Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 4574
Submitted: May 17, 2018 at 12:31:49 AM
First Name: Santyna
Last Name: Brar
Student Number: 20036079
Email: s.brar@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BScH
Plan: BIOL
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Dr. Alan Ableson
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,
My name is Santyna Brar and I am a fourth year Biology major at Queen¿¿s University, appealing for a credit standing in MATH 121. This is a full year course, and was passed in the winter semester of 2018. I am appealing on the grounds that the state of my mental health prevented me from performing to the best of my ability during this time. Supporting documentation has been attached to this appeal or sent in to the department from the Queen¿¿s University counselling services.
I appealed two credits last semester pertaining to the same sexual assault incident. These appeals were granted. To recap: In October of this fall semester (2017), I was sexually assaulted by my significant other¿¿s friend at a party, after my partner had left to go home. This wasn¿¿t the first time I was faced with sexual assault, and this incident ruined the years of progress I had made, causing my mental health to plummet once again. In fact, one reason I transferred to Queen¿¿s University in my third year was to get away from a sexual predator in my own family. After the incident in the fall, I began contemplating suicide. Luckily, a friend talked me into visiting Kingston General Hospital to get some help after she heard that I was considering harming myself and possibly taking my own life. Notes taken during this visit on Nov 11th are included in the appeal.
When it came time for the MATH 121 midterm in December, I was very ill as my immune system wasn¿¿t doing well due to severe anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep. This midterm exam was deferred to January. In January, I was still facing illness and could not take the exam and was told to contact the professor, Dr. Ableson, once I felt better. A few weeks later, I had contacted Dr. Ableson and received no response. Every few weeks I would e-mail him again or call him, trying to determine when I could complete the midterm. I received no response from him until April. By this time, I was under high levels of stress as I was preparing for final exams, including the final exam for this course.
Meanwhile, as promised in my last appeal, I was attempting to make strides in regards to healing. I was attending counselling sessions with a sexual assault counsellor at La Salle, and was using the tools and strategies she gave me to help get me through the semester. With that being said, I was still internally struggling with the pain of this incident that had occurred in the fall semester. I was able to do well in my other courses due to accommodations provided by professors. However, this was not the case for MATH 121 due to our communication issues. I worked extremely hard when trying to study for this course, but I couldn¿¿t focus or perform to the best of my ability and the grade I received only reflects the pain I was going through, not my actual work ethic or devotion to studying and understanding/applying material.
My transcript shows that I truly am a hard working and driven student and am graduating at the top of my class. I have worked vigorously to ensure that this incident wouldn¿¿t negatively impact my future. Alas, I am only human and although I am moving forward, there were several setbacks during this semester. I hope that my effort to get help through the counselling services illuminates just how much I want to succeed at this school, and I hope that you are able to grant me this appeal so that I have a chance at getting into the graduate program I have been dreaming about for years. As stated in my last appeal, I appreciate the empathy this university has shown us students by allowing us to appeal certain grades, and forgiveness for these grades that reflect only my extenuating circumstances is all I ask for. I will be attaching all of the notes provided for my fall term appeal, including the notes taken when I was visiting KGH. You can find all of the notes taken at KGH under ¿MD Chart¿¿ and ¿Care Notes¿¿. Furthermore, my sexual assault counsellor from Counselling Services should have sent in my ¿note from a professional¿¿ as further support.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Santyna Brar
My name is Santyna Brar and I am a fourth year Biology major at Queen¿¿s University, appealing for a credit standing in MATH 121. This is a full year course, and was passed in the winter semester of 2018. I am appealing on the grounds that the state of my mental health prevented me from performing to the best of my ability during this time. Supporting documentation has been attached to this appeal or sent in to the department from the Queen¿¿s University counselling services.
I appealed two credits last semester pertaining to the same sexual assault incident. These appeals were granted. To recap: In October of this fall semester (2017), I was sexually assaulted by my significant other¿¿s friend at a party, after my partner had left to go home. This wasn¿¿t the first time I was faced with sexual assault, and this incident ruined the years of progress I had made, causing my mental health to plummet once again. In fact, one reason I transferred to Queen¿¿s University in my third year was to get away from a sexual predator in my own family. After the incident in the fall, I began contemplating suicide. Luckily, a friend talked me into visiting Kingston General Hospital to get some help after she heard that I was considering harming myself and possibly taking my own life. Notes taken during this visit on Nov 11th are included in the appeal.
When it came time for the MATH 121 midterm in December, I was very ill as my immune system wasn¿¿t doing well due to severe anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep. This midterm exam was deferred to January. In January, I was still facing illness and could not take the exam and was told to contact the professor, Dr. Ableson, once I felt better. A few weeks later, I had contacted Dr. Ableson and received no response. Every few weeks I would e-mail him again or call him, trying to determine when I could complete the midterm. I received no response from him until April. By this time, I was under high levels of stress as I was preparing for final exams, including the final exam for this course.
Meanwhile, as promised in my last appeal, I was attempting to make strides in regards to healing. I was attending counselling sessions with a sexual assault counsellor at La Salle, and was using the tools and strategies she gave me to help get me through the semester. With that being said, I was still internally struggling with the pain of this incident that had occurred in the fall semester. I was able to do well in my other courses due to accommodations provided by professors. However, this was not the case for MATH 121 due to our communication issues. I worked extremely hard when trying to study for this course, but I couldn¿¿t focus or perform to the best of my ability and the grade I received only reflects the pain I was going through, not my actual work ethic or devotion to studying and understanding/applying material.
My transcript shows that I truly am a hard working and driven student and am graduating at the top of my class. I have worked vigorously to ensure that this incident wouldn¿¿t negatively impact my future. Alas, I am only human and although I am moving forward, there were several setbacks during this semester. I hope that my effort to get help through the counselling services illuminates just how much I want to succeed at this school, and I hope that you are able to grant me this appeal so that I have a chance at getting into the graduate program I have been dreaming about for years. As stated in my last appeal, I appreciate the empathy this university has shown us students by allowing us to appeal certain grades, and forgiveness for these grades that reflect only my extenuating circumstances is all I ask for. I will be attaching all of the notes provided for my fall term appeal, including the notes taken when I was visiting KGH. You can find all of the notes taken at KGH under ¿MD Chart¿¿ and ¿Care Notes¿¿. Furthermore, my sexual assault counsellor from Counselling Services should have sent in my ¿note from a professional¿¿ as further support.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Santyna Brar
Documentation
Professional Letter: Appeal Note from Professional -0.pdf
Professional Letter Detail: I am attaching the letter from my fall term appeal but Deb from Counselling Services should have sent in a letter on my behalf.
Document: KGH NOTES-0.pdf
Documentation Detail: If you would like to see the doctor's note for the missed midterm, it was submitted to the department and can be found there.