Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

Throughout my four years at Queen’s, I have collaborated with QSAS (Ellen Babb) and received much needed disability-related assistance. However, last October, I experienced an unexpected and drastic change in my health that affected my sleep, memory, planning abilities, and sense-of-self. Put simply, this was not merely a worsening of existing disability symptoms; rather, it was an entirely new challenge that required pivoting to entirely new strategies to meet even the most basic obligations.

Over the last six months, I have had to rely on additional supports from Psychology Accommodations (Tara Karasewich), SASS (Michael Fleming), The CARE Team (Gail Motut), a student wellness psychiatrist (Dr. Jake Hong), and my professors — all of whom were extremely understanding — as well as my family and even my close friends. Still, my final year at Queen’s was marked by extreme difficulties. As an example, my internship supervisor and I (see: POLS 598) had to develop a highly flexible schedule with a reduced workload, and it was only due to this flexibility that I was able to pass this pass/fail course.

Sadly, my academic achievements did not escape unharmed. The first sign that something was seriously wrong happened in PSYC 342, when I showed up almost 20 minutes late to a midterm for (at the time) no discernible reason, and was unable to finish over half of the exam. In hindsight, this was due to my worsening condition, but I was equal-parts devastated and confused. To this day, this is my only exam failure, and was my first final grade below the B-range. But in my Winter semester, matters became more serious. Despite my excitement about PSYC 420 — my only 400-level psychology seminar — I ended up having to closely collaborate with my instructor (Dr. Effie Pereira) to meet the weekly course obligations, and even with all of her generous help, I received a C-, which is my lowest mark to date. Later on, despite receiving medication, I ended up having to cancel my summer graduation and drop two other courses.

Prior to this incident, I had proudly made the Dean’s Honour list six times in a row, and was gearing up for graduate school applications. Needless to say, I was crushed, but willing to accept these as ‘consequences’ of unforeseen circumstances. But a few months ago, I remembered that I had met with Gail Motut from the CARE team during the winter break, where she suggested that I could file for Credit Standing in the most-impacted courses once I received all of my final marks.

I now realize that these two marks, rather than represent my abilities and engagement as a Queen’s student, represent an unprecedented struggle that I could not have possibly prepared for.

Thanks for any help you can provide, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,
Ilya Simeon (20360983)