Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science,

I am appealing to the Faculty¿¿s decision to drop MATH 121 and PSYC 100.

Dating since April of 2015 up until the first week of my first year at Queen¿¿s University (2017-2018), I had been in a very physically, emotionally and mentally abusive relationship. Up until about a year into the relationship everything was typical and then things took a turn for the worse; my mental health deteriorated, I lost trust in all the individuals who loved and cared for me and completely lost my sense of self-worth. The details to which the abuse extended, I feel, are not relevant to prove my case, though they do help to explain why I remained in said relationship for this length of time. I was threatened on many grounds, saying if I were to have left my boyfriend at the time, terrible things would happen. I felt trapped yet I also felt I was unable to escape this situation I had found myself in. When our relationship ended, I had already lost the many years of my life where I should have been able to grow as a person, mentally and socially, yet those abilities had been ripped away from me once this relationship commenced. Our relationship ended a week into my first year of university and I was devastated, for reasons that really only those who have experienced such a type of trauma would be able to understand as most would believe the ending of a toxic relationship would be relieving. I was shattered and ultimately started my university career off incorrectly, focusing on things that would distract me from the terrible pain I was feeling inside. I was doing everything in my power to avoid dealing with the gut-wrenching things I was thinking and feeling, let alone the fact that I had had my heart broken from such a young age. Ultimately, my academic success was severely hindered from this prevalent event that had taken place in my life at such an unwelcoming time. I had always done exceptionally well in school, hence why I had dreamed of taking my studies to the next level at Queens¿¿s University, yet I never would have imagined my first year would have started off this way. Prior to entering university, school was my job. I spent all of my time devoting myself to achieving top grades to be able to attain this high aspiration and goal I had set for myself. I dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine and I realized that takes a lot of hard work and determination, so when entering university and following through with first year, seeing my marks be at such a low level was heartbreaking for me as school had always been a main focus and a love of mine. Now for the reason I am appealing to drop only MATH 121 and PSYC 100. I am appealing to drop PSYC 100 because I had never previously taken a psychology course and all of the material taught was brand new to me, therefore without the proper time and attention spent toward learning all of the new concepts, I was unable to perform to the best of my abilities. I am also appealing to drop MATH 121 due to the fact that I have always had to review and study and devote a large portion of my time to be able to grasp the concepts taught in math and since I was unable to do so due to the circumstances mentioned above, I am anticipating dropping it as well.

I do hold a future plan where I have decided to seek help. Even a year after this occurrence I am still being hindered by the presence this man had in my life and I have decided to not allow him to control me and my emotions any more. I neglected to seek help from a health-care professional as I remained in complete denial of his existence in my life for a very long time. I did not want to face the true trauma that he caused me as I had always believed I was a very strong-minded and secure individual and did not want to seem ¿¿weak¿ in any sense of the word by having reached out for help. Although it is easy to say now that that had been the wrong decision, at the time it felt completely correct to avoid all emotions I possessed toward anything in my life. It wasn¿¿t until very recently, about a month prior to writing this letter, where I began to speak out about my problem. I had spoken to my closest friends and their help and reassurance that everything would be okay if I sought out help only helped me to believe in myself and my capabilities to escape this haunting memory. My parents are the most supporting and loving people in my life and are currently working toward helping me obtain the help I need to become myself again, my caring, outgoing, lively self. My mother has been attempting to convince me to see a therapist for months now as I have been displaying ¿¿signs of depression¿ though I showed no interest as I was denying the fact that I needed help and support. I am going to see a therapist and will enclose information on our session within this letter. My goal regarding my academics is much simpler as I have known for years the path I wish to take when it comes to my future. Ever since I received three knee surgeries due to a dance incident I had wanted to pursue life sciences, specifically at Queen¿¿s. With my current GPA, I am unable to do so and even remain on the pending list for a major in Biology. I do not want this situation to be the be the deciding factor of my future at Queen¿¿s as such a thing would only mean I have lost once again, hence why I am writing to appeal my aforementioned courses in hopes to enhance my current GPA.

My hopes are very high and I am optimistic that the therapy sessions will be able to open my eyes to the realities of life and show me that no matter my past, the future is what I need to strive for. It is much easier said than done, yet I am entering this stage of my life with an open mind as I do not which to be under this cruel grasp any longer.

Thank you deeply for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Danielle Georgacopoulos