Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dean,
My name is Ashley McMillan (student number 20184874) and I was a student at the BISC for my first year, 2019-2020. I am writing this letter to appeal to late drop ASTR 101, MUTH 111, FILM 214 and appeal for AG (Aegrotat) in PSYC 100, all taken at the BISC.
While I had a fairly good first term, my Winter term was a challenge for me almost from the first week back. The friends that I made the last term didn¿¿t return and I was starting over a new term with no one that I knew really well. I felt really isolated and alone but tried my best to make new friends and start the term off right. I registered late for my courses, I felt very overwhelmed and decided to drop one of my courses, to see if that might help with my stress and being able to better balance my mental health and school. I was constantly worried about money, both because I needed to pay for tuition, but also because everyone else was able to pay for things no problem. I was on campus most weekends, because I couldn¿¿t really afford to go far, and didn¿¿t have anyone I was close to. I started to notice that I was feeling really sad, and was missing classes and sleeping a lot by mid-January. I wanted to someone on campus, but there was a long wait and didn¿¿t feel like it was confidential, so I didn¿¿t talk to anyone at that time. The more anxious I felt that harder it was to go to class. Added to that, most of the term, my roommate would have people over until 3-4 in the morning, and would basically have a party in my room that excluded me, but kept me from getting sleep. I wanted to say something, but I didn¿¿t because we are such a small group everyone would know it was me who complained.

I wasn¿¿t really able to tell anyone how much I was struggling, and my mom and family encouraged me to just keep working, and do my best, but I couldn¿¿t. Missing classes meant I was further behind, and the group work in my classes made it even harder. I know this was my responsibility, but even though I knew I was behind, I just couldn¿¿t seem to get back on track. By midterm reading week I was really struggling, sleeping a lot, missing class and not sure what to do. On Valentine¿¿s Day, my boyfriend for the last two years broke up with me. I wanted to get away, so was looking forward to our reading week trip in Paris. While in France during the first part of reading week, we were robbed, and then questioned by people who said they were police who took our passports and wanted to take us to another location at a police station. I didn¿¿t realize it then, but afterwards I couldn¿¿t really feel safe, even back at school. Not much longer after that we started hearing and seeing more about COVID-19, and I started to feel even more scared and panicked. I talked to my family who told me to speak to Dean Horton about my concerns, and to see if I could come home to Canada to finish out my last 5 weeks of the term. I told them I was keeping up and doing ok, but I wasn¿¿t and didn¿¿t know how I¿¿d be able to finish school. It was really hard to go to talk to the Dean, but when I did, he basically shamed me about my worries about COVID and I felt embarrassed and ashamed for even asking. I didn¿¿t feel like I could tell him how hard I was struggling with school, and I felt hopeless.
On Feb 28 I talked to my aunt about it and told her I was having thoughts about hurting myself, and she then said she¿¿d try to get me home as soon as possible. I have been home in Canada since March, but my mental health during COVID isolation has only gotten worse. I tried to finish assignments and wanted to do well on my exam, but each day is a struggle for me. Not knowing what to expect around COVID, and not being able to go to counselling sessions the first month made things worse. I have been attending counselling regularly (video sessions) since April, but am just starting out. I know that I need to address these issues now, or they will continue to follow me and impact my academic career, but I¿¿m still really not feeling ok. I know that I missed the drop deadline, and I was so embarrassed that I couldn¿¿t even do that, just go online and drop courses, that I couldn¿¿t tell my mom or my aunt until now that I hadn¿¿t done it. Right now, everything is just too much at once. In PSYC 100, Dr. Taylor suggested I apply for AG standing, and that I write the exam when it was scheduled. I was doing really well first term in her course, and this second term isn¿¿t really a reflection of what I can do. The entire Winter term isn¿¿t a reflection of what I can do.
With COVID, and the challenges I¿¿ve had academically, I am focussing on going to therapy and trying to work through my mental health struggles. Being alone at home during COVID made things worse, and I want to work hard to get better. If am successful in this appeal, I want to take a bit of time off from school to work on my mental health. I don¿¿t think going back in September is the right choice for me at this time, but I will wait to make that decision once I have information on my appeal. I am talking to my counsellor regularly, and my aunt Liz is helping me when it comes to filling out forms and requesting things from Queen¿¿s so I can get back on track.
I appreciate the amazing opportunity I had while attending the BISC. It is an experience I will never forget. I know I have to make changes to be successful whenever I return to school. I am working on developing new skills and continuing my counselling so I can better identify when I start to struggle, and how I can get help and support before things start to get beyond my control. I know now that I can register for additional help and other services, to make my school year more successful. This wasn¿¿t the way I imagined my first year, but I am hoping to only improve from here.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Ashley McMillan
Student number: 20184874