Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Arts and Science,

I am requesting to waive the 21 day appeal deadline for GNDS 215 (Winter 2017).

The 2016-2017 academic year was incredibly difficult for me. I was in an abusive relationship that caused me to become suicidal. I made one failed suicide attempt and started seeing counsellors through Queen¿¿s. I was living with my abusive partner, and the house we lived in was in such bad condition that I was afraid to leave my bedroom. My partner was physically assaulted by one of the other tenants, and there was black mould on almost every surface of the house by the time our lease ended. I attempted on multiple occasions to reach out to the landlord, but never got a response nor was any action taken. My mental state, along with my abusive relationship and my living environment made it almost impossible to go to classes, which resulted in me failing the majority of them due to not submitting assignments. At this point, I was unaware that I could appeal to drop failed classes, so I planned to retake the ones I had failed. The 2017-2018 academic year I was still living with my abusive partner, and this is the year my mother was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I was seeing a counsellor through Queen¿¿s during this time, but was unable to see anyone regularly enough to deal with the anxiety caused by the potential loss of my mother. I failed some courses that year as well due to being in Toronto in order to be with my mother during chemotherapy and surgery. My depression was continuously getting worse during this time due to my abusive partner, and I stayed passively suicidal throughout the following two years. I appealed in 2018 to drop two of the courses from the 2017-2018 academic year that I knew I would not be retaking, as I still planned to retake all the failed courses from the 2016-2017 academic year. The 2018-2019 academic year saw my mother¿¿s cancer metastasize in her lower left lung, and I had to get a part-time job in order to help with my mother¿¿s medication costs. I also came down with Mononucleosis (Mono), but I put in enough work to pass all but one of my classes (which I failed due to problems with the professor that were discussed with the Dean of Education, and it was recommended that I retake the course). During this year, I was spending all possible mental energy on making it through the classes and not failing, while trying to support my mother going through radiation and dealing with an abusive partner. It is now the 2019-2020 academic year, and it is my last year in my Bachelor of Arts. During the fall semester, I was forced off of my antidepressant medication when my family doctor left the country without notice. I was unable to find a new family doctor as my family resides in Toronto, and I could not afford multiple trips to Toronto without risking failing the courses I was enrolled in. This was a very stressful situation, so I decided to begin the appeal process in January after I had a chance to find a family doctor over the winter break.

I have retaken all of the failed courses except GNDS 215 and passed them. I am also no longer in the aforementioned abusive relationship, and have created a support system of friends and family in Kingston. My mother is still dealing with cancer, as it metastasized again in her upper left lung, and will be going into surgery at the beginning of February. My family is much better off financially at the present moment, and as such I am able to focus on my studies properly. I would very much like to be given the chance to drop the last remaining failing mark on my transcript so my GPA can accurately reflect who I am as a student that isn¿¿t plagued by familial and mental extenuating circumstances.

Sincerely,
Sarah Pepper
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