Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Johanne Bénard,

I am appealing the faculty's decision that I must withdraw for one year from the Faculty of Arts and Science, effective May 26, 2015.

There were a myriad of reasons for my poor academic performance, the most significant of which being family matters that created extenuating circumstances beyond my control. My parents divorced just prior to September of my first year at Queen's, and my sister was hospitalized during the summer before my second year began. The divorce was increasingly difficult for me to deal with, especially as I was away from my family for long periods of time. I took very frequent trips back home to Toronto in order to visit my family, especially my younger sister that was also struggling with the divorce as well as a drug addiction and subsequent hospitalization that resulted from the emotional trauma. Due to my frequent travelling back and forth to ensure her physical and mental well-being, I didn't budget enough time for much of my coursework outside of lecture hours, including readings and assignments. When I did have time, it was difficult to stay focused because of the constant worry and stress, and my mind was never entirely there.

During my first year at Queen's, I felt very isolated from my family and friends and was feeling depressed. My first year experience was very negative and I was hesitant to return in the fall of 2014 for my second year. I struggled making friends over the course of the year and was afraid to reach out to any of the student services, which I realize now was an enormous mistake. In the summer before my second year, after struggling with mental health issues and a serious drug addiction, my sister was hospitalized for a period of one month. I'm unable to provide medical records because she is a minor and does not wish that they be released. My mother has written a letter to this fact, attached as well. Although this experience was very difficult to go through, I returned to Queen's in the fall and was able to improve my grades. Upon returning home for the winter break of 2014-2015, my sister confided in me about a violent sexual assault she had experienced. After hearing this, I returned home most weekends in my second term to ensure that she was physically and emotionally stable. My parents were uninformed of this situation and I attempted to help her with it as well as I could on my own. Due to these frequent trips back home for the weekends and sometimes Mondays or Fridays, I fell very far behind on my coursework and found it very difficult to succeed academically when under this extreme amount of stress. She is currently attending regular therapy sessions as well as counselling which have dramatically improved her physical and emotional well-being. I think that she is well on her way to becoming healthy and happy again, and this is a huge relief for me. She does not know of my academic struggles.

During the 2014 summer I had the support of friends and family to help me overcome the stress and emotional issues that prevented me from achieving academic success. In my first term, despite my family troubles at home, my marks and GPA were improving. However, after I returned from the holiday break for my second term, my marks dropped again due to the emotional stress and frequent trips home.