Petition Letter
Friday June 14, 2014
Associate Deans (Studies)
Faculty of Arts and Science
F200 Mackintosh-Corry Hall
Queen¿¿s University
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
To J. Hugh Horton and Johanne Benard:
This is to inform you that I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must ¿¿withdraw from Queen¿¿s for three years.¿ An interruption to my education of this magnitude could be catastrophic.
I am appealing this decision and would appreciate if you would consider allowing me to continue despite the fact that my GPA is not at or above 1.60. All year, with each assignment, each quiz, each exam, each presentation and each essay I wrote, that goal of 1.60 rang clear and I have fallen short. No one is more disappointed than I am but it is not from lack of effort.
As you can see from the attached letter dated May 27, 2014, from Dr. Stephanie Baxter, Assistant Professor with the Ophthalmology Department at Queen¿¿s University/Hotel Dieu, I have an eye condition called ¿¿keratoconus.¿ The most damaging element of this diagnosis has been its unfortunate timing ¿ at the end of my very first year of university. It has not given me enough time to make adjustments to my learning style and figure out how to accommodate for the tremendous amount of reading material required at the university level. At my appointment in March 2014, Dr. Baxter was pleased with the condition of my corneas since the cross-linking procedure but explains that ¿¿the diagnosis of keratoconus and the reduction in vision that it causes can be limiting my ability to and speed at which I can process visual information.¿ I continue to combat this visual processing problem and the vast amount of reading material required by reviewing youtube videos and participating in peer and group discussions in order to extend my understanding of geographical concepts.
My GPA is not where it needs to be but it is improving. I am presently enrolled in two half courses this summer and if I am successful I will have completed 10 of 15 full courses towards a Bachelor of Arts degree here at Queen¿¿s.
I have been a member of the Queen¿¿s University Football Team for three years and football practice does require my time, but it is time well spent. As a member of the football team, I have access to peer support, athlete services support and academic mentoring support. As well, football practice helps me to manage stress. If you just give me a little more time to prove myself, I trust you will not be disappointed.
At the beginning of April, Principal Woolf sent out an ¿¿end of term message.¿ He wrote about how we probably have been ¿¿presented with challenges¿ and ¿¿had opportunities for triumphs and celebrations.¿ It was so very easy to reflect on the numerous challenges that I have faced since coming to Queen¿¿s and I can look fondly upon enjoying the traditional Queen¿¿s experience with family and friends, but he also mentioned about being part of the ¿¿Queen¿¿s Family¿ and it is this ¿¿Family¿ that I am appealing to for some flexibility and accommodation for my circumstances.
The Bounce Back Program was not available when I began going through my GPA turmoil and I commend Queen¿¿s for providing yet another valuable academic support program. Over the past three years, I have met with people at Learning Strategies, hired peer tutors from ASUS, talked with academic counsellors, TA¿¿s and tried to access support when it was needed. This year, I sought out a retired geography teacher and met with him once or twice a week at the Public Library. We talked about and reviewed concepts that I was learning about. As a result, I passed three courses in the fall and three courses in the winter. I think this strategy was effective, not only because I could synthesize my understanding without having to read more but also because he was available to meet when it was most convenient for me. Disability Services is an office I haven¿¿t contacted yet. Why I was naïve and embarrassed. I didn¿¿t want to be that guy that has to bother Professors ¿ write exams at another time ¿ at another location. Who wants to be that guy But, now I understand it is yet another step I must undertake.
I have attached an academic plan for 2014/15 and I would like you to consider the action that I have taken to successfully complete a degree here at Queen¿¿s. Quite frankly, I have participated in a great deal of soul searching and self-reflection and although, the easiest thing to do would be just to ¿¿quit,¿ I don¿¿t think it¿¿s the right thing to do. I think I will learn more from the ¿¿fight.¿ In my past three years at Queen¿¿s I have not only gained new knowledge but I have learned that when presented with challenges, I can ¿¿dig deep¿ and it is characteristics like these that can¿¿t be measured by a GPA.
Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely,
Luke Ball
10012967
Associate Deans (Studies)
Faculty of Arts and Science
F200 Mackintosh-Corry Hall
Queen¿¿s University
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
To J. Hugh Horton and Johanne Benard:
This is to inform you that I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must ¿¿withdraw from Queen¿¿s for three years.¿ An interruption to my education of this magnitude could be catastrophic.
I am appealing this decision and would appreciate if you would consider allowing me to continue despite the fact that my GPA is not at or above 1.60. All year, with each assignment, each quiz, each exam, each presentation and each essay I wrote, that goal of 1.60 rang clear and I have fallen short. No one is more disappointed than I am but it is not from lack of effort.
As you can see from the attached letter dated May 27, 2014, from Dr. Stephanie Baxter, Assistant Professor with the Ophthalmology Department at Queen¿¿s University/Hotel Dieu, I have an eye condition called ¿¿keratoconus.¿ The most damaging element of this diagnosis has been its unfortunate timing ¿ at the end of my very first year of university. It has not given me enough time to make adjustments to my learning style and figure out how to accommodate for the tremendous amount of reading material required at the university level. At my appointment in March 2014, Dr. Baxter was pleased with the condition of my corneas since the cross-linking procedure but explains that ¿¿the diagnosis of keratoconus and the reduction in vision that it causes can be limiting my ability to and speed at which I can process visual information.¿ I continue to combat this visual processing problem and the vast amount of reading material required by reviewing youtube videos and participating in peer and group discussions in order to extend my understanding of geographical concepts.
My GPA is not where it needs to be but it is improving. I am presently enrolled in two half courses this summer and if I am successful I will have completed 10 of 15 full courses towards a Bachelor of Arts degree here at Queen¿¿s.
I have been a member of the Queen¿¿s University Football Team for three years and football practice does require my time, but it is time well spent. As a member of the football team, I have access to peer support, athlete services support and academic mentoring support. As well, football practice helps me to manage stress. If you just give me a little more time to prove myself, I trust you will not be disappointed.
At the beginning of April, Principal Woolf sent out an ¿¿end of term message.¿ He wrote about how we probably have been ¿¿presented with challenges¿ and ¿¿had opportunities for triumphs and celebrations.¿ It was so very easy to reflect on the numerous challenges that I have faced since coming to Queen¿¿s and I can look fondly upon enjoying the traditional Queen¿¿s experience with family and friends, but he also mentioned about being part of the ¿¿Queen¿¿s Family¿ and it is this ¿¿Family¿ that I am appealing to for some flexibility and accommodation for my circumstances.
The Bounce Back Program was not available when I began going through my GPA turmoil and I commend Queen¿¿s for providing yet another valuable academic support program. Over the past three years, I have met with people at Learning Strategies, hired peer tutors from ASUS, talked with academic counsellors, TA¿¿s and tried to access support when it was needed. This year, I sought out a retired geography teacher and met with him once or twice a week at the Public Library. We talked about and reviewed concepts that I was learning about. As a result, I passed three courses in the fall and three courses in the winter. I think this strategy was effective, not only because I could synthesize my understanding without having to read more but also because he was available to meet when it was most convenient for me. Disability Services is an office I haven¿¿t contacted yet. Why I was naïve and embarrassed. I didn¿¿t want to be that guy that has to bother Professors ¿ write exams at another time ¿ at another location. Who wants to be that guy But, now I understand it is yet another step I must undertake.
I have attached an academic plan for 2014/15 and I would like you to consider the action that I have taken to successfully complete a degree here at Queen¿¿s. Quite frankly, I have participated in a great deal of soul searching and self-reflection and although, the easiest thing to do would be just to ¿¿quit,¿ I don¿¿t think it¿¿s the right thing to do. I think I will learn more from the ¿¿fight.¿ In my past three years at Queen¿¿s I have not only gained new knowledge but I have learned that when presented with challenges, I can ¿¿dig deep¿ and it is characteristics like these that can¿¿t be measured by a GPA.
Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely,
Luke Ball
10012967