Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern:

I am writing to waive the appeal deadline and appeal the course grade for MATH 121. I feel that I meet the requirements to waive the appeal deadline because of concerns about my privacy during the appeal process. I was sexually assaulted on December 10, 2015, which lead to poor academic performance in MATH 121. Now, three and a half years after the incident occurred, I have become comfortable talking about the violence I experienced and the reoccurring issues that took place directly after.

I was sexually assault by an upper year peer while I was studying abroad at the Bader International Study Centre (BISC) in the United Kingdom, during my first year of university. This incident took place on campus in our dormitory. My peer left the BISC a few days after the incident and I presumed I would never have to have to interact with that individual again, so I stayed quiet about the incident of sexual violence.

During my second term at the BISC, I was encouraged by a peer to speak to Student Life Services about what I had experienced as I was struggling with my mental health. I was frightened to speak-up due to the fear that I would not be believed and that I would be judged. The student that sexually assaulted me was liked by my peers and faculty at the BISC and with such a small campus I was worried how my claims would reflect on my reputation. With much encouragement I spoke to two members of Student Life Services that arrange for me to begin counselling with Ms. Sophie Eliades. I continued with my studies at the BISC but struggled to stay engaged with my community, academically.

I have successfully appealed grades from the 2016-17 academic year that I took on main campus but have never attempted to appeal grades earned at the BISC that I felt were impacted by my experience with sexual violence. Why, you ask The BISC is composed of a small faculty of educators and Student Life Services staff. All Student Life Services staff during the 2015-16 academic year at the BISC have moved onto other positions outside of the BISC campus. All faculty that I had a close rapport with at the castle, have moved onto other career opportunities. Up until this point in time I felt that appealing MATH 121 due to the reasons explained above would harm and fragment my reputation amongst the BISC staff that I respect dearly.

Evidenced by academic success in my third and fourth year at Queen¿¿s University, I am capable of maintaining high academic standards. The mark earned in MATH 121 does not reflect my true academic abilities as a student. MATH 121 represents my abilities as student struggling with mental health due to the experience of sexual violence. I am set to graduate on June 11, 2019. I have accomplished a great deal at Queen¿¿s University both academically and in extracurricular activities. I have taken action to combat sexual violence in the Queen¿¿s community by founding Consensual Humans, an AMS club that educates students about sexual consent and I have volunteered with Sexual Assault Centre Kingston and Kingston Interval House to organize events supporting survivors of sexual/domestic/gender-based violence. I will be returning to Queen¿¿s to complete a Mater¿¿s in Gender Studies in the Fall of 2019. My mark in MATH 121 has not stopped me from accomplishing my academic goals, but rather stands as a reminder of my struggle to cope with sexual violence. My struggle to cope with sexual violence should not be symbolized on my transcript by a poor mark, but rather a topic for discussion within counselling sessions to overcome the pain of this experience. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Erika Campbell