Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: July 4, 2018
Dear Associate Dean (Studies), Faculty of Arts and Science,

I am writing to appeal my whole first year grades due to the circumstances of being functionally affected by anxiety and panic

attacks. In Fall 2015, I came to Queen's University as an international student from China. In my previous life, I was extroverted and

enjoyed socializing with friends. However, I had a long history of anxiety that frequently troubled me during major life transitions. The

sudden change of environment, the language barrier and the pressure of socialization caused me intensive anxiety and depression at

the time. I was enrolled in mostly history-related courses, which involved extensive readings (hundreds of pages per week) that I could

barely complete. Moreover, I had huge difficulties to understand my professors in lectures because their speech was too fast for me.

Besides my academic failures, I was traumatized for being isolated from my peers. I pressured myself to socialize with my floor mates

by going to parties, but I always felt awkward and excluded due to cultural shock. At the end of the first semester, I was unexpectedly

kicked out from the friend circle that previously agreed to move out with me in second year. This triggered the decline of my mental

health. Since I have lost control of both my academic study and socialization, I gave up by sitting in the laundry room in Victoria Hall for

hours everyday. I rejected to face realities in life by shutting down myself, avoiding interactions with new people, and only talking to my

friend back in China. I suffered from panic attacks at night, and there were some points where my dreams were filled with horrible

death-related scenes. I could no longer go to my lectures or follow up with school work, and watch films and read novels were the only

ways to relieve my psychological pain. I was shamed to inform my parents that I was in need of mental assistance because they spent a

huge amount of money and effort to support my study in Canada. In addition, I was unaware of the supporting system and consultation

on campus. It was not until my second year that I went for consultations in LaSalle to report my experience of panic attacks and anxiety.

Later, my mother reached a friend in Toronto for assistance by asking her family doctor to complete a physical examination for me and

discuss my issue of anxiety. My mental health in first year significantly affected my academic performances, and I spent most of the

time to cope with identity crisis and self negativity. However, I developed a strong desire of changing my attitudes and improving my

situation during second year with the support of my family, the counsellors and my friend in Art History Program. I started to catch up

with class material, and my GPA gradually improved from 2.2 to 3.82. At the summer of second year, I entered Venice Summer School

and completed an internship at the Venice Biennale; this year, I assisted to organize the Cezanne¿¿s Closet Annual Fundraiser at Union

Gallery, and started to work at Fort Henry. My future plan is to enter a MA program of Museology or Curatorial Studies, and work in

museums, galleries as well as other cultural institutions. In order to improve my academic performances and gain working experience to

apply for graduate school, I plan to stay an extra year at Queen¿¿s University. I hope that my first year experience and trauma would not

stop me from fulfilling my goal. In light of all the facts that affected my academic performances, I hope that you could consider

appealing my first year courses with low grades. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have for me. Letters of support from

Lasalle and Professor Hoeniger will be provided, and a letter from the doctor in Toronto could also be provided if necessary. Thank you

for taking your time to read this appeal and the attached documents. I am looking forward to meeting with you at any time to discuss

this appeal.


Sincerely,

Violet Tang