Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans (Academic),
I am writing to you today in response to my academic standing and the email I received with the requirement to withdraw for one year from the Faculty of Arts and Science.
I received the email to withdraw on May 25th, and I felt it crucial to give myself some time to think and reflect before writing to you today. I considered the recent events that have taken place within the last two years, the most significant being the pandemic, and how that has affected my mental health and my academic abilities. Ultimately, I came to the decision to appeal because I know my academic performance was severely damaged by circumstances beyond my control and was a poor reflection of how I perform as a student.
Before March of 2020, struggling with my own mental health has never been a factor in my life. The COVID-19 virus impacted my life immensely and brought fears and uncertainties about the world that I did not know how to handle. I found it difficult to cope with the sudden changes and dealing with anxiety became a big part of me. Being in quarantine and isolation for months has caused such a deterioration of my own mental health and has been the biggest struggle I have had to deal with thus far. I have experienced a lot of desolation due to the pandemic. The constant feeling of being alone and having to deal with the pressures of school and with the environment that was around me was overwhelming. My friendships grew weak and faded. My household and relationships with immediate family members became unhealthy and toxic which made online learning from home a major challenge. I was in a state of sadness for a long time. Keeping up with any academic standards felt impossible because my focus was lost. The course load felt overwhelming because of what I was going through at the time. The biggest challenge was seeing everything that I needed to get done and feeling so mentally and emotionally defeated that I could not commit myself to my studies. I found that I enjoyed many aspects of political studies, yet I was not in the right state of mind or the right environment where I could focus and really apply myself. With that said, it was not the complexities of the courses that held me back, rather it everything that I was trying to deal with made focusing on lectures and assignments a struggle. I know that I could handle the workload and the requirements if I was in the right environment that allowed me to thrive because I had always been so successful in high school. I would really want that opportunity for the upcoming semesters to continue my studies.
For the new school year, I know things have to change in order for me to be successful. My anxiety and feelings of desolation due to the pandemic has progressively healed as we have started to gain normality once again. As for my environment, I have a house in Kingston now with 3 kind and hardworking roommates that we have already been leasing and moved into. What I have learned about myself regarding what needs to change is that I need to immerse myself in an atmosphere that allows me to thrive. This means living in Kingston with other students, meeting new people, spending time in libraries studying and reading, forming study groups to keep motivated and speaking with consolers whenever needed. This is something that I know I do not only want, rather it is something I need for my own mental health and to succeed in my academics. I have been an honours student with a great work ethic up until COVID-19. I have always been determined and organized and I feel that I can get back to the student I was and want to be. I am ready to move to Kingston permanently in the fall as I feel like that will have a huge impact on me in the best way possible. My first year at Queens did not reflect my abilities as a student, it only reflected what I was going through. My plan for the upcoming semesters is to go undeclared for the fall and winter semesters as a full-time student to allow myself time to focus and really see what courses appeal to me so I can make the decision of what I want to major in for the following year. I believe that taking a year off from my studies would set me back even further. Failure is not what defines me, it is how I bounce back that really counts. Taking a year off does not teach me with how to deal with adversity and I wish for the chance to work hard and prove what kind of student I really am.
In the fall semester I would be going into the school year with a completely new environment, gained independence, new work ethic, and most importantly a new mental state. Thriving in an isolated and suppressing space does nothing but defeat me. Continuing my studies this year would give me the opportunity to prove myself as the student I want to be. I hope you can see my excitement to start a new year and my eagerness to obtain academic results that I can be truly proud of. With the world returning to normalcy and moving to Kingston in the fall will mean a fresh start and the ability for me to truly dedicate myself to my work. This means a lot to me, and I would love this opportunity to prove to myself and all my future professors that I will be a hardworking and dedicated student.
At this time I currently do not have any supporting documentation from a professional. I have been trying to secure an appointment with my family doctor, however due to the on going COVID-19 pandemic my doctor has been dedicating her time to local regional hospitals and is only taking urgent requests. Based on this circumstance, it may be difficult and take awhile to get an appointment to provide you with back up documentation as it is not an urgent medical matter. I am not sure if documentation is essential in your decision making process for my appeal. The issue and reasoning for my appeal is because of how I was affected by the pandemic which I know has also impacted the lives of so many others. Feeling alone, anxious and worried while doing school from my house was a terrible combination of events for myself and now that these feelings have been resolved and I have plans to move to Kingston in the fall, I hope to continue my studies with a fresh start. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response and I hope for the opportunity to continue my studies in the fall.

Thank you,
Sarah Bryant