Petition Letter
June 14, 2022
To whom it may concern,
My name is Ben Barringer and I am a second year student at Queen??s University. I come from a long line of Queen??s alumni, and I am writing this letter of appeal as a plea for help. This will not be a traditional appeal as I do recognize the reasons for placing me on academic probation. I understand that I have made my bed and now I need to lay in it, and I am in no way making light of this situation I am in. However, I hope that this letter can shed some light on my situation and hopefully provide some context with the aim of modifying the terms of this requirement to withdraw.
I had an extremely difficult first year at Queen??s. Although I was admitted into residence for my first year, that decision was made very late due to the limited number of spaces available as a result of Covid restrictions. As I was worried about where I would live, I signed a lease to live off campus in a house with some people I knew. Literally the day after I signed my lease, I received notification of my acceptance into residence, but at that point, I had to turn it down. That unfortunate circumstance resulted in significant difficulties for me. The shift from living at home to living in a house with roommates, buying groceries, and self moderating at 17 years old was no easy task. All of this was made much more difficult for me due to the necessary restrictions resulting from the pandemic.
As I have discovered and can finally put into words, on-line learning is not for me. I have always done better being able to discuss my classes, lessons, and assignments with others in person, face to face. The collaboration that had always been such a big part of my learning up until March of 2020 was taken away in order to keep us all safe. I realize this was not a choice the university had, nor a choice anyone had, and I am not trying to place blame at anyone else??s feet. I am trying to explain the difficulties this posed for me, and to show how I have learned from it since then. I understand that this was not unique to me, all first year students faced some difficulties, and I am not unique in this regard. But some of my specific circumstances and difficulties are.
During Covid, both of my grandfathers died. I can provide their Death Certificates if required. My father??s father lived in Virginia, and as we were not allowed to cross the border, we could not visit him, or comfort my grandmother when he died in April 2020. Our entire family was under tremendous stress at this time. For me, the most severe and painful loss was in early April of 2021, when my mother??s father, my Papa, died of colon cancer after a fifty year long battle with debilitating Crohn's disease. He and I were extremely close; he lived with my family on and off for a number of years while receiving treatment at the Juravinski cancer hospital. We would talk daily and watch sports at night. He loved the Leafs, I love the Canadiens but I didn't care, I just cherished the time we spent together. Once school began these conversations didn't end, they just changed. We had bi-weekly facetime calls which were the highlights of my week. Towards the end of the year he became so tired that these bi-weekly calls switched to weekly calls until he died. It has been over a year since we have talked and I long for those calls constantly. I now understand that there are resources to help students facing extenuating circumstances like these. However I was too naive to use them. I thought I could still succeed academically while under duress. I was wrong.
I don't tell this story as a cop out, that would be in disdain to who my Papa was, what he stood for, and his memory. I merely use it to provide context. I was coming home from school frequently during January to April to visit my Papa and to help out where I could, and I know it had a major impact on my ability to focus on my school work. After the school year ended in April 2021, I didn't want to think about anything, and after my final exam was written I closed my computer and didn't think about it until course selection. I did not share my feelings with my family as I did not want to burden my parents anymore then they already were. Our house was a tense, stressful place, and I did not want to make it worse. I now know how much of a mistake this decision was, but that is honestly the head space I was in at the time.
I immediately threw myself into the heavy work of the three jobs I had lined up for the summer. I need to pay my own way through school and so this work would not only help me succeed, but it would distract me from grief as well. This proved to be a nail in my coffin. I was so tired from work and this suppression of grief that I did nothing other than work, eat, and sleep. Because of this I did not check my email, both school and personal for months. As a result, I completely missed seeing the letter of academic probation that was emailed to me after the first year. Consequently, I also didn't take the necessary steps to improve as I didn??t know the extent to which I needed to. This is a situation I strongly regret now. But I can not change the past, I can only learn from it. I believe I have.
After a long hard summer I returned to Kingston eager to get back into a less physically demanding routine. Once again the difficulties with on-line learning presented problems to me, as I missed classes, submitted assignments late, and fell behind on my schoolwork. Again, I understand there are resources available to help students, I was just too naive, or honestly, too stupid to use them. Fast forward to second semester exams and I was in real academic trouble. I studied, worked, and learned, yet it wasn't enough to pull me up from the hole I had dug for myself. I returned home scared to face the fact that I would be on academic probation, and yet to my horror I was at stage two. I didn't have a year to clean up my act, I had already wasted it. I hastily signed up for two summer courses worth 9 credits while working three jobs again in the hopes that my status would be evaluated after the summer term. Once again I was wrong about when my status would be evaluated.
So I am writing to you for help. I know that I can succeed in this world. If you look at how I am doing in my current summer classes, you will see proof of this. I have found a way to discuss my class readings and assignments with my family members, and in my study groups, so that I can do much better in summer courses that are also not in person. After the last two years, where there has not been consistency, or a way for me to feel anchored by my academics, I am finally figuring out how to properly devote time and energy to my classes and assignments. This is a major step in the right direction for me, and I hope for and ask for the opportunity to continue some forward momentum from this approach.
I still need to work, as I pay for my own education, unlike most of my peers. With a lighter courseload and the fact that the stakes are high I know that I can be successful. I am merely asking for the chance to prove it. I am quite close to the threshold of good standing with the university and with good grades, grades that I know I can achieve in these summer courses, my GPA will be in the range of good standing. So all I ask is that you reevaluate my status in August so that I can continue my education, enhance my mental health and well-being, and move forward with my goal of earning my degree and taking further steps towards a meaningful career.
I made a number of mistakes throughout my first two years at school but the greatest being convincing myself that I could do it alone. I can't. I am requesting the ability to become a part time student for the 2022-2023 school year. I understand, and accept, the need to be placed on academic probation. I am asking for the opportunity to have the terms of that probation lessened for the reasons I stated above.
Thank you for your time, patience, and understanding.
Sincerely,
Ben Barringer
To whom it may concern,
My name is Ben Barringer and I am a second year student at Queen??s University. I come from a long line of Queen??s alumni, and I am writing this letter of appeal as a plea for help. This will not be a traditional appeal as I do recognize the reasons for placing me on academic probation. I understand that I have made my bed and now I need to lay in it, and I am in no way making light of this situation I am in. However, I hope that this letter can shed some light on my situation and hopefully provide some context with the aim of modifying the terms of this requirement to withdraw.
I had an extremely difficult first year at Queen??s. Although I was admitted into residence for my first year, that decision was made very late due to the limited number of spaces available as a result of Covid restrictions. As I was worried about where I would live, I signed a lease to live off campus in a house with some people I knew. Literally the day after I signed my lease, I received notification of my acceptance into residence, but at that point, I had to turn it down. That unfortunate circumstance resulted in significant difficulties for me. The shift from living at home to living in a house with roommates, buying groceries, and self moderating at 17 years old was no easy task. All of this was made much more difficult for me due to the necessary restrictions resulting from the pandemic.
As I have discovered and can finally put into words, on-line learning is not for me. I have always done better being able to discuss my classes, lessons, and assignments with others in person, face to face. The collaboration that had always been such a big part of my learning up until March of 2020 was taken away in order to keep us all safe. I realize this was not a choice the university had, nor a choice anyone had, and I am not trying to place blame at anyone else??s feet. I am trying to explain the difficulties this posed for me, and to show how I have learned from it since then. I understand that this was not unique to me, all first year students faced some difficulties, and I am not unique in this regard. But some of my specific circumstances and difficulties are.
During Covid, both of my grandfathers died. I can provide their Death Certificates if required. My father??s father lived in Virginia, and as we were not allowed to cross the border, we could not visit him, or comfort my grandmother when he died in April 2020. Our entire family was under tremendous stress at this time. For me, the most severe and painful loss was in early April of 2021, when my mother??s father, my Papa, died of colon cancer after a fifty year long battle with debilitating Crohn's disease. He and I were extremely close; he lived with my family on and off for a number of years while receiving treatment at the Juravinski cancer hospital. We would talk daily and watch sports at night. He loved the Leafs, I love the Canadiens but I didn't care, I just cherished the time we spent together. Once school began these conversations didn't end, they just changed. We had bi-weekly facetime calls which were the highlights of my week. Towards the end of the year he became so tired that these bi-weekly calls switched to weekly calls until he died. It has been over a year since we have talked and I long for those calls constantly. I now understand that there are resources to help students facing extenuating circumstances like these. However I was too naive to use them. I thought I could still succeed academically while under duress. I was wrong.
I don't tell this story as a cop out, that would be in disdain to who my Papa was, what he stood for, and his memory. I merely use it to provide context. I was coming home from school frequently during January to April to visit my Papa and to help out where I could, and I know it had a major impact on my ability to focus on my school work. After the school year ended in April 2021, I didn't want to think about anything, and after my final exam was written I closed my computer and didn't think about it until course selection. I did not share my feelings with my family as I did not want to burden my parents anymore then they already were. Our house was a tense, stressful place, and I did not want to make it worse. I now know how much of a mistake this decision was, but that is honestly the head space I was in at the time.
I immediately threw myself into the heavy work of the three jobs I had lined up for the summer. I need to pay my own way through school and so this work would not only help me succeed, but it would distract me from grief as well. This proved to be a nail in my coffin. I was so tired from work and this suppression of grief that I did nothing other than work, eat, and sleep. Because of this I did not check my email, both school and personal for months. As a result, I completely missed seeing the letter of academic probation that was emailed to me after the first year. Consequently, I also didn't take the necessary steps to improve as I didn??t know the extent to which I needed to. This is a situation I strongly regret now. But I can not change the past, I can only learn from it. I believe I have.
After a long hard summer I returned to Kingston eager to get back into a less physically demanding routine. Once again the difficulties with on-line learning presented problems to me, as I missed classes, submitted assignments late, and fell behind on my schoolwork. Again, I understand there are resources available to help students, I was just too naive, or honestly, too stupid to use them. Fast forward to second semester exams and I was in real academic trouble. I studied, worked, and learned, yet it wasn't enough to pull me up from the hole I had dug for myself. I returned home scared to face the fact that I would be on academic probation, and yet to my horror I was at stage two. I didn't have a year to clean up my act, I had already wasted it. I hastily signed up for two summer courses worth 9 credits while working three jobs again in the hopes that my status would be evaluated after the summer term. Once again I was wrong about when my status would be evaluated.
So I am writing to you for help. I know that I can succeed in this world. If you look at how I am doing in my current summer classes, you will see proof of this. I have found a way to discuss my class readings and assignments with my family members, and in my study groups, so that I can do much better in summer courses that are also not in person. After the last two years, where there has not been consistency, or a way for me to feel anchored by my academics, I am finally figuring out how to properly devote time and energy to my classes and assignments. This is a major step in the right direction for me, and I hope for and ask for the opportunity to continue some forward momentum from this approach.
I still need to work, as I pay for my own education, unlike most of my peers. With a lighter courseload and the fact that the stakes are high I know that I can be successful. I am merely asking for the chance to prove it. I am quite close to the threshold of good standing with the university and with good grades, grades that I know I can achieve in these summer courses, my GPA will be in the range of good standing. So all I ask is that you reevaluate my status in August so that I can continue my education, enhance my mental health and well-being, and move forward with my goal of earning my degree and taking further steps towards a meaningful career.
I made a number of mistakes throughout my first two years at school but the greatest being convincing myself that I could do it alone. I can't. I am requesting the ability to become a part time student for the 2022-2023 school year. I understand, and accept, the need to be placed on academic probation. I am asking for the opportunity to have the terms of that probation lessened for the reasons I stated above.
Thank you for your time, patience, and understanding.
Sincerely,
Ben Barringer