Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Benard,

I apologize that I have not been able to write to you about my deferred exam in PSYC 251, winter 2016, and my previously deferred exam in PSYC 333, until now. I have had ongoing legal, personal and medical problems that I have been dealing though, and could never have anticipated when I requested the deferrals that these issues would persist and intensify as they did.

I have written to Dr. Fitneva to explain, and to ask for her support in my appeal for an extension of the deferral of my exam for PSYC 251, and I indicated that I understood that it was expected that I complete the exam in mid-September. I explained in detail the issues that I was having when I requested the original deferral, and that the issues did not only persist beyond what I expected, but also how my situation descended into a very real threat to my home and family. I discussed how everything else fell to the wayside during this period, while I focused on mediating damage to my children and maintaining my physical and mental health. Dr. Fitneva responded to my Queen¿¿s email account with the following:

From: Stanka Fitneva
Sent: October-28-16 3:57 AM
To: Laurel Rafter 2ler1@queensu.ca
Cc: Jill Atkinson jill.atkinson@queensu.ca; Undergrad PSYCHOLOGY ug.psyc@queensu.ca
Subject: Re: Examination Deferral Appeal

Dear Laurel,

I am sorry to hear about your ordeal. I don¿¿t see a problem with giving one additional extension on the final exam. However, I am on leave and don¿¿t have access to all the documentation in your case so I am forwarding your request to Dr. Atkinson.

The undergraduate office makes arrangements for all make-up final exams, which are on set dates. Provided your appeal is approved, you have to be in touch with them about scheduling it.


To make a very long story short, my ex-husband stopped paying court ordered section 7 child support, which accumulated to thousands, in an effort to financially break me, with the goal of rendering my children and I homeless, and he very nearly succeeded. To summarize the details: Over a period of approximately a year and a half, my children¿¿s father intentionally defied our court order, knowing that I am financially dependent on his child support while I¿¿m in school and receiving OSAP, thus vulnerable to being financially broken. If he could succeed in making us homeless, my children would have no choice but to move into his home for the first time in their lives, which would put an end to his responsibility to pay any more child support whatsoever. To give you some idea of the extent to which he went, he withheld over 800 in insurance reimbursements alone for the dental and prescriptions I paid and submitted for my children to his insurance company under which they are covered. On top of this, his consistent retention of funds owed to me left me financially depleted so much so that he was able to retain a lawyer and I couldn¿¿t afford one. Near the end of the proceedings, my mother was able to put together a 2500 retainer for a young lawyer, but the opposition¿¿s lawyer kept it going on so long that I ended up having to settle for something I wasn¿¿t very happy with to keep the roof over our heads, and I still ended up owing more to my lawyer.

Since last fall, I have struggled to keep myself and my children financially afloat because of their father¿¿s defiance of the court order. As more time passed, our situation became increasingly dire, causing me to have a long and difficult period of intense anxiety and depression. When the matter was finally settled recently, I was financially devastated and emotionally exhausted. I have only recently been able to catch up on our bills, many of which were in a ¿¿collection¿ stage, because I was not able to pay until I began receiving the funds owed to me on September 30th. My children and I pulled together and, with his first few payments, we were able to pay almost 9000 to bring us up to date with bills. For example, we were able to pay the 3600 that we were behind in just rent alone.

Because of the tremendous anxiety and stress that this legal situation caused us, as well as trying to accept the stunning fact that someone actually set out to destroy me and my family, and actively involved my children, I became very depressed and sought regular support from my doctor, who sent me for assessment to a psychiatrist who recommended antidepressant medication.

Now that our housing is secure, I am able to focus my attention on picking up the pieces of my life. With the professional support I have received from counselors and doctors, and my lengthy legal matter finally concluded, I am hopeful that you will grant my appeal to extend my exam deferral for PSYC 251, so that I can continue preparations for writing my exam in January.

The exam for PSYC 251 is my last step to completing my B.A. and I can¿¿t afford to retake the entire course now. I am also asking that you allow me to drop PSYC 333 after the deadline, for which I received exam deferrals in fall and winter. I had truly hoped to finish this course, but, due to the length of the legal proceedings and my health problems, I believe that it is best for me to focus my efforts on the one that will complete my degree. I very much wish to achieve my degree, as I have worked hard and I look forward to seeking employment to better my financial situation for my children and myself.

I have had appointments with Queen¿¿s Health Counseling Services over the past few months at my doctor¿¿s suggestion, I have been in contact with a Queen¿¿s Academic Counselor, and I have discussed my situation with my Queen¿¿s Disability Services Counselor, Michael Beganyi, who supports my desire to complete the final exam and graduate.


I will be sending documentation to support my appeal, including excerpts from my sworn affidavit describing my ex-husband¿¿s behaviour and motives, portions of the court order that specify the money I am now receiving, and the date on which I started receiving it. It will also reflect that, of the two of us, my ex-husband is the only one required to take any action (pay), supporting my assertions that he withheld significant monies owed to me, as the order does not discuss fault specifically. As I have mentioned, my disability counselor also supports my appeal, and I will be sending a medical letter from my doctor as well.

In a very real sense, I ¿¿shut down¿ with anxiety and depression. Over time, I retreated into an all-consuming ¿¿survival mode¿ that robbed me of motivation and the hope of anything good when everything seemed so bad. I want a better life for my children and for myself, and I could never have foreseen the problems that resulted from filing for the court to enforce my court order. I am sorry that I let other important things fall to the wayside.

I will be following this letter with my documentation. Please let me know if there is anything else that you need from me.

Thank you.

Yours very truly,

Laurel Rafter
(4830469)