Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: March 24th, 2017

Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,

Hello, my name is Adriana Gonzalez and I am currently completing my fourth year of Global Development Studies and Political Studies. Due to both health and personal reasons, I am looking to acquire Aegrotat standing in two of my Fall 2015 courses (POLS 280 and DEVS 492) and four of my Winter 2016 courses (POLS 212, POLS 230, DEVS 492, COMM 407). Therefore, I am appealing to request a waive of the 21-day/one term deadline as outlined in section 3.2.2 of the Appeal Regulations.

I have not been able to complete this request until now due to the gravity of my extenuating circumstances. I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder during the Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 semesters. Despite the fact that I was only diagnosed during that semester, I have suffered from this disease throughout my academic career. A variety of personal struggles brought on a mental breakdown, which landed me in the emergency department at Kingston General Hospital on multiple occasions. My debilitating panic and anxiety attacks have grossly impacted my ability to complete day-to-day tasks, including my academic requirements.

Throughout the Winter 2016 semester, I faced different personal issues that caused a setback in my treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder. I was involved in a sexual assault case as a witness between January and March of 2016. I was therefore required to attend court regularly and as a result, missed many of my classes. These days were both emotionally and physically draining, which made it even more difficult to complete daily tasks. Also during the Winter 2016 semester, I experienced the loss of a loved one. Due to my involvement with the case, I was unable to leave Kingston and attend the funeral. I was overwhelmed emotionally and was unable to properly mourn this loss, which ultimately had a negative impact on my mental health.
During the 2015/2016 school year, I was employed through Queen¿¿s University as a Senior Residence Life Don. This experience was ultimately rewarding, as I became super involved in school activities and met a lot of wonderful people. Despite how amazing this position was, it also took a toll on my anxiety. My position was so important as I was in charge of the wellbeing of other students and my entire team of staff members and ensuring their safety in the residence buildings. This alone put a lot of pressure on me to perform well, on top of the various scary and stressful situations I was required to mediate and be on top of. As a first generation student, with immigrant parents, I have known financial strain my entire life, which meant I needed employment in order to even make it to post-secondary education. This job became my means for living and became so dependent on it.

It became physically impossible to keep up with my job, school, being a witness in a traumatic court case, a death in the family, and financial burdens. This led me to feel ill every day, anxious with everything weighing on my shoulder, have chronic fatigue, multiple crippling panic attacks daily and depression at my inability to perform, which I was unable to speak about due to my shame. I am therefore writing to you to consider my appeal to request a waive of the 21 day/one term deadline for the Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 semesters.

Regards,
Adriana Gonzalez
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