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