Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: As a 1st year student of Queen¿¿s University who understands the rules and responsibilities, I wish to appeal the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw for 1 year. I¿¿m ashamed of how I did during my time at Queen¿¿s, because it does not reflect my personality, goals and work ethic. I have always prided myself on being an excellent student and community member throughout my years at high school. I¿¿ve received honours for all 4 of my secondary years, and I¿¿ve volunteered at The Salvation Army, hospital, school and started a chess program for youth at my local library, teaching chess to kids. I think my past achievements (as enclosed) speak to my dedication and passion for what I do. I am asking to be given an opportunity from the Dean of Arts and Science to be granted admittance for the 2019/2020 school year. I feel that if I have to wait a year, that would do me more harm than good, as I would lose the connections I made with my peers and the skills I¿¿ve built up. One year off would also put me at a disadvantage, as a lot of the study material would need to be refreshed, and I would have to adjust to a new environment once again.

Throughout my studies at Queen¿¿s I always made it a priority to be the best I could and to not take for granted the opportunity I was given to study, that so few are given. Unfortunately due to outside circumstances and medical problems I was not able to fulfill my promise to myself, my family, and the university. With my 1st year of university I had to adjust to new settings, new pressures, different class sizes, different teaching settings, and living in an unfamiliar place (school dorm), which I believe had a major influence at my time at Queen¿¿s. My family is not finically well off as it¿¿s just my mother and I, and even with the support of OSAP money was scarce. Every decision I made was effected by this realization that I may not be able to afford it, so when it came to buying textbooks and study accessories I had to go with the cheapest option. The physical textbooks I had grown up accustomed to, had now become all digital to save money. From the start I knew this transition from physical to digital, especially in a post-secondary environment would not suit my study habits, but I reassured myself that I would be able to manage this sudden switch. Unfortunately speculations became reality and before I could realize the impact my finical decisions were having on my schooling it was too late. I¿¿ve always had a hesitant reaction to check my results/grades as the anxiety is too much for me to handle. In my situation at Queen¿¿s I made the poor decision to not check my marks during my studies, to avoid the stress that would come with it. The possibility of failure or chance of mistakes has always scared me as I¿¿m not living up to my potential and I¿¿m dishonouring my family. Without the confirmation of my results I never adjusted my study habits and never thought to seek out any academic support offered at the university, which is what lead to my terrible marks. My mother¿¿s uncle passed away suddenly from brain cancer in November of 2018, which affected my mother and I leaving us emotionally scarred. My mom being by herself and in this state, I took it upon myself to make her wellbeing my priority by frequently talking to her and making sure she felt comforted. I believe that this incident did have a negative impact on my results and it pains me that I have let down my mother¿¿s uncle who had such high expectations of me. I also have ADHD, which has always affected my attention span causing numerous problems. Having ADHD, the change to an unfamiliar environment and having to develop new strategies to accommodate this new lifestyle were challenging, especially without any support from family. My ADHD was a nuisance and held me back from achieving the results I wanted, which pains me to say as I thought I had taken control of it. Living on residence by myself with neighbours that were very disruptive vocally and scent wise (as they smoked marijuana), mixed with me being easily distracted (ADHD) I feel had a major impact on my studies and lead to me having a low GPA.

Now being accustomed to the university lifestyle and taking this summer to reflect and improve from my mistakes will allow me make sure that this incident will never repeat itself. That is why I respectfully request that the Associate Dean of Arts and Science reviews my appeal to not withdraw from the 2019/2020 school year in light of the above information, as a year off would have more negative results than positive. Attached to this appeal will be my ADHD forms, and my community service letters to provide legitimacy to my statements. If you have any further questions regarding this topic please feel free to email me at jvaz4491@gmail.com or call at 647 556 6635.