Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

My name is Avery Barth, I have been at Queen's for the past 4 years as my drama major alongside concurrent education. I am writing this letter to you in order to appeal to waive the 21-day deadline so that I am able to submit an academic appeal as soon as possible. I have been required by the faculty to take 1 year off, however, with your permission it is my wish to continue my studies at Queen's this coming Fall. I believe continuing my studies this coming year will further promote my success as a student as I have been able to gather several resources that will aid me both academically and personally at home and on campus. These resources have been put in place for me to utilize for the remainder of my education and I am confident that I can be successful with the proper help. As the extenuating circumstances I experienced were ongoing for an extended period of time, I believe I was unfit to submit an appeal during the given timeline. It is also important to note that these ongoing conditions were ultimately the reasons for my failure to complete many courses over the past 3 years.
My journey with mental health has played a significant role in my life since adolescence, however, it had completely deteriorated over the past few years due to several traumatic events that took place over the course of my second, third, and fourth year at Queen's. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for several years, although they were presented differently when I was faced with the new challenges as a post-secondary student, so I was unsure how to cope with them. I struggled to live so far from my family members, I felt lonely and not capable of completing things everyone else around me seemed to do with ease. I turned to helpful resources at first, like short-term counselling at the LaSalle building, but when these resources seemed to become inaccessible or just didn't seem to stick, I turned to negative coping strategies in order to get by. During the 21-day submission period, I was undergoing extensive doctor's appointments and counselling in order to gain some clarity about my situation and get a handle on things in my life. Also during this time, my immediate family members were experiencing their own struggles with mental health, which often created a toxic environment. We have discussed and took action as a family to seek help in order to work towards being more understanding, communicative, and supportive with one another. As I was struggling to cope with my own emotions, I relied on unhealthy habits to make the time pass - this contributed to my inability to submit the appeal as I became extremely physically unhealthy because of my struggles with my mental/emotional health. I made arrangements with my family physician to help figure out/ improve my physical health as well as contacted a counsellor in Kingston to see if there was availability come September to take me on as a patient on a more weekly basis.
If this deadline is waived, I will be able to explain my situation using greater detail/context in my main appeal, which will show that I have taken the necessary steps in order to be successful as a student this year and am fully capable of coming back to study this Fall. Thank you for taking the time to read this and consider my request. Your efforts are much appreciated.


Best regards,
Avery Barth