Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 14306
Submitted: May 12, 2026 at 5:44:02 PM
First Name: Cameron
Last Name: Detlor
Pronoun: she/her
Student Number: 20556229
Email: 25dqfg@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: BASC
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2025
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: May 10, 2026
Dr. Dorit Naaman
Associate Dean, Academic
Faculty of Arts and Science
Queen’s University
Dear Dr. Naaman,
I am writing to respectfully request your consideration for a late course drop for MATH 121: Differential and Integral Calculus, which I took during my first year in the Faculty of Arts and Science. I am doing so because significant mental health and personal circumstances, which I did not fully understand at the time, substantially interfered with my academic functioning and performance throughout the academic year.
In early August 2025, I submitted a request for an early move-in to ease the adjustment to university life. Unfortunately, having received one of the last residence selection time slots, I was placed in a double loft room with a roommate whose lifestyle and habits were deeply incompatible with my own. Financial and personal circumstances left me with very little flexibility in my living arrangement. What was meant to be my place to rest and recover quickly became a persistent source of stress, anxiety, and discomfort. Looking back, my lack of action in addressing issues with my living arrangement stemmed from my naivety about how much it would affect my academic performance. The constant tension in my living environment created feelings of seclusion that worsened progressively throughout the semester.
Living away from my home community for the first time as a Mohawk woman forced me to face questions of belonging, identity, and stability in new ways. I found being surrounded by people who did not look, talk or move through life like me, incredibly alienating, and a feature of my environment that damaged my ability to ask for help due to former traumas. These adversities extended deeper than I expected and compounded the emotional strain I was already experiencing in my residence. The burden of these feelings made it even more difficult to manage the demands of first-year academics on my own.
As the first semester progressed, the strain and emotional instability began to erode my ability to sleep, and I developed persistent insomnia. I would rarely sleep through the night, and instead, I would sporadically and briefly sleep throughout the day after taking excessive sleep medication. I would drift off during lectures, miss online work deadlines, and was unable to retain the information I needed to complete important assessments. A night that stands out was the night before my first MATH 121 midterm on October 1, 2025. I could not sleep at all because of the stress and anxiety in my living environment. I was afraid that waking early to study would lead to another confrontation with my roommate. By the time I sat down to write the exam, I was completely mentally and physically exhausted and unable to perform as I know I can. As the semester progressed, the lack of sleep and constant stress grew into anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive episodes that made it nearly impossible to function in my studies and in my personal life.
At the time, I did not understand how much these circumstances were undermining my academic functioning. I also did not feel equipped to seek out university support or navigate petition processes while struggling to cope. Early in the Winter term, on January 14, 2026, I spoke with my Residence Don, Jason Rudahusa, about my mental health and academic difficulties. A supporting statement from Jason is included with this petition.
Since that period, I have taken real steps to improve both my health and my academic readiness. I have established a more suitable and comfortable living environment by signing a lease and moving into a house near campus with a group of girls whose friendship and support I will benefit from. I have begun booking medical appointments, pursuing therapy and counselling support, and working toward healthier coping methods. I have also connected with the support resources available to me at Queen’s, including the guidance of my academic advisor, Jenna Kring, whom I became connected with during mid-April. Jenna has shown me warmth and acceptance and introduced me to the array of programming offered by the Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, including STEMInA, a program I am truly enthusiastic about participating in. With the academic year now concluded, I intend to use the coming months to continue reflecting, healing, and laying the foundations I need to return as a stronger, better-prepared student.
My education and my future at Queen’s matter deeply to me. I am committed to becoming the student I know I can be. I submit this petition because I truly believe that the circumstances I have described significantly impaired my academic performance during my first year, especially in MATH 121. I sincerely hope to be given the chance to move forward from this experience. I am ready to do better, and I hope for the chance to prove that.
Thank you very much for your time, understanding, and thought.
Sincerely,
Cameron Detlor
Dr. Dorit Naaman
Associate Dean, Academic
Faculty of Arts and Science
Queen’s University
Dear Dr. Naaman,
I am writing to respectfully request your consideration for a late course drop for MATH 121: Differential and Integral Calculus, which I took during my first year in the Faculty of Arts and Science. I am doing so because significant mental health and personal circumstances, which I did not fully understand at the time, substantially interfered with my academic functioning and performance throughout the academic year.
In early August 2025, I submitted a request for an early move-in to ease the adjustment to university life. Unfortunately, having received one of the last residence selection time slots, I was placed in a double loft room with a roommate whose lifestyle and habits were deeply incompatible with my own. Financial and personal circumstances left me with very little flexibility in my living arrangement. What was meant to be my place to rest and recover quickly became a persistent source of stress, anxiety, and discomfort. Looking back, my lack of action in addressing issues with my living arrangement stemmed from my naivety about how much it would affect my academic performance. The constant tension in my living environment created feelings of seclusion that worsened progressively throughout the semester.
Living away from my home community for the first time as a Mohawk woman forced me to face questions of belonging, identity, and stability in new ways. I found being surrounded by people who did not look, talk or move through life like me, incredibly alienating, and a feature of my environment that damaged my ability to ask for help due to former traumas. These adversities extended deeper than I expected and compounded the emotional strain I was already experiencing in my residence. The burden of these feelings made it even more difficult to manage the demands of first-year academics on my own.
As the first semester progressed, the strain and emotional instability began to erode my ability to sleep, and I developed persistent insomnia. I would rarely sleep through the night, and instead, I would sporadically and briefly sleep throughout the day after taking excessive sleep medication. I would drift off during lectures, miss online work deadlines, and was unable to retain the information I needed to complete important assessments. A night that stands out was the night before my first MATH 121 midterm on October 1, 2025. I could not sleep at all because of the stress and anxiety in my living environment. I was afraid that waking early to study would lead to another confrontation with my roommate. By the time I sat down to write the exam, I was completely mentally and physically exhausted and unable to perform as I know I can. As the semester progressed, the lack of sleep and constant stress grew into anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive episodes that made it nearly impossible to function in my studies and in my personal life.
At the time, I did not understand how much these circumstances were undermining my academic functioning. I also did not feel equipped to seek out university support or navigate petition processes while struggling to cope. Early in the Winter term, on January 14, 2026, I spoke with my Residence Don, Jason Rudahusa, about my mental health and academic difficulties. A supporting statement from Jason is included with this petition.
Since that period, I have taken real steps to improve both my health and my academic readiness. I have established a more suitable and comfortable living environment by signing a lease and moving into a house near campus with a group of girls whose friendship and support I will benefit from. I have begun booking medical appointments, pursuing therapy and counselling support, and working toward healthier coping methods. I have also connected with the support resources available to me at Queen’s, including the guidance of my academic advisor, Jenna Kring, whom I became connected with during mid-April. Jenna has shown me warmth and acceptance and introduced me to the array of programming offered by the Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, including STEMInA, a program I am truly enthusiastic about participating in. With the academic year now concluded, I intend to use the coming months to continue reflecting, healing, and laying the foundations I need to return as a stronger, better-prepared student.
My education and my future at Queen’s matter deeply to me. I am committed to becoming the student I know I can be. I submit this petition because I truly believe that the circumstances I have described significantly impaired my academic performance during my first year, especially in MATH 121. I sincerely hope to be given the chance to move forward from this experience. I am ready to do better, and I hope for the chance to prove that.
Thank you very much for your time, understanding, and thought.
Sincerely,
Cameron Detlor
Documentation
Professional Letter: Supporting Documents - Cameron Detlor - MATH 121 .pdf