Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Juliet Yuxiao Li
77 Elm St.
Kingston, ON, K7K 3E5

November 2, 2016

Dr. Johanne Bernard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen¿¿s University
Kingston ON
(613)533-2470
Dear Dr Johanne Bernard,

I am appealing for the faculty¿¿s decision on credit standing in courses from 2015-2016 academic year.¿They are MATH 121, ECON 110, CLST 103, ENGL 100, ECON 212, MUSC 171, POLS 262 and ECON 250.

My psychological challenges beyond personal control directly and negatively impacted my academic performance. As the result of two separate moves, coupled with series of traumatized events in social adaptation to Canada, I have suffered from a ripple of psychological effects. These psychological challenges were OCD, constant dizziness, fatigue and nausea, Binge Eating Disorder, self-disclosure, persistent sadness, anxiety and depression. These symptoms combined with sleep disturbances, mental hallucination and distorted thoughts processes led my mental counselor, Deb Keogh, to suggest that I had PTSD.

This series of psychological challenges made it extremely hard for me to concentrate in any of school works or even managed to finish basic living tasks, such as cooking or eating. The severity of my anxiety and depression was to a degree of complex grief that caused uncontrollable and unpredictable debilitating emotional reactions. Further, sleep deprivation coupled with distorted, sometimes self-destructive thoughts affected my memory. For example, I could not even memorize the unit of building, room number or street name of my permanent address at security checks during my worst period. The uncontrollable emotional reactions combined with the sleep deprivation and memory loss resulted in physical and psychological symptoms, like chronic fatigue, dizziness, nausea and headaches that greatly hindered my ability to focus and concentrate on school work or to completing assignments.

I have experienced significant improvements on my mental disorders as I continue to see my counsellor on regular basis: from twice a week earlier this semester down to once a week since week 8. I am opening up my psychological challenges to my parents and to housemates, and they are incredibly supportive and are helping me navigate through difficulties. I did and will continue to visit close friends during Canadian national holidays rather than isolate or enclose myself at room in Kingston. Also, I will choose to call the 24/7 mental health hotline in case of an emergency where support is not otherwise available. Furthermore, as physician Dr. Darren Lett in Student Wellness Services suggested, I will accept to take the prescription if I again experience such severe psychological symptoms during exam season in order to avoid repeatedly negative impacts on my academic performance.

Thanks for your consideration. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Juliet Li