Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello, my name is Hunter VanGrieken, my student number is 20203734. I would like to drop the courses that I had taken during the second semester of my second year at Queens. During the first semester of my second year I experienced a breakup with a woman I had been dating for three years and at the time lived with. This came quite unexpectedly and I had to move home which was 4 and half hours away from Queens. I moved home for several reasons but perhaps the most significant was the effect this incident had on my mental health.

I was severely struggling to finish my classes and work especially remotely when we were currently supposed to be doing the courses in person. So more than a personal sadness I had to deal with the stresses of academia and it quite clearly affected my marks. However, near the end of the first semester, I thought myself getting better and ultimately sought out a counsellor to help get a note discussing my circumstances which allowed for some breathing room when submitting assignments. However, although I thought myself becoming better the thing about mental health and healing is that it is a slow and often unpredictable process. I fell back into my sadness and depression which was not helped by the lifestyle I was leading and again being stressed, away from Queens trying to do my work. I also attempted to get an apartment on my own but the prices were very high and it was hard to find a place during and after Christmas.

So starting the second semester I tried for a little bit to get back on track but unfortunately, I wasn't yet fully better. I wanted to drop them but due to many reasons I wasn't sure about the process or the consequences and by the time I figured it all out I was too late for the deadline. I attempted to drop my classes without academic penalty but unfortunately, I was too late. I am not asking for any financial assistance or payback but simply that the courses be dropped without academic penalty. I wish to perhaps do some courses in the summer to attempt to repair some of my GPA which was horribly affected by this past year. I have learned so much about myself and the sheer dedication and will that I have gained from pulling myself out of this very difficult time. Now what's left is to clean up the pieces and get things back on track. Throughout this whole process, the team at Queens and the people who have helped me including professors have been amazing and more than understanding and I will always be very thankful for that. I will also continue to use them when figuring out my future plans and course ideas. Thank you for your time.