Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: August 9, 2021
Liam Quigley-Alvarez
ST20238846

Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies),

I hope this email finds you well.

I am appealing the Faculty??s decision that I must withdraw from Queen??s for the next twelve months.

I spoke to an advisor this morning as my enrollment page did not show the coming semester. He indicated that my file showed a withdrawal and said that an email had been sent in this regard sometime in May. I did not see that email. In fact I have arrived in Kingston from Texas to move into the accommodation I had arranged and thought I could sign up for courses today along with everyone else until all of this happened.

I had been in touch with advisors over the past 6 months. At no time was ?withdrawal?? mentioned. I was always assured that this was a ?Covid year?? and everything would be ok this coming year.

To describe the circumstances of the past year as extenuating is an understatement. Unprecedented in the lifetimes of me or my parents is better given the last Global Pandemic was in 1918. I do not think I was prepared to deal with the implications of the resulting quarantine for my first year of university.

I was born in Canada and had looked forward to returning to Canada for university. Covid changed that path. I began the year as a Computer Science Major, but soon realized this was not the correct direction for me, particularly in a Covid-driven remote environment. I spoke to an advisor and we arrived at the conclusion that I should drop my core Comp Sci classes and plan a transition to something that was better suited to my interests. I was able to drop everything in the first semester except my Political Science course and all of my second semester courses. I added Poli Sci and History courses for the second semester, thinking this would be manageable. I was wrong and I was unable to give the work the attention necessary, In fact, it was so difficult to turn on my computer and choose school as I had no friends from Queen??s or even knew any professors or teaching assistants, that often times I simply chose not too. This decision to not work was completely new to me, I had never struggled with wanting to learn before, in fact I have always loved school. Covid brought out different people in all of us in a sense, but this was more detrimental to me than I would have wanted, but that??s how it turned out. Covid was overwhelming for everyone, but given the new challenges of university it upended everything for me. Remote learning combined with the craziness of the pandemic made for a terrible year for me. In retrospect, I should have deferred the whole year.

I was looking forward to a reset this year - a new academic path and the ability to be on campus so that I could learn in person. I had always loved history, and Queen??s allowed me to actually pursue that knowledge by taking specific classes, but my passion and willingness to learn even my favourite subject wasn??t enough to allow me to succeed in a remote environment. Now, I am fully vaccinated and am in Canada, which is doing a much better job of managing Covid than the state of Texas where my parents live and where I used to live. I feel safe and no longer feel burdened by Covid. I was a good student and I loved to learn in high school and I was and am very ready to begin my university career in earnest. I am hopeful that you will grant me this and let me proceed as if last year did not happen.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.


Liam Quigley-Alvarez
ST 20238846
20ldqa@queensu.ca
(m) 682-232-9540