Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern ¿¿ to the attention of the Dean Associate
My name is Hannah Riding, I am a concurrent education student completing an undergraduate career at Queen¿¿s University in Concurrent Education. The teachable of my B.Ed are Chemistry, Geography and English ¿¿ additionally I am completing a BSc in Geology, a ¿science¿¿ background I did not have as a high school basis. As a result, I commit a large portion of regular studying time to background research on topics that other students have background fluidity; this is usually not a problem for me, as a teacher, as I approach learning concepts well. My mental health problems took to a head last semester because of extenuating circumstances that affected my emotional wellbeing with family and my partner, and a lack of physical wellbeing in being housed. Last semester I undertook Chemistry and Geology courses that I could not commit intensive concentration on due to aspects of living that, in my desperate mindful state, I regarded as ¿survivalist¿¿. The instances of these courses rely on internet communication, submission, and laboratory participation. With origins from two years ago, the ¿light¿¿ harassment occurring during these laboratory periods was a continuation of unprofessional stress brought on by an unaccommodating teaching assistant. I eventually requested that all contact be terminated, but the presence of this person in the laboratory building was unavoidable, institutionally necessary, but traumatizing and anxiety-catalyzing.
The situation of a ¿safe¿¿ environment in which to complete my homework, to be social, and to have comfort was compromised by extremely negative domestic interactions, by which I was ousted from a house unwillingly in September to an apartment that had neither internet, proper heating, or food. Most of my time in this apartment was spent having periods of unconscious insomnia, obsessively cleaning, or deeply sleeping. I have a ruthless alarm-clock that could not rouse me. Suffering from eternal exhaustion and the onset of malnutrition (I have lost 23 lbs since August), numerous hours of immobilization stalled me, while venturing outside, near traffic, triggered the mental manifestations of suicide intrusive thoughts. Unfortunately, I found it extremely wearing to move around once my bicycle was stolen from being locked to a breakable rail.
Financially dependant on an emotionally and physically abusive mother, who is divorced from the family¿¿s main source of income, also estranged, my parents were of little support. I spent my time finding money, from doing studies and monetized research, or food, from my friends, peers, and hand-outs. In November, in the spirit of visiting ¿home¿¿ to rejuvenate my outlook for exams, I broke down at my partner¿¿s parent¿¿s home with the despair of going back to these conditions, but I did. My family doctor, in Whitby, requested that I visit with him after exams. I did not make it to December 24th, my last exam, because I broke down due to stress and physical/emotional strain.
I met with my family practitioner in January, and have, on the recommendation of M. Gallant, have taken steps to stabilize my situation by inquiring about Student Wellness to have a community that exists to localize compassionate resources closer to my environment of study (and I moved from the apartment to stay with my partner), which also made care from a physician accessible. My introduction to food bank network alleviated social anxiety in asking for nutritional vulnerability, and in the stigmatization of asking for help. I want to emphasize the occurrence of my extenuating circumstances as being life-long stressors that I am, as an adult, able to manage ¿¿ however, due to my focus on personal independence, and that failure, I have sought and built on Queen¿¿s resources which have supported my academic study at Queen¿¿s for my remaining semesters.