Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,

My name is Robert Donato and I am a third-year student here at Queen's University. I am appealing to drop my mark in MATH 121 (Summer 2016). During this past year, I have been dealing with some family problems at home. My mom and step-dad have been constantly fighting and although it doesn't affect me too much while I am at school but it was particularly bad this past summer. They recently began seeking marriage counselling over the past year which I thought would end a lot of the fighting, but things started to boil over in the summer with constant shouting and arguing at home. I was really stressed whenever I was home because of this and during these fights I always had to look after my little sister so picking up and leaving to study wasn't really an option for me. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with this type of situation. When I was 4 years old my mom and dad and this new fighting was more stressful for me because it brought up a lot of difficult memories I have. Having to care for my sister during all of this was really tough and made it nearly impossible to try and focus on my summer course. It seemed like whenever I wasn't working, I had a full-time job all summer, I was having to take care of my sister and myself while my mom and step-dad were arguing. It was hard for me to stay focused on my math course and I was struggling to stay afloat in the course while also trying to diffuse the tension in the house so my sister didn't have to go through what I did as a child. Around my birthday, mid-June, was when the fighting was the most frequent and studying for my midterm was nearly impossible because of everything else I had on my mind in my home life. I should have expected that completing a summer course would have been difficult, but I there is no way I could have predicted the degree to which everything was happening. In the future, I plan on avoiding all summer courses because I know while I am at home I won't be able to do well in it and also deal with my family. I plan on only enrolling in courses while I am at school and I am currently taking the equivalent course MATH 126 which I am doing much better in now that I can focus more on the course. I have also attached a letter from my mom and step-dad's counselor to confirm the sessions they have attended. I hope you can understand and I wish you a great holiday season.