Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

My name is Shayana and I am a first year student. Due to problems in my family life and my own mental health I have been distracted since I started my first year at Queen¿¿s (September 2016). I found out my sister was suffering depression and anxiety during the 12th grade in high school (December 2016). My parents are very conservative and lack knowledge surrounding mental health therefore my sister came to me for guidance and resources. My grades by the end of the 12th grade (January 2016) plummeted because my main focus was not academics but to care for my sister. I was constantly researching professionals such as psychologists and physiatrists while trying to educate my parents on the importance of acknowledging my sisters mental health. Having to take on these responsibilities exhausted my abilities to perform to my usual academic standards although I thought that eventually things would take care of themselves when I started university. My sister is still suffering from mental health and is still requesting me to take care of her the resources and help she needs. It¿¿s been even harder for me to take care of her to the best of my abilities because I am away from home now, and I¿¿m faced with even more responsibilities such as taking care of myself as well. I go to all my classes, although I find myself constantly distracted while trying to find solutions to help my sister with her mental health. I¿¿m constantly scared and worried for her and whenever she calls me in the middle of the night telling me her thoughts and worries I can¿¿t help but take on her burden as well. During the second semester of this year (January 2017) I have found that when taking on her sadness I started to recount neglected memories of my childhood. When I was 8 years old I was molested multiple times by a family friend who was one year older than I was. The memories started to not only distract me from my academic life, but have also made me hopeless and feel as though I was not good enough for Queen¿¿s anymore. Luckily, I made an appointment with a first year counselor at Queen¿¿s named Freeman Woolnough (March 2017) and gave me amazing advice on how to handle my sister¿¿s circumstances and relieve myself from my past traumatic experience. Going to Freeman has helped me want to take care of myself again and not give up on my potential.
My desired major is to be a statistics major, I have been passionate about math my whole life and I¿¿m determined to have an academic plan to strive in my desired major. I am already seeing a tutor every other day to catch up on Math 110 and Math 120 material, therefore next year I will continue to have a tutor to learn the content with a clear mind and therefore have the required knowledge for my major. I am currently not passing Math 110 (instructor is Mike Roth) therefore I am requesting to drop the course after the deadline to take it in the summer to fulfill my degree plan. I am requesting an Aegrotat standing in a course for Math 120 (instructor is Francesco Cellarosi) because during the fall term I met the minimum requirements to become a Statistics major although when second year began and my own mental heath was deteriorating I started to do poorly and I predict that I won¿¿t have the minimum average in the course to pursue my degree plan. Firstly, I am planning to still see a tutor during the summer to review course material in both Math 120 and Math 110 to be able to be prepared for my major next year. Secondly, I am also seeking a counsellor during the summer and during my second year at Queen¿¿s to not only take care of my sister¿¿s mental health but my own as well. Lastly, just recently (April 2017) my boyfriend¿¿s father offered to help me finding a physiatrist for my sister which has relieved me from some of the pressure and stress I face therefore knowing she will be receiving the help she needs soon makes me feel more at ease than compared to the beginning of the year. I can provide you documentation from Freeman Woolnough, I have an appointment with him on April 11th 2017 so it will be coming shortly. I will also send the my problem sets from Math 120 to be forwarded to the Faculty Office soon to provide sufficient term work in the course. Both the documentation and course work are to come.

Thank you for your time and patience,
Shayana Rex