Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
The purpose of this letter is to request an extension to the 21 day period to appeal my grades obtained in SOCY 273 and SOCY 389. I appreciate that ignorance is no excuse but I was truly unaware that this process was available to me. I only became aware of this avenue in conversation with my roommate several months later. But I have been dealing with very traumatic circumstances in my life and it has been very difficult to focus on my current academic demands. I now feel I can and must deal with this situation.
In July of 2014 I was sexually assaulted by a knife wielding perpetrator. The fallout from this event has been emotionally devastating and pervasive throughout all aspects of my life. It has affected both my personal and academic life. I struggled back to school in September trying to be strong but I had no idea how it would drain me of my focus and energy. I was required to take medication to prevent the contraction of HIV. This medication had a detrimental effect on my health for the time I was taking it as well as for months after. My sleep was impacted as it was often very difficult to get a full night of sleep. I also had no appetite and this resulted in poor health overall and a lack of energy. My immune system was compromised so I was getting sick very often throughout the year. Currently, I am getting therapy but am still having difficulty sleeping and eating. I have also had to deal with the police and prosecutors who needed my attendance and statements for the ongoing criminal proceedings. The trial has been set for the summer of 2016. Perhaps in retrospective I could have reduced my course load but I refused to let this attacker get the better of me. I struggled to get up most mornings and feared walking the campus alone both day and night. As I started to feel healthier emotionally a call would come from the police or prosecutor would and draw me back down. I just can't seem to distance myself from incident. I put as much effort into all my courses that I could muster but I found that the demands of these two courses were more than I imagined. And although I gave them whatever resources I could summon, my marks fell well short of my expectations and potential. My emotional state was further strained when my very close grandmother (I am her namesake) passed away after a week in a coma. I stayed by her bedside to comfort my Mom and Dad. I returned to Queen's after the funeral drained and emotionally fragile.
I can provide all documentation from the investigating officer, prosecutor and court directed special victim's therapist. I can document the therapist in Kingston.
It is my intention that if I am granted an extension on the appeal period, I would then submit an appeal for the marks that I obtained in these two courses. I realize that trying to be strong and put on a brave face led me to this junction. I had no idea how emotionally painful and protracted this traumatic event would be. I came to Queen's to a successful student by giving my total effort and I feel that ideal has been taken from me.
Although this request was difficult to relive, I hope you will give this appeal your full and favourable consideration.
The purpose of this letter is to request an extension to the 21 day period to appeal my grades obtained in SOCY 273 and SOCY 389. I appreciate that ignorance is no excuse but I was truly unaware that this process was available to me. I only became aware of this avenue in conversation with my roommate several months later. But I have been dealing with very traumatic circumstances in my life and it has been very difficult to focus on my current academic demands. I now feel I can and must deal with this situation.
In July of 2014 I was sexually assaulted by a knife wielding perpetrator. The fallout from this event has been emotionally devastating and pervasive throughout all aspects of my life. It has affected both my personal and academic life. I struggled back to school in September trying to be strong but I had no idea how it would drain me of my focus and energy. I was required to take medication to prevent the contraction of HIV. This medication had a detrimental effect on my health for the time I was taking it as well as for months after. My sleep was impacted as it was often very difficult to get a full night of sleep. I also had no appetite and this resulted in poor health overall and a lack of energy. My immune system was compromised so I was getting sick very often throughout the year. Currently, I am getting therapy but am still having difficulty sleeping and eating. I have also had to deal with the police and prosecutors who needed my attendance and statements for the ongoing criminal proceedings. The trial has been set for the summer of 2016. Perhaps in retrospective I could have reduced my course load but I refused to let this attacker get the better of me. I struggled to get up most mornings and feared walking the campus alone both day and night. As I started to feel healthier emotionally a call would come from the police or prosecutor would and draw me back down. I just can't seem to distance myself from incident. I put as much effort into all my courses that I could muster but I found that the demands of these two courses were more than I imagined. And although I gave them whatever resources I could summon, my marks fell well short of my expectations and potential. My emotional state was further strained when my very close grandmother (I am her namesake) passed away after a week in a coma. I stayed by her bedside to comfort my Mom and Dad. I returned to Queen's after the funeral drained and emotionally fragile.
I can provide all documentation from the investigating officer, prosecutor and court directed special victim's therapist. I can document the therapist in Kingston.
It is my intention that if I am granted an extension on the appeal period, I would then submit an appeal for the marks that I obtained in these two courses. I realize that trying to be strong and put on a brave face led me to this junction. I had no idea how emotionally painful and protracted this traumatic event would be. I came to Queen's to a successful student by giving my total effort and I feel that ideal has been taken from me.
Although this request was difficult to relive, I hope you will give this appeal your full and favourable consideration.