Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Faculty of Arts and Science Appeals
Associate Dean



Clark Thompson Schlesinger
1158 Wildfield Cres
Mississauga ON L5H 3C2
Phone: 416-827-7337

Honorable Associate Dean,
My name is Clark Schlesinger, I¿¿m a first year BAH major and have just concluded my first year at Queens University. I am writing you today regarding my final marks in MUSIC 171, MUSC 289, and MUTH 111 as well as their impact on my future as a student at Queens. By looking at just my GPA and my individual marks for these classes it would appear as if the content was not well received. This is simply not the case and was the result of a number of cascading issues that were endured throughout the year.
By looking at my background it is clear to see that I am a determined, and hardworking individual and have even earned honors such as being an Ontario Scholar. That being said, the transition between everyday life as a high school student to everyday life as a university student was a change that took most of the year to get used to. To give you a bit of history, a similar situation occurred my first year of High school, due to my background of significant bullying as well as being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, I have a difficult time with change but managed to persevere and go from being on academic watch for the program I was in at my high school, to an Ontario scholar as well as being an extremely involved member of my high school community. Throughout high school I managed to maintain my average while partaking in 3 auditioned choirs, a number of extracurricular activities, as well as being a representative for my school to attend the WE Day event. Having a background of social anxiety and depression as well as being in a single plus room meant that everyone on my floor had their own space. As such, the aspect of comradery and friendship was something that I struggled to grasp throughout the Fall Term and created a rather isolated environment within my dorm. This only made my academic life harder as a result as I had no one that I could message or talk with regarding upcoming assignments or quizzes for a class and created a disconnect with the actual material and myself if there wasn¿¿t a full understanding made in the lecture. In addition, I had technical difficulties throughout the Fall Term and worked with the IT department to try and solve the issue which only added to the stresses of first year. As well, the disconnect from being able to clarify details without reaching out to my profs or my TA¿¿s, also hindered my performance throughout the year. The anxiety of being seeming alone only heightened my ability to shy away from social situations and thus excluded me from being able to take full advantage of my fellow students for academic help as well as social disconnect that prevented me from establishing any lasting friendships throughout the year.
Moving forward my plan for success and happiness at Queens includes using my resources that have been provided for me both by my family (personal psychotherapist) and the school itself (SASS) to their full potential and not being shy or ashamed if struggles appear in the near future. By using a combination of these resources, as well as increasing the frequency of regular meetings and check-ins with my Psychotherapist and expanding my view to ones that I had previously been too shy to reach out with such as the Student Wellness Services, Counseling Services, as well as SASS I believe that Queens is the place for me to realize and understand my true academic potential. As all valuable life skills such as adapting to a new way of learning, time was in order to get adjusted and find my own path as I am committed to doing and showing an improvement. In conclusion, I want more than anything to complete my university degree at Queens as a Film and Media Major. I commit to whatever it takes to prove this to you and to grow from this life learning experience I have had in my first year. I will agree to any recommendations, supports, and conditions to be able to continue on this educational path and prove successful.


Clark Thompson Schlesinger
Student 20067231
First Year Arts and Science Student