Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Benard, Associate Dean (Studies),
My name is Michael Batson-Taggart, and I am writing to you to appeal to drop five courses: DRAM200, DRAM220, DRAM246, DRAM251 and ENGL223.
I am appealing to drop these courses as a result of a series of extenuating circumstances that led to me being unable to complete the work necessary to succeed in these courses. In the 2015 fall term, I was forced to move out of my home due to severe water damage in my bedroom as a result of a flood. I vacated the home on September 27th, and lived on a friend's couch for the remainder of the semester. While living out of my friend's living room, I developed severe mononucleosis, and was virtually bed-ridden for five weeks, and therefore unable to attend class. Once I was healthy, and after dropping one course, I made an effort to connect with my professors, and was able to push some of my fall term workload into the winter term to ensure that I'd be able to complete my work. In January, I officially began subletting a room in my friend's home. My previous landlord began demanding that I pay rent for the months that I had not been living in the home, and threatened to take legal action--I paid him, and as I was paying two rents, had to pick up significantly more hours at my job. This caused me significant financial stress. I reached out to my family to ask for support, and my grandparents (my legal guardians) began supporting me and paying for some of my bills. Over reading week, I visited my parents in Alberta, and came out to my family as gay. My grandparents were so distraught that I hadn't told them before that they 'disowned' me -- meaning the people that had supported me and given me a place to stay in Oshawa, Ontario (where I had lived for my entire life) were no longer available to me when I needed emotional or financial support. This tore me apart, and I became so anxious about being judged by my peers me that I began to spend all of my time either in my room or at work, where I was working even more hours to make up for the support that I had lost. The anxiety and stress that I was experiencing became so overwhelming that I fell into extreme depression. I not only stopped going to class, but I stopped working, and began using my line of credit to pay for everything. By the time this was happening, my friends were noticing my behavior, and approached me to tell me that they believed I should reach out to Student Wellness Services. It wasn't until I began experiencing extremely suicidal thoughts that I did reach out for help; however, I was able to make connections at Hotel Dieu, and the Addiction & Mental Health Services of Kingston Frontenac Lennox & Addington's crisis center. After I made this connection, I visited my family doctor and several counsellors, none of whom were comfortable prescribing any sort of medication. I began to demand referrals and begging for help, and I was finally able to connect with Student Wellness Services, where I began seeing Doctor Lett on a regular basis. I was prescribed medication, and am now on the road to becoming mentally stable again. By the end of winter term, I was able to reconnect with all of my professors -- some suggested I appeal to drop the course, others offered to extend deadlines into the summer. I followed the advice, and visited academic advisors several times to ensure I was on the right path. I completed a significant amount of work for one of the courses where I decided to work into the summer, and then my brothers and parents were evacuated from their home in Fort McMurray due to the wildfires. Having no idea whether or not my family would have a home to return to, my attention was split between my full-time job and my family's safety. My academics were once again placed on the backburner, and after another appointment with an academic advisor, I decided that it would be in my best interest to drop all of my courses except for the one in which I was close to completing.
Moving forward, I will continue seeing Dr. Lett at Student Wellness Services, and he has now referred me to a psychotherapist that will help to improve my headspace. I also have a year-long salaried position at Queen's, and will be able to support myself financially without significant strain for the coming academic year. By maintaining a good communicative relationship with my professors, I have been able to make connections that will help to push me to succeed in the coming years. Having the support of Jenn Stephenson, the undergraduate chair of the department of drama, has been extremely rewarding and I know that she will continue to provide me with any support I may feel I need in the future. I am now living in a three bedroom apartment with two of my closest friends who are aware of my situation, and are always there for me when I feel like I need them.
I hope this letter finds you well, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Michael Batson-Taggart