Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Members of the Petitions Committee,

I am writing to request a late course drop for GEOL 104, which I took during the Winter 2026 term. I am making this request because serious extenuating circumstances that began during the Fall 2025 term continued to affect my functioning during the Winter 2026 term and prevented me from recognizing and acting on the need to drop GEOL 104 by the official deadline.

During the Fall 2025 term, I experienced a serious residence-related crisis while living in Watts Hall. The situation was not a normal first-year adjustment issue or minor social difficulty. It became a sustained and hostile residence environment involving targeted exclusion, public humiliation, and ongoing emotional distress. As a first-year student, I was trying to build stability and a sense of belonging in residence, but the situation in Watts Hall made it extremely difficult for me to feel safe, settled, or able to function in the place where I was supposed to live, sleep, study, and recover.

Early in the term, I became connected with a group of students on my floor. One student in that group, who was also my Can-mate, had significant social influence over the other students on the floor. Over time, she became increasingly hostile toward me and used that influence to encourage others to exclude and ignore me. The situation escalated when my Can-mate organized what felt like a group “intervention” in the common room. During that meeting, she told me that I was annoying, that I should stop trying to spend time with the group, and that I had no friends. The other students were present and largely watched while this happened; some were visibly upset and crying. The experience was extremely humiliating and distressing.

After this incident, the exclusion became more widespread. Students who had previously spoken with me began ignoring me, including refusing to acknowledge me in the hallway or common areas. My Can-mate also spoke loudly about me to other students in the room next to mine, loudly enough that I could hear what was being said through the wall. This made the situation feel inescapable, because even when I was alone in my own room, I could still hear people discussing me. The residence environment became a source of constant anxiety and distress.

As the situation continued, I began coming home on weekends because I could not tolerate remaining in residence for long stretches. This was difficult and expensive for my family, but it was one of the only ways I could get relief from the situation. When I returned to campus, I was still extremely isolated. I often went through my days without speaking to anyone, and I ate alone in my room every day because I no longer felt comfortable in the common spaces or around students on my floor.

This seriously affected my ability to function. My sleep, eating, concentration, confidence, and ability to keep up academically were all affected. The situation became so serious that I considered leaving Queen’s and moving home. As part of the impact of the residence crisis, I reduced my Fall 2025 course load substantially. I dropped three courses in total. Two of those courses, ENSC 103 and POLS 111, appear on my transcript as dropped courses. The third course was dropped early enough that it does not appear on my transcript, but it was also dropped because of the same circumstances.

On November 14, 2025, the situation escalated to the point that both of my parents drove from Toronto to Kingston because I was in crisis and they were very concerned about my immediate well-being. During that visit, my mother went in person to Student Services to seek urgent help.

Pamela Briand, the Academic Consideration Manager, was not in the office at the time, but her staff notified her of the situation. Pamela called my mother directly, learned the seriousness of what had been happening, and treated the matter as urgent. She offered to speak with me directly by phone and then arranged an immediate appointment for me with Student Wellness Services.

I was connected with Amber McCart, DCP, RP, at Student Wellness Services. Amber completed a Verification of Extenuating Circumstance Form the same day, on November 14, 2025. The VEC confirms that I was experiencing severe/serious extenuating circumstances from October 1, 2025 to December 1, 2025. It states that my academic performance was seriously affected and that I required complete time off from my academic obligations. It also notes that I had to contend with “extremely harmful circumstances,” that I was required to change housing, and that I was advised to reduce my courseload.

In this petition, I am including a supporting letter from Amber McCart dated May 29, 2026. In that letter, Amber confirms that I met with her at Student Wellness Services in November 2025 seeking support related to the impact of victimization I had been experiencing throughout my first term. She also confirms that although I was able to take some steps to mitigate the situation, the impact affected me throughout the academic year.

In November 2025, I moved from Watts Hall to Leggett Hall. Although the move was necessary, it was also physically and emotionally draining. It required time, planning, packing, moving, and adjusting to an entirely new residence environment while I was already in crisis. The move removed me from the immediate harmful environment, but it did not immediately restore my academic functioning.

Although I eventually began to stabilize in Leggett Hall, the impact of what happened continued into the Winter 2026 term. I entered the Winter term still recovering from the events of first semester and from the disruption of the move. I had lost academic momentum, my confidence was very low, and I was still struggling with anxiety and sleep, concentration, academic routines, and the ability to manage coursework consistently.

GEOL 104 took place during the Winter 2026 term. My unsuccessful result in GEOL 104 should be understood in the context of the continuing impact of the documented Fall 2025 residence crisis. The failure does not reflect my academic ability or my normal level of effort. It occurred while I was still dealing with the effects of circumstances that had seriously affected my mental health, academic functioning, confidence, and overall stability.

I also want to explain why I did not drop GEOL 104 by the official deadline. At the time, I was still trying to recover from the Fall 2025 crisis and from the disruption of moving residences. I had already dropped most of my Fall courses, and I was afraid of falling further behind, losing more academic progress, or confirming that I was unable to manage university. Because of that, I kept trying to continue in GEOL 104 and hoped I would be able to recover academically.

In hindsight, I was not functioning well enough to accurately assess my situation or make a timely decision to drop the course. My anxiety, low confidence, disrupted academic routine, and desire to avoid another course drop prevented me from recognizing by the deadline that I could not successfully complete GEOL 104. These were not ordinary academic difficulties. They were the continuing effects of serious extenuating circumstances that began in Fall 2025, were documented at the time, and continued to affect me throughout the academic year.

I understand that a late course drop is an exceptional request. I am making this request because the circumstances were serious, beyond my control, documented at the time, and directly affected both my academic performance in GEOL 104 and my ability to make the decision to drop the course by the deadline.

I am taking steps to move forward more successfully and working to rebuild stable academic routines.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that GEOL 104 be dropped from my academic record.

Thank you for considering my petition.

Sincerely,

Sienna Marsh