Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Academic Petition Letter April 5th, 2024
Dr. Jenn Stephenson
Faculty of Arts and Science
Queen’s University


Dear Dr. Stephenson,

My name is Sydney Allison (20339428), and I am a second-year student. I am petitioning to late drop the course MATH 121 (Fall 2022, Winter 2023), along with receiving a Credit Standing for the courses CHEM 112 (Fall 2022, Winter 2023), BIOL 103 (Winter, 2023), ENGL 100 (Fall 2022, Winter 2023) and GEOL 104 (Winter, 2023) on my transcript due to extenuating circumstances.
The circumstances surrounding my petition are due to an ongoing physical illness I was strongly impacted by throughout the Winter 2023 semester. In January 2023, I started developing many unexpected symptoms such as a high fever, dizziness, sore throat, body aches, and extreme fatigue. This continued to worsen for a few days while I was resting consistently. However, on January 25th, 2023, I was admitted to Kingston General Hospital (KGH) after fainting in my bedroom due to an extremely high fever. When I was admitted my vitals were checked and I had an extremely low blood pressure, very high heart rate, and my fever was just over 40 degrees Celsius. Multiple blood cultures and a COVID-19 test were performed to try and diagnose my illness. Most of my tests came back inconclusive, however I did test positive for COVID-19. The physician who treated me was unable to give me a complete diagnosis, so I was sent home the next morning with an amoxicillin prescription and was told to stay on bed rest for seven days.
After being off the amoxicillin for a few days, I began feeling extreme throat pain again. On February 8th, 2023, I was unable to swallow any food or liquids, nor was I able to properly speak. I ended up visiting Student Wellness Services, and another mononucleosis blood test was completed, and I was told to continue resting. However, the pain continued to get worse, and I ended up having to go home to receive serious medical attention. From February 10th-13th I visited the Lakeridge Health emergency department in Bowmanville Ontario three times, I was thoroughly examined and had more bloodwork completed, and the physician concluded that I may have had an abscess in my left tonsil. I was then transported to the Oshawa Emergency Department to see an ENT specialist, who performed a small procedure. The physician, Dr. Cheng concluded that it was a minor abscess in my tonsils, and diagnosed me with tonsillitis, suggesting I have my tonsils removed during the summer. He also prescribed me another antibiotic called Clavulin to take for seven days. After stopping the antibiotic, I began to feel slightly better while still experiencing inflammation in my tonsils and extreme fatigue. The inflamed tonsils and extreme fatigue stayed present until the beginning of April when my symptoms worsened again. On April 5th, 2023, I woke up with severe throat pain and inability to swallow again. I was readmitted to KGH and given fluids and an anti-inflammatory and sent home with another prescription for Clavulin. Throughout the several months of dealing with my illness, I was never given an actual diagnosis, and eventually, in August 2023 I had my tonsils removed to hopefully avoid ever becoming that ill again.
Due to the severity and length of my illness and symptoms, I found it extremely challenging to complete the Winter 2023 semester. I was unable to attend many of my lectures, tutorials, and labs, along with having to submit an academic consideration request for many tests, assignments, and midterms. The extreme fatigue and throat pain I had undergone for several weeks made it extremely difficult to continue taking a full course load. I was also one of the ten students in the QuARMS program for Queen’s Medical School and given that a requirement was to have a full course load for each semester, I was unable to drop any of my courses. Additionally, three of the courses I was enrolled in were full-year courses, and when looking at the decrease in grades between the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 semesters, it is obvious that my illness prevented me from performing at my normal academic level. My physical health throughout the Winter 2023 semester affected my academic performance and complicated my educational pathway so extensively, that I decided to withdraw from the QuARMS program to focus more of my attention on my physical health and prioritize my well-being.
When considering my future at Queen’s University, I have already begun making changes to determine my future academic success. I decided to switch programs from QuARMS and Life Sciences to Geological Sciences as I believe the workload is less intense and will allow me to thrive academically. In addition, this past summer I took two summer courses to focus on increasing my GPA and getting myself back on track. Also, in the future, I am open to taking fewer courses per semester if my health ever becomes compromised to maintain good academic standing. Lastly, I have made it a priority to meet with my Indigenous academic advisor Jenna Kring relatively often, to receive the support I need. Throughout the Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and Winter 2024 semesters my health has improved significantly, and I have been able to stay caught up with my courses. In taking these steps, I am confident that in the future I will be able to maintain good academic standing, and if my physical health is ever compromised, I will be knowledgeable in how to move forward.

Thank you so much for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Sydney Allison (20339428)