Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am asking to drop GNDS 120, CLST 103, ENGL 100, FILM 110, and RELS 163 past the academic deadline. I am requesting to drop these courses due to the circumstances outlined in the letter supplied by Barb Lotan. I will also briefly outline these circumstances in this letter.

In my first semester of studies at Queens I experienced an assault that took a massive toll on my psychological health. Around the same time as the assault my home life drastically changed and I felt that I had no one to turn to and no where to go, so I stayed in my residence room every day until the end of the year.

After taking a year off from studies I returned to campus last fall and was eager to dive back into my academics and student life. The year was off to a great start and I was on track to academic success until mid/late October when I had an encounter with the same individual who had assaulted me in my first year. After running into this person it was like my first year all over again. I was afraid. This time I sought out help and met with Haley Everson¿¿who has been a tremendous help through all of this. Following our meeting she immediately introduced me to Barb Lotan who listened to me and has continued to support me through everything. Barb then put me in touch with a counsellor. I met with Deb a few times but as the weeks past I found myself having frequent panic attacks and being consumed by constant anxiety and depression, I began missing class and then appointments, and fell out of touch with both Barb and Deb, and rarely went outside my house.

I have been so embarrassed by what has happened to me and even more so by my academic performance. I have gone from a very vibrant successful honour roll student to someone who misses class, withdraws, and fails her courses. The encounter with said individual in October sent me back to an incredibly self destructive state, and unfortunately I could not bring myself back from it during my time at Queens this past academic year.

Given the severity of the circumstances that occurred at Queens and being unable to overcome them in my second attempt of studies on campus I would like to move forward with distance studies beginning winter 2019. I have always been interested in learning and I still strive for academic success and I feel that being home with my family will allow for this success. It is an environment where I feel very comfortable and safe.

Thank you for taking the time to look over my appeal.

Sincerely,

Hannah Scott