Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
My name is Talisha Thiviyakumar, and I am a third‑year student in my fourth year of studies. I
am requesting consideration for my late petition. I understand that this request falls outside the
usual timeframe in which CS can be applied; however, after discussing my situation with
academic advisors and counsellors, I believe the circumstances affecting my first, second, and
third years of study warrant consideration.

During this period, I experienced severe and ongoing extenuating circumstances that were
beyond my control. Although I genuinely tried to pursue this petition in the years that followed,
the situation I was in prevented me from submitting petitions within the required timelines. My
difficulties began in my first year when my mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
This changed every aspect of my life, whether I wanted it to or not. I did not know how to cope,
as my mother has always been my world. The emotional distress and instability I experienced
made it extremely difficult to balance my academic responsibilities with a sudden and
overwhelming family crisis, as I also became her primary caregiver. At the same time, I was
struggling extremely with my mental health and did not have access to support or treatment for
everything that was going on, and I was in constant survival mode. These circumstances
significantly affected my academic performance and my ability to understand or navigate the
petition process. My primary focus during that time was simply learning how to survive and take
care of my family.

In my first year, in October of 2022, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and the impact on
my family was immediate. We were all overwhelmed and unsure of what our next steps should
be, but I held the weight of making choices, which meant pushing school and my life aside to
take care of my mother. Because my father was working from early morning (6 a.m.) until late at
night (1 a.m.) to cover our household expenses, and my sister was completing her Neuroscience
master’s program at McMaster in Hamilton while we live in Markham, I became my mother’s
primary caregiver. I frequently returned home, sometimes for days on end, to drive her to
treatments that would take many hours since my mother was doing extensive chemo and taking
her to medical appointments such as CT scans, MRIs, oncologist appointments, and to support
her with day to day care. This included preparing meals she could tolerate, especially as I didn’t
know how to cook it was a challenge helping her shower when she was too weak to stand on her
own, communicating with her siblings since my mom was unable to talk often but everyone was
so worried and I had to console them when I was terrified, caring for our two cats, keeping the
house clean since a messy house bothered my mom quite a lot, ensuring my father had food for
work, and managing many other responsibilities with finances. Balancing these responsibilities
with my academic workload was extremely difficult and far more than I could manage at the
time, but I stayed in school because my parents fled a war‑torn country and came to Canada
without much; they gave me everything and asked for me to study hard in return, and in that
moment it was an afterthought. While it was their dream, I was disappointed in myself for not
pushing myself harder, but I didn’t have the skills. This period marked the beginning of a
prolonged stretch of instability that continued into the following two years. Therefore, I kindly
ask that I receive CS for POLS 110, and PSYC 100, and NCR for CISC 101 and PHIL 111.
In my second year, in November 2023, as I had just finished an assignment and was proud of this
accomplishment because I struggled readjusting to my school life after being my mother’s
primary caregiver, I received a call from my sister to come home immediately, and that is exactly
what I did because of the urgency in my sister’s voice. I also had this gut feeling that things were
about to get worse because life went back to normal way too fast, and good things were not
something that happened often. I believe a part of me knew what was going to happen, but a part
of me was hopeful, as my mom always told me not to assume the worst and to remain calm.
However, the whole bus ride was filled with anxiety and this impending feeling of doom, and
that’s when I got a call from my uncle wondering where I was, and he broke the news to me. I
immediately began to sob very loudly that I felt bad for those on the bus having to witness that.
As I got home, I was surrounded by relatives and immediate family, and I saw my mom and her
eyes were filled with tears and she broke down when she saw me, and I was told by my mother
that the cancer had progressed to a terminal stage and it had spread to her brain and spinal cord
and she had to now start extensive radiation as well. Not long after, my grandmother was also
diagnosed with breast cancer. These overlapping medical crises led to a prolonged period of
constant emotional strain, uncertainty, and instability. At the same time, my living environment
at Queen’s became extremely difficult due to a harmful living situation that left me isolated, as I
was unable to make friends since in my first year I was home so often and wasn’t there to foster
my friendships. I was quite distant from everyone as I didn’t know how to cope with all of this,
so I didn’t have meaningful support. My Kingston home had black mold and bugs and rat
infestations, and my roommates were extremely unclean, which exacerbated the situation as I
also wasn’t eating because of the horrible state of the kitchen. My mental health deteriorated
significantly, and because these circumstances were ongoing and constant with no resolution, I
was not in a position to submit a petition. I was simply trying to cope with the day to day reality
of two critically ill family members and an unsafe living environment at Queen’s while trying
my absolute best to stay afloat, and I did not have the capacity to advocate for myself
academically. I have included documentation from my doctor and my school therapist from
2022/2023 to verify these circumstances with my family. For that reason, I kindly ask that I
receive CS for GNDS 120, MATH 111, DEVS 101, LAW 201, PHIL 151, RELS 205, and NCR
for CISC 101. I also was able to do okay in POLS 250 and POLS 261 because the professors in
those classes were extremely accommodating and gave me more time or changed grading
schemes due to my situation.

My third year marked the most severe decline in my mental health. I experienced constant mood
instability, which I had been struggling with for quite a bit, but with the financial stress of not
having a job, OSAP not giving much aid, and my father struggling with income and even using
me for financial support, it just continued to weigh on my shoulders. I couldn’t help much and
could only help with the money I had, which wasn’t a lot, and because I was going back and
forth between Kingston and Markham, I was incapable of finding a stable job. During this time, I
also experienced episodes that were later identified by my psychiatrist in 2025, during my fourth
year, as part of multiple mental‑health conditions, including Bipolar II, BPD, C‑PTSD, and
GAD. As someone who was on antidepressants alone, the effects were detrimental. They cause
rapid cycling, rapid shifting from mania to a regular state, and are not effective if used by
themselves and can instead make the situation way worse, which is exactly what it did in my
situation. The medication I had started was Escitalopram, prescribed by my family doctor who
had no idea about all the underlying mental illnesses I was struggling with, and the initial side
effects were destabilizing enough that I was hospitalized because I was experiencing blood in my
stool. These circumstances made it impossible for me to submit petitions within the required
deadlines, as I was not medically stable enough to complete the process or advocate for myself.
Despite these challenges, I continued to work toward stabilizing my health, and over time I was
able to establish consistent therapy and find medication that supported my well‑being. I can
submit the proof of disability that I had submitted to OSAP and it stating it as a mental health
condition. For that reason, I kindly ask that I receive CS for BIOL 103 and POLS 285, and NCR
for ARTH 277 and SPAN 111. I found myself in the same position with some of my professors
who were more understanding, as I tried my best to be transparent and do what I could manage
in certain courses, and so I was able to do okay in DEVS 230 and DEVS 260 as they didn't have
many assignments or exams, so I was able to take things slower, and in POLS 212, POLS 242,
and POLS 350 because my professors were understanding and changed the grading schemes as
there were also labour disruptions, so there were fewer cumulative assignments.

By my fourth year, things had finally begun to improve. I was more stable mentally and had
figured out how to deal with my mother’s diagnosis, was able to be more grounded, and more
capable of managing my academic responsibilities, and even excelled in the first semester with a
3.8 GPA unlike my past years. However, during this period I sustained a back injury and a
herniated disc and when I went to the doctors to get an X‑ray done, they found a crack in my
spine, and the condition is called spondylosis. Thankfully, I was right below the threshold for
surgery, but this significantly affected my physical capabilities. I was in constant pain for a
couple of months, and the painkillers I was given stopped providing help. I have chronic pain
now but I had begun physiotherapy but was told my road to recovery would be long, and as
someone that found peace in sports, especially boxing, I was told I would not be able to do that
for a year until I had strengthened my core. Although I received accommodations, the pain and
physical limitations created another unexpected hurdle at a time when I was just beginning to
regain stability. Even so, I was able to maintain a level head, rely on the progress I had made
through medication and therapy, and continue moving forward academically. This injury,
however, made it even more difficult to revisit and process the earlier years of crisis, and it
contributed to the delay in preparing this petition. It was emotionally overwhelming to attempt to
write a petition without what felt like solid proof, and I often felt discouraged by the sense that
yet another obstacle had been placed in front of me. Only once I had regained both physical and
emotional stability was I finally able to gather the necessary documentation and advocate for
myself.

I am now in a much more stable position, supported by appropriate treatment, consistent therapy
for my mental health conditions, and physiotherapy for my physical health, and a renewed belief
in my ability to succeed academically. The Faculty’s regulations require that students
demonstrate that extenuating circumstances were ongoing and prevented timely action. In my
case, the timeline of events from my mother’s initial diagnosis in first year, my grandmother’s
illness and unstable living environment in second year, to my hospitalization and medication
adjustments in third year, and finally to my back injury in fourth year reflects a continuous
period of crisis and recovery during which I was not able to submit petitions. These
circumstances were severe, medically documented, and directly prevented me from acting
between the time academic issues arose and the time I became stable enough to initiate this
petition. For these reasons, I respectfully request that the Faculty grant an exception to the
petition deadlines and consider academic relief for the affected courses. Thank you for your time
and understanding.

Sincerely,
Talisha Thiviyakumar
20347575