Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Deans Bénard and Blake,


I am writing you in order to seek credit standing and late drops in a number of courses, courses in which my poor performance led to a requirement to withdraw for three years. This appeal is being filed on the basis of extenuating circumstances. I am seeking credit standing in POLS 264 (fall 2012), as well as in PHIL257B, POLS110B, POLS250B and POLS263 (winter 2013). Further I am seeking a late drop of POLS261 (winter 2013), ENGL100 (summer 2013), PHIL203 and PHIL204 (fall 2014), as well as FILM110B and POLS110B (winter 2015). Should this be granted the requirement to withdraw would be nullified.


After spending first year at the BISC I began suffering moderate to severe depression in the fall of 2012 brought on by personal setbacks, family difficulties and a very tumultuous integration into Queen's. On the weekend of the 17th/18th of November 2012 my father called me home to Toronto to spend time with him as he was stricken with a mysterious and fast moving infection. It was first believed to be blood cancer, however it turned out to be acute psoriatic arthritis, a debilitating though not deadly disease. My own depression coupled with this distressing incident led to predictably poor performance in my final fall semester papers and exams. I continued pushing ahead ignoring these problems as best I could. Then on March 22nd of 2013 I received a very troubling email from someone in my immediate family and was shortly thereafter called to their house by a family friend, to find that they had attempted suicide. This came as a complete shock to me as this person had no history of depression and I was completely unaware that they were enduring such suffering, something which was incredibly difficult to understand as I would consider us very close. The person in question made me along with this friend promise to keep the incident a secret between us. It remains so to this day, with the notable exception of my psychotherapist, who will corroborate my claims.


Where I had been struggling before, this event completely derailed me. I stayed in my room nearly 24 hours a day and rarely left the house. In retrospect I should have petitioned the Department of Arts and Science to withdraw from school past the final drop date. At the time however I was barely making the effort to feed myself let alone launch an appeal that would require me to speak very openly about this very personal incident, one that I was meant to keep secret. My thought was that if I could pass my courses I could return for a fifth year to pull my GPA back up. I even enrolled in a summer course (ENGL100) to this end. This was a serious mistake however as my final papers and exams were either missed or a total mess and I was subsequently asked to withdraw for a year. My performance in the summer English course was virtually identical. I considered appealing the judgement but decided that I needed time to come to terms with what had happened, or else I could only expect the same result when I returned. I moved home and sought regular help from a psychotherapist, Sue Hunter. I attended therapy multiple times a week for around a year and was able to delve into the issues that were preventing me from being a functional student, and more broadly a successful person in general. I also slowly started part time work at the Grizzly Grill in order to give myself some structure, reintegrate into Kingston and save money for when I returned to school.


On the advice of the Department of Arts and Science I returned to school in September of 2014 with the goal of repairing some of the damage done (POLS110 and PHIL257) and taking a course I was passionate about (FILM). However, my father decided that he would not support me taking a reduced course load and insisted that I enroll in a further two courses, PHIL203 and PHIL204. He also insisted that I continue work during the school year, a position which I strongly opposed. Had he any inkling of what had happened in March I'm sure his position would have been very different. Working multiple shifts a week and trying to manage five courses, all without regular contact with my therapist proved to be a disaster as without her support I quickly fell back into depression. Luckily I was able to drop PHIL257 in time but with grades of virtually 0 in PHIL203 and PHIL204 it is clear to see that I was not a person out of their depth academically but rather a person dealing with severe personal issues.


In order to ensure I do not repeat any of my past mistakes I have made clear to myself and my family the consequences of both their insistence that I work and the decision to abandon therapy. I have developed a detailed academic plan through collaboration with my parents, friends, therapist and academic advisors which you will find attached to my appeal. I understand that life is not just what happens to you but what you make of it. I can't ask you to credit me with grades I haven't earned, I only ask that you allow me to clean the slate as much as is reasonable given the circumstances so that these personal difficulties don't ruin my chance at a university education. Queen's is more than just a degree for my family and I hope that this appeal will allow me to pick up the pieces, finish my studies and make the rest of my time here an experience that I can be proud of.


I can be reached at 613-583-5747 or alternatively through my Queen's email. I would also be happy to come in and speak with you should you have any questions or concerns.


Sincerely,
Robert Jamie Baker