Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The following letter is addressed to the Associate Dean of Studies; Dr. Jenn Stephenson, in which I am requesting to appeal ARTH117 (Winter, 2018) and PHIL276 (Winter, 2019). In my first year of university, I was sexually assaulted by another student, I am now in third year but over the course of these academic years my mental health has deteriorated, and academic performance has suffered.

Regarding ARTH117, I was attending the Bader international study centre at the time of this occurrence, and as a small campus, this made it was extremely hard to focus as well as, attend classes in such close proximity due to the possibility of running into this person. Although I successfully appealed HLTH101 (Fall, 2017) after the BISC, I failed to include ARTH117 because I was distraught and was reluctant in doing so because it would mean revisiting a traumatic experience. In regard to my request to appeal phil276 (Winter, 2019), I was diagnosed with depression in winter of 2019 making it hard to find the motivation to attend class and complete coursework, which I communicated to Professor Guenther.

This has been a long road to recovery and reparation, but I can confidently say I have put in an effort and some steps I have taken to do so include: utilizing the counselling at BISC (2017-18), going to human resources to see Barb Lotan as well as exchange emails, using main campus counselling (2017-18), getting a CamH referral from my doctor and supporting documentation from my therapist in Toronto: Diane Moody, as well as doing EMDR as well as, CBT therapy with her, getting formally diagnosed with PTSD through CamH (2018), revisiting CamH and being diagnosed with depression (2019), trying various medications and finding on that now works for me, completing a verification of health form (2018-19) and successfully applying for accommodations (2017-present), and communicating my needs relative to this traumatic experience to my professors regarding its impacts upon my attendance and academic performance.

In terms of a future plan, as previously mentioned I am now on medication that works for me which has significantly improved my ability to function and be motivated. Should my academic appeal request be granted for these two courses, it would be monumental to know that these reverberations of a traumatic event are not defining of myself and abilities as a student or person. Next year I will be retaking the PORT103 and ARTH242 courses, and to further set myself up for academic and personal success I now have a therapist in Kingston who I can meet with more frequently, as Queen's counselling can get quite booked. I continue to take initiative and not be ashamed to communicate with my profs sooner rather than later regarding my pertaining needs, nonetheless, I do feel better prepared to put my best foot forward academically and continue refining my thinking through the means of my courses. I met with an academic advisor and I am currently on the right track for an art history plan, as I am technically a philosophy major at the moment, I will make the switch to Art history as a major. Currently, I am taking a lighter course load: 2 courses (I am in the process of adding a third) to better distribute my focus and effort, this summer I plan to stay in Kingston to take online courses. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that my efforts and aspirations for my future academic planning and success are reflective of personal progress and the desire to thrive at Queen's University.