPA. I hope you have found my letter to be reasonable and I will be anxiously awaiting your reply.

Thank you,

Emma Sarkisian (10146101).