Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing in response to a letter I received asking that I withdraw from Queen¿¿s for one year due to poor academic performance. I am respectfully requesting that you reconsider this decision and allow me to drop the courses in which I received failing grades without academic penalty. The extenuating circumstances on which this reconsideration may be based are detailed below:
In my final year of high school, I ended my relationship with my boyfriend on unfortunate terms and spent the rest of the year being verbally abused by him and another peer on a level that affected me quite severely. It was a situation that I was unable to remove myself from and one that resulted in my confidence and self-worth being very low. I had been excited to start anew at Queen¿¿s and move on to a more positive future, but as a result of this, my mental and emotional state transitioning into university life was poor, only to become more so.

I enrolled in courses that were perhaps not the best choices for me, but, as I have always enjoyed challenging myself academically, I kept up with them with the assumption that I could still do well. Soon, however, I realized that I was struggling much more than I expected and my already very low confidence dropped further. I had never before experienced such failure in the academic area of my life and because of my emotional state at the time I was not equipped to address the issues on my own. Unfortunately, I was spending my first year living at home and therefore spent very little time on campus and did not have the opportunity to meet new people, resulting in a lack of peer support through my struggles. My parents were there, and I knew they would support me, but I was worried about disappointing them. They were also dealing with some other matters within our family and I was afraid to be a burden. I felt very alone. I became depressed.

As a result of the accumulated circumstances, I was unable to attend to my studies. I had become so overwhelmed that I was physically incapable of attending class, doing assignments, studying, etc. By the time I realized how far behind I had fallen, it was too late to salvage the semester, though I did try. It was about this time that my parents became fully aware of the extent of my emotional situation and how that was affecting my school performance and mental health. They provided me with the sense of security I was missing and helped me to begin to regain the confidence I had lost in myself. It was with their support that I finished the semester and started to identify the problems in my life and find suitable solutions to each of them, anticipating a new start in my second year.
Prior to receiving the letter from Queen¿¿s requesting that I withdraw for a year, I had already done much to rectify the challenges I was faced with this past year. I have made an effort to meet people and be closer to campus so that I am no longer as isolated as I once was. I have moved into an apartment downtown with other students attending Queen¿¿s and will begin seeing a counsellor to ensure that I am moving forward in the most positive direction. I intend to take a lighter, more manageable course load and I am now aware of the resources available to me for support should I need it.

The possibility of not returning to Queen¿¿s, even for a year, saddens me greatly. I love school and I love learning. I want nothing more than to continue my studies at Queen¿¿s in the coming year and demonstrate my considerable capabilities and I sincerely request that you give me the opportunity to do so.

Thank you for your consideration.

Meaghan Fairfax