Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read this petition. My name is Jody and I am a fourth year Biology student at Queen??s. I enrolled in GEOL 106 for the winter semester as I am also interested in Geology. I am a student registered with Queen??s Accessibility Services (QSAS), and have an accommodations advisor, Caroline Teske. Unfortunately during this semester, I experienced severe difficulties completing my coursework related to my disability. This flare in my condition resulted in me being essentially completely unable to complete coursework, take care of myself, and complete day-to-day tasks. As verified by my advisor, the flare was March 17-31, however my disability and this situation continued to affect me after.

I reached out to my professor Laura Szczyrba indicating that I had missed an assignment during this time and requested to still submit the assignment. My request was denied as it was submitted past the due date of this assignment. I then reached out to my accommodation??s advisor explaining my situation, and she verified my condition and provided me with an email template to communicate with my professors regarding my situation and new due dates for assignments. I emailed two other professors who accepted the accommodation, and again emailed Professor Szczyrba with Caroline cc??d to further validate the situation. She again denied this request, stating that she must be fair to all 400 students in the course and abide by course policy. Caroline then emailed her further verifying my condition and expressing her support for the extension. Professor Szczyrba again stated that she must abide by course policy and be fair to all 400 students, and thus she would not accept the assignment.

This has been an exceptionally difficult situation to deal with, both with my own disability and trying to receive accommodations during an already overwhelming time. I understand Professor Szczyrba??s desire to be fair to all students, however being fair and being equitable are very different concepts. In training provided by the HREO at Queen??s University, I learned the meaning and differences between being fair, being equal, and being equitable. I feel as if although I have i. Provided documentation to the University to verify my disability as verified by my Doctor ii. Communicated a flare in my disability to my accommodations advisor which she then verified, and iii. Communicated my need to be accommodated with my Professor, I am still not being treated equitably. The Ontario Human Rights Commission states the Duty to Accommodate, the ??legal duty to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities who are adversely affected by a requirement, rule or standard. Accommodation is necessary to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunities, access and benefits?, which I feel has not been upheld by this Professor.

I can provide more details on my specific situation if needed, however at this time I would prefer not to disclose details on my disability unless necessary. However, I will express how extraordinarily difficult it has been to continuously have accommodations denied from a professor who does not know details of my personal situation on the basis of being ??fair?. The flare I experienced in my condition has been one of the most difficult times in my life, and trying to fight for accommodations that have been accepted by other Professors with no issues has been frustrating, discouraging, and demeaning.

The assignment, ??Assignment 3? is a 10% assignment, and was submitted to Professor Szczyrba via email to verify its completeness, thus the assignment is currently in her possession. I am hoping to have this assignment marked and the associated marks added to my course grade before the deadline to submit final course marks. Please let me know if you require further information on my disability and how it has impacted me, clarifying details on the timeline, or any other information.

Thank you for taking the time to read this petition, and I hope to hear from you soon regarding this situation.

Best,

Jody Ridpath
20165035