Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello Associate Dean, my name is Charlie Piper. I attended my first year at Queens last year as part of the Life Sciences program and was in Leonard Residence. I recently received a letter from the school informing me that due to my cumulative GPA being too low, I would be required to withdraw for one year. I am writing to you in the hopes that you will consider waiving this requirement. I had a very rough first year in my personal life, making it hard to perform academically. I underestimated the impact of being so far away from home; I became depressed, anxious, and self-isolating. One thing after another seemed to be getting in the way of my getting out from under this. Among my difficulties, my rooming situation at Leonard Hall was one of the leading contributing factors to a negative spiral of my mental health. When considering moving from Alberta to Ontario for school, I specifically chose to have a roommate, believing that this would help me meet new people and socialize, and have someone to experience my first year with. I was prepared to do the work that a new relationship entails; however, from the start, it became clear that my roommate Jierui and I were going to become friends, and rather, he became a huge source of anxiety and stress in my life. He disrespected my physical and emotional boundaries, consistently disturbed my sleep, and behaved in a manner that made me uncomfortable. This was extremely isolating and made it harder for me to make friends, reset, and relax, and I dreaded going back to such a negative space. My attempts to co-exist with him initially were many but futile. In truth, after my request for a new room was ignored, after Christmas, I just gave up hope. I spoke with my Don Katelyn early on and frequently throughout the year about how unhappy I was with my rooming situation and how it was negatively impacting my health. I made a room change request but was not granted a change. In hindsight, I know that I needed medical help and there was more I should have done, but when even getting out of bed feels like a chore, these things are hard to imagine, let alone bring yourself to act on.


Throughout the year, I struggled personally with my mental health, and this situation made things worse for me as even my room did not feel like somewhere where I could feel comfortable. I did have several personal matters that impacted my mental and physical health as well. I had a number of illnesses (namely a recurring fight with COVID) where I spent multiple weeks in bed, while simultaneously dealing with a concussion of which I have a history of. I also experienced the unexpected personal loss of a childhood friend right at the start of the year, so I was already going into the year at a low point and then while I was home for Thanksgiving, lost my family dog suddenly as well. While it is by no means my roommate's or anyone else's responsibility to care for me, during that time, it would have made a huge difference to have someone who recognized how much distress I was in. I was anxious to tell my parents how serious things were, and the more that I fell behind, the more stressed and depressed I became.


Needless to say, my academic performance in the first year reflects just how bad things got, however, it is not reflective of what I am capable of. I do take responsibility for the mistakes I made and know that I need to be honest with my parents, take my medications, stay connected with my doctor, and find healthy outlets for my stress. Next year, I have plans to live with friends that I went to elementary school with. They are a good fit for me. I am getting the medical support that I need to manage my anxiety. I am devastated that I may not have the chance to turn things around after I worked so hard for so many years to create this opportunity for myself at the school my parents attended and one I've wanted to attend since I was young. I will need to work exceedingly hard to recover from this year and am ready and prepared to do what is necessary. I am asking for the opportunity to come back this Fall on Academic Probation to repeat my failed courses and earn the opportunity to continue at Queens without being required to take a year off. I know that I need to attend my classes and stay on top of my assignments, and prioritize my mental health. Losing a year and the opportunity to live with people I know and am comfortable with next year and prove that I have what it takes under better conditions would be crushing. I am working on finalizing my academic plan and all documentation including documentation from my doctor proving my history with depression and anxiety as well as a reference letter from residence confirming my story to go alongside this letter and will have it all submitted before the deadline.


Thank you for your time and consideration


Sincerely, Charlie Piper