Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

The letter I am writing is to formally request an appeal for the requirement to withdraw from Queens University in the 2019-2020 academic year. I am also requesting to appeal the failure of the following courses: CISC101, MATH121, PHYS117, CHEM281, and BCHM270. The justification to appeal these above courses is on the grounds of the certain experiences I have encountered during my times at Queens which were out of my control.
Within the first semester of first year, the path to adjusting to a new and higher competitive environment proved to be a tremendous challenge. With the proper support and determination, I could have overcome this, however my mental health drastically declined. Due to the immense pressure put upon my grades for specific courses by my parents, I developed severe anxiety and panic attacks. Culturally, my parents forced me into pursuing a career in medicine because of the importance of having a stable and high-status job holds in my culture. In obeying my parents, I believed that I had saved them from disappointment and humility upon my family. I was stuck in a dilemma, to obey my parents urging or rely on my own instinct. Starting October 2017, my mental health became a persistent issue and is so to this day. During October 2017, I experienced my first panic attack when handing in an important lab report late because of technical difficulties that were out of my control. I tried to hand it in using other means, but was not accepted and marks were deducted as the coordinator did not fully comprehend my certain condition. Inevitably, my anxiety grew, and I tried to receive help, while still denying how severe it truly was. However, I called mental health helplines multiple times during breakdowns, but none were available when I needed them, many of them provided by Queen's University, thus worsening my anxiety. After these incidents, my panic attacks grew more frequent, and were especially frequent during important academic dates such as tests and exams. Especially since I knew my parents placed emphasis on those for medical school reasons and their own goals set for me. Severe anxiety made me not want to eat and thus deteriorating my physical wellbeing as well. Thus, inevitably making paying attention to lectures and tutorials very difficult, clearly reflected in my grades. Although I dedicated an equal amount to courses BIOL102 and CHEM112, which were equally difficult courses, the material covered was an adequate review of high school. As such, passable grades were possible in those classes.
Returning from the winter break in first year, I was confident that I did not have a mental issue but I knew I needed help, however, as I reached out to services on campus, I was told that waiting times for seeing mental health services in person were 7-10 weeks at minimum. Calling support services were of no help as calls were not answered nor returned. Devastated by my failure of the course and that I could not get help in a timely manner, my mental state only got worse and the same issues from fall semester arose. My decline in mental health and suffering from panic attacks resulted in me failing MATH121 and PHYS117. This is due to attempting to balance a full course load and my extenuating circumstances which proved to be an inescapable obstacle.
Not soon after my arrival back home in the summer, I was notified of my academic probation. I was extremely disappointed and shocked at myself, since I know that I am a very motivated and competent student. I did not know that what I had was a mental condition that needed to be treated, because I grew up in an environment that believes mental health issues are non-existent and hard work is the key to success. This led to me to only get worse. After speaking to an academic advisor regarding my situation to see my options for the next academic year, I was recommended that I should take courses that I enjoyed and knew I could work harder in order to raise my academic standing. The advisor did not even mention the process of appealing, leading me to not be aware that I could have appealed my probation.
Going into second year, I went into the semester with a stronger mind to succeed no matter what. I was able to maintain a good lifestyle, eating well, but my mental health was still at jeopardy since I was not able to receive the medical attention I needed. I entered the Bounce Back program and used my resources with the Peer Support centre, but soon realized that my academic productivity and knowledge was not the issue as they had targeted to fix, but it was my mental health that I could not control. I was doing well in all my courses, since I had taken four courses instead of 5. However, soon after the midterm date for CHEM281, my father greeted me with calls everyday stressing the importance of getting a good mark for this course since it was a prerequisite for medical school. During all assessments of CHEM281 I was immensely stressed, and the anxiety and panic attacks returned. I had a panic attack on the final exams for both CHEM281 and BIOL103, which proved detrimental to my focus and state during these exams and were shown in my grade. However, I wanted to show my parents I could make them proud by working hard, so I decided to try my best even in my worst condition. Due to the immense stress I was put under to perform exceptionally in these courses, I had failed CHEM281 and BCHM270 because these courses demanded more time and effort, whilst I was not in the frame of mind to dedicate this time to these courses. The other courses that I had taken, although equally challenging, I could manage to pass due to me being able to understand better what I was learning in BIOL201 and BIOL202; whilst BIOL243, ENIN140, MICR270, and PHAR100 material was lighter, easily manageable and also truly enjoyable to me.
I now recognize and acknowledge that it would have been beneficial for me to drop CHEM281 and BIOL103 after my anxiety had come back. However, not knowing the strong hold my mental health had on me and the fear of falling behind even more with my degree with all the credits I lost in first year, I continued to push myself beyond my capabilities. I acknowledge now, after reflecting upon my failures, that I was experiencing a difficult time acknowledging my mental health issues, which proved extremely damaging to my commitment for my academics. I now acknowledge that I have anxiety and suffer from panic attacks, and that I need professional medical attention to help get over this. In addition, I recognize that pushing myself to take full course loads, and working myself beyond my own limits, rather than accepting a lighter workload, was damaging. These extenuating circumstances over the past two years have indubitably led to results that do not portray an accurate representation of the knowledge I am capable of applying towards my studies.

Academic Plan


I am currently a mathematics major, and plan to withhold this plan until I can switch into my true plan of choice Biology, which I am passionate about and is reflected in my grades, in which I will pursue during my upcoming years at Queens. To ensure that my mental health issues do not continue, I have been consulting and diagnosed with my family doctor in Toronto about my condition and have arranged to see a specialist as well, to help me cope and not allow my mental health to be a distraction for my academics anymore, thus allowing me to fully apply my knowledge within my courses. Additionally, I will be more mindful in my course selection, and will try to not worry about what my parents want me to take, but rather enrolling in subjects I am stronger in, and strongly interested or passionate about, such as health, business, and biology courses. Ultimately, I instead of facing my mental condition alone, I will register with Queens Accessibility Services to better accommodate my condition and help me achieve better academic standing, and recognize that using these resources are extremely important. With these aspects in mind, I will make changes for the positive pathway for my academic success.