Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dr. Jenn Stephenson
Associate Dean (Academic)
Faculty of Arts & Science
Queen's University
Kingston Ontario K7L 3N6

PETITION LETTER

A. The Request
I am petitioning to change all failed courses from the 2022 Winter Term to dropped courses. The courses are as follows: ANAT 100, BIOL 103, KNPE 125, KNPE 167, and PSYC 100B

B. Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances
During the 2022 Winter Term I experienced an acute mental health illness that had a profound impact on my ability to pursue my academics and pursue help. The timeline of the unforeseen personal events that contributed to the development of this illness are shown below:

-June 2021, my grandfather in Kingston, whose care I was very involved with, passed away after a long illness.

-Sept 2021, my grandmother in Toronto passed away unexpectedly shortly after I moved into university residence and the fall academic term had begun.

-Dec 2021, the Omicron Covid variant arrived and started spreading in the Queen??s residences, community and Kingston. Queens announced that classes in the next academic term (Winter 2022) would start online. Given these factors, my parents and I decided I should move out of my university residence and back to my family home in Kingston for the winter term of 2022.

-Jan 2022, All courses began online. I was alone at home and began to struggle with feelings of grief from the loss of my grandparents which I had only then started to process. I felt isolated from my peers after the sudden change from seeing friends everyday in residence, to being alone at home. I developed fatigue, poor concentration, and low mood causing me to feel unable to initiate coursework. I had never experienced such feelings before and was unsure how to handle them.

-Feb 2022, I was immobilized by feelings of depression compounded by a growing anxiety from falling behind in my courses. I felt guilty and ashamed. Panic attacks occurred when I thought about my situation and so I started trying to ignore and avoid this growing problem.

-March 2022, classes returned to in-person but I did not attend and I had yet to reveal that I was in need of help. I continued to avoid my situation but my anxiety and panic attacks persisted.

-April 2022, I did not to complete any coursework resulting in failures for all of my courses in the winter term of 2022


-Fall 2022, I decided not to commence the fall academic semester and began talking to my family doctor and parents about my mental health problems and academic situation.

C. Future Plan
With the support of my parents and after several appointments with my family doctor, a visit with an advisor at the Queen??s School of Kinesiology and Health Studies and a consultation with an academic advisor at Queen??s Arts & Science Student Services, I have developed a plan to return to my studies. My plan includes putting new supports and strategies in place to allow me to successfully resume my studies of kinesiology starting in January 2023. As my academic difficulties in the Winter 2022 were mental-health related, most of the new supports and strategies in my plan aim to help me better maintain my mental health and better address any setbacks I may encounter in the future.

First, I??ve reduced my course load to 3 courses for my initial term of study. I am enrolled in BIOL 103, KNPE 125, KNPE 167. Success in these courses will contribute to getting me back on track with completing kinesiology degree requirements. Second, this academic term I have booked regular appointments with my family doctor and a personal counselor to get support and guidance as I continue to develop insight and strategies to help better manage my mental health. Third, I??ve reached out to Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) to explore options that may be available to support me in my academic pursuits. Finally, I have resumed regular exercise through my running and also plan to participate in an intramural activity as I really benefited from playing intramural Ultimate in the Fall 2021 term. Activities such as these help me reduce my feelings of social isolation, help me make new connections in the Queen's community, and improve my physical health too.

With this plan in place I feel optimistic about my academic future. Thank you for reviewing my petition letter and considering my request. I hope that I have provided sufficient details in this letter and the other documentation for you to be able to grant my request which in itself would significantly help me in my recovery from this difficult period in my life.


Sincerely,

Basil Pinkerton


( Off-Campus Physician??s Note, Death Certificates, Parental Support Letter)