Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Melissa Stire
37 Queen Street
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 5P5


May 27, 2016


Dr. Johanne Bénard
Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science
Queen¿¿s University
99 University Avenue
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6

Dear Dr.Bénard:

This letter is to request a Late Drop for PSYC215 & PSY100 and Agrogate Standing for SOCY 273 for the 2015/2016 academic year.
In January 2016 my safety became at risk and I moved into Kingston Interval House, which is a violence against women shelter. I had considered taking time off at this time, but because of the financial control and manipulation (through the legal system), I was also experiencing at that time, this was not in my best interest. Leaving school would have meant an OSAP payment that I couldn¿¿t afford. Non payment on an OSAP loan would have inevitably lead to a lack of funding for the remainder of my degree, so I made the choice to stay in school.

Shelter life is very unstable and, as such, it often impacted my ability to attend classes and write exams. I often had substance userss as roommates, which made sleeping challenging and impaired my ability to think clearly and retain information. Even studying was challenging because some of my books were damaged.

Additionally, living at a shelter one is governed by their rules. This too made it very challenging for me to attend classes periodically, because if I was not at the shelter to do what was required of me at that time, it put my stay at Kingston Interval House at risk.
While I understood that it would be challenging to attend university out of a shelter, I had been told that my stay would only be for 60 days, upon arrival and therefore resolved within a reasonable amount of time. This unfortunately was not the case. I am currently still living at the shelter awaiting safe housing. This lengthy, coupled with a lack of sleep and abusive behavior of fellow residence made it increasingly hard for me to focus over time and impacted my ability to perform in an academic environment.

Overall, this experience was both physically and psychological impairing and beyond my control. Please accept my request for a late drop for Late Drop for PSYC215 & PSY100 and Agrogate Standing for SOCY 273 for the 2015/2016 academic year.

Since being at Kingston Interval House I have secured safe sustainable housing, connected with an affordable lawyer, and surrounded myself with a network of support systems that are educated in this field. I believe that these two things, along with my resiliency will male successful in the coming years with Queen¿¿s University.


Sincerely,



Melissa Stire
Student 10144500