Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dr. Johanne Bénard,

I am appealing to drop ECON 320 (Winter 2015).
I request to drop this course due to extenuating circumstances beyond my control. The weekend prior to the last week of classes for the Winter 2016 term, I was sexually assaulted. This event severely affected my ability to focus on my studies and be present in class for important course material unavailable online. Consequently, I sought the help of Queen's Counselling Services and other outside resources. I met with a Hagar Akau Prah, the Outreach Counsellor/Student Life Advisor from Student Affairs, Margot Coulter, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Coordinator at the Human-Rights Office, and a separate therapist in Kingston. Having difficulty preparing for final exams, I deferred five of my six exams. The effects of my sexual assault made it difficult for me to perform well during the end of the Winter 2016 term, in which I had a heavy course-load.
I met with Joyce Hunter from Academic Counselling Services to create my academic plan for going into my fourth year as an Applied Economics major. I have discussed this plan with Jennine Ball, the Undergraduate Assistant/Advisor for Queen's Economics Department. Having missed important review material for the difficult and heavily weighted ECON 320 exam, I request to drop ECON 320. Since this course is not required for majoring in Applied Economics, dropping it and not reregistering for it in the future will not negatively impact my graduation requirements.
I will use this summer as a time to recover from my sexual assault and prepare for my deferred exams. I am spending the summer at home in Dallas, Texas with my family and plan to see a counsellor in my area. Returning from this difficult time in Fall 2016, continuing to utilize my on-campus resources for recovery and registering for a normal course load will put me in a better position to perform well academically. Should my appeal be granted, I plan to take 5.0 credits in Fall 2015 and 5.0 credits in Winter 2016, followed by 2.0 course credits the summer after my fourth year at Queen's. This will allow me to meet the graduation requirements for majoring in Applied Economics in the summer of 2016.
Thank you for your consideration,
Renée Donado