Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard, Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's University for a minimum of one year. I am appealing this decision on the basis of extenuating circumstances that affected my performance during my year at Queen's. My father was in and out of the hospital starting in November of 2015 and my grandmother's health was rapidly deteriorating due to her ALS. Both of these circumstances put immense amounts of stress on both my family and me. In November of 2015 my father went to the hospital for his first operation, he would continue to be in and out of the hospital until March of 2016. During this time, the stress of being a first year student and adjusting to University paired with the stress and fear I was facing, as my dad and grandmother were ill, made me unable to perform in my studies. I would attend all my lectures and make an effort not to fall behind and let this effect me, however it was too much for me to handle and I struggled to keep up. Prior to my fathers health conditions my grandmother was diagnosed with ALS in the summer of 2015. Her condition worsened at a rapid rate and the stress my family and I were subjected to at this time was heavy, she was bed written first week of April 2016. I did not reach out to anyone because I was overwhelmed and scared by school and of what could happen to my father, grandmother, and family. I did not know where to start. I did not think my focus and performance in my studies would be affected during this period of time and during winter midterms I did not seek help. I attempted to work independently, studying for my midterms and pushing this stress back. I was not able to focus I spent many sleepless nights studying and stressing over my family and bringing my GPA up to where I would want it to be. My personal, mental, and physical health were being impacted as a result and I lost my appetite, was unable to sleep, and was constantly worrying about my family and grades, dismissing the negative effects it was having on me. This continued into second term as added pressure by myself to perform better in my classes increased. I did seek help during my second semester in April by talking to my parents and explaining to them the emotional and physical stress I have been going through that has been impacting my sleep, body, and grades. Upon completing my final exam of my first year I continued to talk to my parents about what I was going through. I have since been doing exponentially better, talking to my parents regularly and supporting each other during these tough times now that my fathers health is returning and I am back home. The academic councilors at Queen's have also helped, upon receiving my requirement to withdraw and explaining my circumstance, by offering me the phone number to Good 2 Talk, a service I have been using recently to help express my feeling and learn to become more open with my emotions. Moving foreword, my family and I are continuously supporting one another and meetings with personal councilors to discuss how I can help myself are being scheduled.