Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Morgan A. Benoit
47 Division Street, 2
Kingston, ON K7L 3L8
15mab1@queensu.ca

May 27th, 2018

Dr. Johanne Bénard
Queen's University
Facility of Arts and Science
Dunning Hall
94 University Ave.
Kingston, ON K7L 3N9

SUBJECT: Request for Appeal


Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,

Please consider this letter as an application to raise an appeal to extend the incomplete grades in ANAT100, ANAT315, CHEM312, and PHYS117; to write the final Winter examination for PHYS117; and to rewrite the final examinations for PHYS117 (Fall), MATH112 (Winter), and CHEM312 (Winter). This request is due to the compounded impact that my anxiety disorder and other acute illnesses had on my performance in these courses. With the assistance of the university, I have had proven success in rising above these difficulties in the second semester. With confidence, I know as I continue on the path I have set, I will rise above this chronic problem and fulfill my education objectives.

Personal loss and misfortune in contracting multiple illnesses created many obstacles for me to overcome. I had a very difficult time the past two years, and some of my grades suffered as a result. Attempting not to appear as though I am making excuses for my poor academic performance, I would like the opportunity to explain the circumstances of these appeals in detail. I firmly believe that the details provide the necessary account to support my needs for this consideration. I have included a personal account as well as documentation from a medical professional who cared for me as proof of my situation. Little should be of any new news as I have been very transparent with the university and have put all of my personal challenges forward as I have utilized resources to help me navigate out of this situation. I hold Queen's University in the highest regards and cherish the diverse atmosphere the university holds. It is in this high-esteem for the university and the community that I write this candid letter. I want to represent the university by rising above my challenges and be the best student I know I can be.

Personal loss began to impact my mental state towards the end of my first year at Queens. As first year progressed, my grandmother's health was one of my primary concerns as she was suffering from primary liver cancer. Every break I had, I returned home to care for my grandmother as her condition worsened. This slowly began to mentally pick away at me. My grandmother was the closest person to me and the thought of losing her ate away at me. I began to feel a sense of grief that I could not shake and will all of the problems that had come to pass, I was mentally exhausted. When I lost my grandmother on August 5th, 2016, my world came crashing down, I was truly lost within myself. It was a time where I just could not do anything right, therefore, I looked for professional help.

Second year was certainly not ideal for me and brought me to my breaking point and back. I could not overcome the grief I had and it manifested itself in a heightened level of anxiety. Unfortunately I did not recognize the issue as an illness. Instead I criticized myself when I could not perform in exams and allowed my self-assessment to create self-doubt in what I could accomplish. This further compounded the obstacles I was facing. I did not realize the extent of the impact of this illness until after I failed CHEM212 last year (Fall 2016). It was at this point in time in which I sought more intensive medical help. At the same time, I continued with a full course load in chemistry in the Winter 2017 term.

The Winter 2017 semester was a crucial time for me to develop and do exactly what I was obligated to do. I worked extremely hard for the grades I received and did everything I thought I could do to try to push past the adversity that I had recently faced. During this semester I attended all lectures, tutorials, and laboratory experimentations, in addition to undertaking all the required preparation materials. I also completed all the assessment components and my average results were quite high. My performance across these units was usually in the range of 70 to 100 percent and I had generally made strong progress through my studies, with the exception of the testing components. Mind blanks in testing/exam situations continued to plague me. No matter what I did, I could not rise above this issue. I knew when this issue continued with me into third year, I had a choice: (1) quit and give up on my dreams; (2) ask for help from the university and my mother to help me overcome my obstacles.

I experienced a heightened level of anxiety during the Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 examination periods, feeling as though my mind suddenly went blank, and the sensation of my chest feeling tight and my heart beating faster. At some points I also experienced nervous tension throughout different areas of my body. As so many others suffering this disorder, my anxiety manifests itself in a sense of fear and worry until I am unable to think. I understand the challenges posed in qualifying and assigning my illness as reasoning for appeal. That said, I am not misdiagnosed. My anxiety problems make it impossible to function in a setting that involves high levels of pressure and stress, fearing the unknown. My challenges were medical, not a lack of course understanding. I was astutely aware of that difference and that magnified my anxiety levels. I knew the material yet could not perform when the examination was placed in front of me. I cannot express how difficult that is to sit, looking at a document, know the knowledge is in my head, and not be able to recall any of it.

To further compound the anxiety issues I was dealing with, I met further medical challenges throughout the Fall 2017 semester. I truly felt dammed. I felt the universe was out to destroy me. As I was making progress in one area, I was thrown another challenge to overcome. A couple of weeks into first semester I was transported to Kingston General Hospital (KGH) by ambulance when my house mates called 9-1-1 after not being able to wake me up. Although I did not stay in the hospital long, I missed a week and a half of classes and laboratory experiments due to both the illness, viral meningitis, and back pain caused from the spinal tap to confirm that I did not have bacterial meningitis. Not that viral meningitis was already enough, at the end of Week 11 I was admitted to KGH, again, for emergency surgery to remove my appendix. I was in the hospital for two days and then returned home to Aurora with my parents to recover and study until my first examination. Therefore, I missed the final week of classes. All at the same time, I enlisted in ITTP - I attended the ITTP program at KGH for my anxiety twice a week during first semester which aided the group in cognitive behavioural therapy techniques. I also saw two psychiatrists, social workers, and crisis workers at KGH. All off this compounded the demands on my time as I was doing everything in my power to use every resource available to me to maximize my performance in my courses. I will not let this illness take my dreams away from me. I want to be the individual overcomes mental health challenges and wins.

I am making a compassionate appeal to extend the incomplete grades in (A) CHEM312, and (B) ANAT100, and ANAT315.

(A) My professors for CHEM312 - Dr. Stamplecoskie and Dr. Macartney, chose to file an incomplete grade rather than an F due to their request to allow me to rewrite their final examination. Regardless of the amount of preparation put forth prior to the final examination, I blanked due to my anxiety and was unable to answer any questions. Within the days following the examination I went to my professors offices with my mother to speak about the possible options in order to not fail the course. Dr. Stamplecoskie made it clear that he wanted me to be given the opportunity to rewrite the final examination, because he believed that I knew the material. After having viral meningitis during the first part of the semester I work with Dr. Stamplecoskie on his white board on multiple occasions going through the course materials that I missed. This proved that I did know the material that he taught as I was clearly able to answer the questions on his white board. He also brought up the suggestion of oral examinations as an option. With this said, I have been waiting all winter semester for approval from the new Arts and Science regulation to be passed in order to be allowed to rewrite the final examination. Additionally, once the regulation was passed, you suggested to not move forward with writing until after the winter examination period to see how those examinations went. Therefore, I have yet to rewrite the final examination, which is reasoning for the appeal to extend the incomplete grade in CHEM312 until I have a valid opportunity to write the final and accurately portray my knowledge of the course material learnt.

(B) The extension request required for ANAT100 and ANAT315, is primarily due to technical issues and lack of response. Both of the professors from these courses placed an F on my transcript rather than an incomplete grade. After speaking with you with regards to the F's on my transcript affecting my chances for summer jobs, both Dr. Easteal (ANAT315) and Dr. MacKenzie (ANAT100) were asked to replace these grades with an incomplete prior to me needing to submit my transcript for summer research funding. Neither professors responded to this request. This did impact my ability to secure a summer job as a student researcher in order to build my resume. As you can see in the enclosed documents, I emailed my ANAT315 professor, Ronald A Easteal, on many occasions during both the fall and winter semesters. Although he did respond frequently to my emails during the Fall semester, he stopped responding completely following his response to meet on January 22nd, 2018 at 10:11am. I have been trying to get in contact with him to schedule the midterm and final laboratory examination and the second term test, but have still not got in contact with him. Therefore, I would like to appeal to place an incomplete grade in the place of the F on my transcript in order to be provided a fair opportunity to complete these outstanding evaluations.

I am also appealing to be given the opportunity to write the final examinations in both (A) PHYS117 and (B) MATH112 in order to accurately display my knowledge of the course materials.

(A) In terms of PHYS117, I am appeal to be given the opportunity to both write the final Winter 2018 examination and to be given a fair chance to rewrite the Fall 2017 examination. In the day prior to writing the first portion (multiple choice) of the fall examination I was diagnosed with pneumonia causing me not sleep the entire night prior due to coughing; however, did still write it in Stirling Hall with my professors knowledge of the illness. I experienced an anxiety attack during this portion - crying and hyperventilating, which my professor was present during. Although, she did not give me the opportunity to rewrite this portion of the examination. The second portion was scheduled to be written the following day, however, I emailed my professor to ask to reschedule for when I was feeling better. She was not happy about this but agreed to allow a couple of days before I wrote. During the writing of the second half, I once again experienced heightened levels of anxiety causing me once again to do poorly, resulting in a failing grade for the fall semester. In a meeting with you prior to the winter examination period, you told me to not go into an examination if I was not prepared to write. My first examination of the winter semester was a split examination in CHEM321 written in Gordon Hall 318. On the first day of the examination I experienced a significant amount of anxiety, leading to my mind blanking and thus, being unable to answer a single question. Due to previous experience writing in Chernoff Hall, where all the examinations went well I emailed my professor to inquire about writing in Chernoff Hall instead of the examination center location to try to ease my anxiety. My professor gladly agreed and his examination went great. Even though I experienced some anxiety I was still able to recall the information. This proves that it was the location, because the information was transferrable to both portions. However, this professor did allow me to rewrite the first part of the examination at a different date. Due to this experience, I did email my PHYS117 professor with the aim of changing the location, however, I did not receive a response. Therefore, I chose to cancel my examination accommodations so that the same situation would not occur. To this date I have yet to receive a response from my professor to schedule a date and time to write the final and she placed an F on my transcript.

(B) Due to what occurred with respect to my CHEM321 examination, as I stated above, I also emailed my MATH112 professor, Jory Griffin, with aim of relocating the examination. However, I was still unsure how my anxiety would present itself in Jeffery Hall rather than Chernoff and due to the fact that the examination was worth most of my final great, thus, creating a sense of all or nothing. My professor did respond and scheduled my examination at the same times, in two parts, but in a classroom in Jeffery Hall. I am not sure how it would be possible for me to have received enough marks for the course, however, Professor Griffin did give me a D on my transcript. Although this is a passing grade, I would like to appeal to be given the opportunity to rewrite this examination to be able to truly represent my knowledge of the course material , as this grade will hinder my ability to apply to medical schools in the near future.

I both understand and appreciate the new regulation that dictates that proctors are permitted to evaluate a student's mental status during a final examination, in order to make an informed decision about allowing an examination to be re-taken by the student. While I understand that this would be incredibly beneficial to a student whose anxiety presents itself in the form of panic attacks, crying, hyperventilating, or another similarly visible manner, I feel it is imperative to mention that my anxiety does not present in this way. When writing examinations, if my anxiety levels are high, it typically manifests in the form of freezing up, or disconnecting myself from the activity I am trying to execute. This not only renders me unable to complete the task at hand, but means that my anxiety is invisible to the proctors of my examinations. I would like to express my concern about this manifestation of anxiety being disregarded, despite its obvious control over my ability to write examinations. I am hoping that my communicating of this very personal obstacle will allow for a more accurate decision to be made about how to proceed with my examinations.

I have been through a lot of hardships the previous two years but, I will leave my past in the past and only look forward from here on out. I love Queen's University and want to graduate from here in 2019; I have nothing but respect for the facility and the staff that work at this wonderful institution. My personal belief is knowledge is a key to success. When it comes to pursuing knowledge, I am the kind of person who has strong perseverance and never let anything put me down. I always do the best of my ability to overcome any hurdles on my path. With this attitude and strong passion for chemistry, I believe, I have the potential to become a very successful student. My education is everything to me and I know that continuing my studies at Queen's University is what I need to reach my pinnacle of success in life and I am willing to fight for it and do whatever is necessary to get back on track towards a successful future in the medical field.

I sincerely hope that this appeal shows that I am dedicated to being a successful student here at Queen's University. The documents enclosed by my medical professionals only support my claim further, despite my best efforts to successfully complete my courses. Please do not use only my past as a barometer for my success in the future. I appreciate your kind consideration.


Sincerely,


Morgan Benoit
ID 10194641
Enclosed: ANAT100 Emails and Appeal Letter by Dr. Welihinda