Petition Letter
After a difficult first year at Queen¿¿s which led to being on academic probation in 2nd year, I returned to school in September 2015 determined to improve my academic performance. All began quite well as I learned and adapted to different techniques and ways to improve my work, and with this my grades improved significantly each semester. Unfortunately, I had a housemate who was difficult to live with, but bearable until second semester. His presence generally made me uncomfortable, and during the winter semester of 2016 we found out he¿¿d been stealing my feminine hygiene products from the trash and also stealing my soiled underwear, keeping both in a paper bag in his desk drawer. Discovering this led me take extra precautions to avoid him completely for a couple weeks. Following this we found out he also had a case containing multiple tiny spy cameras that we feared might have been installed in our shower and toilet. We reported him to the police, who responded immediately, leading to his ultimate arrest. Restraining orders, victims of crime reports, and multiple trials that are ongoing, and seemingly endless. I sought out help from counseling, was offered extensions or waives of tests/assignments but believed I could pull through because I didn¿¿t want someone such as that housemate to have more of an effect on me than he already did. I had a hard time focusing but I was determined. This was clear when I received my final grades that were better than they had been during my recent semesters at Queens, so I concluded that it must have been good enough to lift my probation. All of this led me to feel a great release of stress and I just wanted to forget about school for a while and enjoy being in my own family home again. I only started thinking about school recently when I realized it was time to choose courses for next year. It was only then that I came across the email advising me that I had to sit out a year before being able to return to Queen¿¿s
When I was in high school I had help with a certain trauma that occurred, and I was working on getting better and doing very well with it. When I first discovered he was stealing my female hygienic products from the garbage and stealing my underwear, I was scared of him but couldn¿¿t report him because it wasn¿¿t seemingly serious enough. I spent a couple of weeks hiding out in my room, and only went to the kitchen when I saw his door was closed because I knew I wouldn¿¿t see him there. Once he got arrested I was happy he was gone, but still shocked about the whole event. As the last few weeks of school proceeded we got new information of the multitude of crimes he had been committing for the past year, which were actions we never expected even after learning about the theft. The entire last month of the second semester found me fully consumed by this serious criminal matter as I was unsure exactly what other crimes he might have committed against me personally.
Needless to say, my ability to focus on my academics and end of year exams was next to impossible. In retrospect, perhaps I should have asked to be exempted from my exams but I just wanted to prove to myself that I could handle all of this and do well enough on my finals. I realize now that I needed help and should have sought help from Tonya Bauermann, my Queen¿¿s counselor.
I have secured a living arrangement for next year with people I know well and who all care deeply for each other. I know if given the chance to return to Queen¿¿s for next year, I will continue to prove that my academics will meet the acceptable grade point standard.
I sincerely hope that this explanation of the extenuating circumstances that so significantly interfered with my well being, particularly in the second semester, will help you better understand what occurred and how it so profoundly affected me.
When I was in high school I had help with a certain trauma that occurred, and I was working on getting better and doing very well with it. When I first discovered he was stealing my female hygienic products from the garbage and stealing my underwear, I was scared of him but couldn¿¿t report him because it wasn¿¿t seemingly serious enough. I spent a couple of weeks hiding out in my room, and only went to the kitchen when I saw his door was closed because I knew I wouldn¿¿t see him there. Once he got arrested I was happy he was gone, but still shocked about the whole event. As the last few weeks of school proceeded we got new information of the multitude of crimes he had been committing for the past year, which were actions we never expected even after learning about the theft. The entire last month of the second semester found me fully consumed by this serious criminal matter as I was unsure exactly what other crimes he might have committed against me personally.
Needless to say, my ability to focus on my academics and end of year exams was next to impossible. In retrospect, perhaps I should have asked to be exempted from my exams but I just wanted to prove to myself that I could handle all of this and do well enough on my finals. I realize now that I needed help and should have sought help from Tonya Bauermann, my Queen¿¿s counselor.
I have secured a living arrangement for next year with people I know well and who all care deeply for each other. I know if given the chance to return to Queen¿¿s for next year, I will continue to prove that my academics will meet the acceptable grade point standard.
I sincerely hope that this explanation of the extenuating circumstances that so significantly interfered with my well being, particularly in the second semester, will help you better understand what occurred and how it so profoundly affected me.