Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to drop the course PHIL 111 (W/F). I believe extenuating circumstances beyond my control greatly impacted my ability to learn during my first year of university. When I left for university, my parents began to have issues which (after many months) eventually led to the decision of a divorce. This led to a multitude of issues because nothing was ever certain. I¿¿d get calls somedays with promises of legal action and on another day, they would no longer want to get a divorce. This trail of back and forth left me unable to focus on anything, I began to spiral downwards into a severe state of depression and stopped attending classes. During first semester, I scheduled an appointment with student wellness services (after talking to my Don about what was going on) and I did speak to someone at the time. This did not help me at all. The woman I¿¿d spoken to recommended I fix my diet and sleep schedule. Second semester came around and my mother fled home, flying to multiple countries without telling the rest of the family. I discovered she had become addicted to the street drug known as Benzos and might¿¿ve been delusional at the time. Money had also started to become unaccountable for. The drama continued on up until now, even after university where my mother has now been arrested for assault against my father and I. I did terribly in all of my courses (F, D-, D-, D, C, B+) despite trying my best to catch up at the time but philosophy is the only course that I failed. Trickling down from first semester my grades in philosophy were borderline failing. When I entered second semester I tried contacting my professor NUMEROUS amounts of times in attempt to figure something out together. I wanted to pass the course no matter what because my dream was to apply to the PPE program at Queens. The one time he responded to me, we scheduled an appointment together and he did not show up, later emailing me to say he¿¿d been caught up in a lecture. I sent him my schedule multiple times afterwards but no response was provided. Towards the end of second semester I decided to try and seek help again. Despite what my grades have shown I am and will continue to always be passionate about what I am studying. I spoke to Tess Grant who then referred me to Allisa Lavigne. After my appointment with her I was granted some academic accommodations (which really helped me) and she suggested I see another doctor since I was displaying signs of having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) . She also suggested that I try to finish the year off strong and then appeal the grades I was unable to salvage which in this case is philosophy. I saw a doctor and she also confirmed that I had signs of ADHD. I am currently completing the last assessment through the Regional Assessment and Resource Centre at Queens. I am also going to be continuing counselling at Queens when I get back in September for my second year. I believe coming home and facing these problems head on, motivated me to not let them ever affect my academics ever again. I hate counselling but I will continue it because it¿¿s what I need to do to get better and out of my coping mechanism of dealing with my issues by myself. I found a home in Queen¿¿s this year and I don¿¿t want to jeopardize that next year. I cannot afford to lose anymore points on my GPA and I never want to be in the state I was ever again. Because of this, I will do everything in my power to not land myself in this situation ever again, no matter what the circumstances are. I am currently taking an online summer course and I¿¿m sorting through things with my family. I believe if I take the steps I need to with the help of Queen¿¿s Counselling and my family, I can truly be the high-achieving academic I once was.