Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Please accept this letter as my formal appeal regarding the sanction that was imposed upon me as communicated in the Finding of a Departure from Academic Integrity letter, received dated January 3, 2022. The sanction I received was a grade of zero percent assigned to my BCHM 218 final exam that was scheduled to be written in the fall exam period of 2021. This exam is worth 30% of my overall course grade and I feel this ruling does not reflect my involvement in the circumstances that led to the compromising of the exam. I am appealing this sanction after the 21-day period, as it has recently been brought to my attention, by Professor Mark Ormiston, that the decision for individuals in my position was overturned at the faculty level. For this reason, I respectfully ask that you reconsider my circumstances.
On the evening of Sunday December 19th, 2021, I was studying for my CHEM 281 final exam that was scheduled for Monday, December 20th. I received a FaceTime call in which I was made aware that one of my peers was in possession of contents of the BCHM 218 final exam material. I was scheduled to write the BCHM 218 final exam on Tuesday, December 21st. This student had received screenshots of the final exam questions from another student, whose identity I have no knowledge of. I did not solicit these materials, nor did I have any prior knowledge or involvement in the acquisition of said exam materials. Later that evening, I received a recording that included screenshots of the exam, however, I felt that this breach of Academic Integrity was a decision of my peers for which I was not involved with. Additionally, I felt that it was most important that I focus on my Chemistry exam worth 45% of my grade. I did not intend on utilizing these materials, discussing the receipt of these materials with any of my peers, nor did I pass them forward to anyone. The next afternoon, on Monday December 20th, I received a notification on OnQ from Professor Ormiston that the exam had been compromised, specifically stating that the contents of the exam were circulating amongst the student body. Additionally, a follow up announcement on onQ stated that the contents of the exam had already been spread to a substantial number of students. When receiving this, I felt as though I was just one of many students in a position of having received the exam and had nothing to do with its perpetration. I had not considered coming forward at the time with the knowledge that I had received parts of the exam, as I knew that I had not been involved in compromising of the exam. Not having been in a similar situation before, it never occurred to me to contact the teaching staff. However, in reflecting greatly on this incident, I know going forward it was and is my responsibility as a Queens student to show courage by speaking up in situations such as these.
After meeting with Professor Ormiston and discussing my involvement in the situation, it weighed heavily on my mind that he stated that it came down to a moral decision to not report that I had received the contents of the exam, even after hearing that an investigation would take place. This brought me great turmoil, as I understand that this situation has had a negative impact on many individuals and faculty members. In this situation, I felt as though I could not control the actions of my peers and figured that no involvement was the best option. In the future, I will take this situation as a learning opportunity and now understand that it is imperative for my own learning and success as well as that of my peers to come forward and act in situations such as these, regardless of the fear associated with it. Additionally, I understand that I should have acknowledged my possession of these materials, as it would have been the correct measure to take to rectify the situation. Although I felt that ignorance was the best option, going forward I will take a proactive approach if placed in another situation such as this, and show courage to adhere to the university's core values and create a community of integrity. It is a privilege to be able to study, learn, and grow at Queens and I would never want to compromise that opportunity.