Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern:

I am appealing to drop my Fall 2020 Semester courses (ENSC 103, PHIL 203, MATH 111, GPHY 101 and GEOL 104).

I am making this request due to extenuating circumstances that have occurred for me as a result of difficult circumstances with relation to my family, poor mental health, and a lack of any social contacts. Prior to the pandemic, my family and I left Vancouver, with my mother and sister moving into an apartment in Montreal while I moved into university residence in Kingston where I had space to study, stimulating social interactions, and physical access to on-campus opportunities. During this time I managed to excel in my studies and was placed on the Dean's Honour List.

After being asked to evacuate residence at Queen's University due to the COVID-19 lockdown, I temporarily stayed with my cousin where I was given the space to focus on my studies and managed to perform well regardless of my quarantine circumstances and my family having been dispersed. Beginning in September, however, my only option was to move into my mother and sister's one bedroom apartment in Montreal. Unexpectedly, we now have two post-secondary students and one older adult in the COVID-19 vulnerable group living in our small apartment, where leaving the confined space has become impossible due to the increasing restrictions in Quebec and in order to keep my vulnerable mother safe. Throughout this semester, I have neither had my own personal space nor a quiet space to keep up with my studies. Libraries and cafes have also been closed due to the restrictions in Quebec so studying outside has not been an option. This lack of physical space to study in was one of the aspects of my circumstance that contributed to my studies suffering this semester.

Weight training has also been something that has always allowed me to maintain physical and mental fitness. As part of the restrictions in Quebec, however, all gyms and fitness centres have been part of the facilities that have been ordered to close since October, and I have no equipment nor physical space to keep up my exercises in the apartment. Along with the lack of any social interactions in a city where I have no connections and no opportunities to create any due to the pandemic and keeping my mother safe, my mental health has greatly suffered throughout the semester.

Another issue that has led to the decline in my mental health is my anxiety surrounding the status of my father. Due to his work circumstances, my father has been in Iran since the beginning of the pandemic. Iran has continuously had one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in the world and with the sanctions imposed on the country, they lack adequate medical care. My dad is above 60 years old with high blood pressure, diabetes and is a smoker, putting him on several vulnerable category lists for COVID-19. Moreover, Iran has no restrictions in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 and four members of our extended family have passed away from contracting the virus. This has been one of the main issues that has been making me anxious for my family's safety, and adding to the list of circumstances that has made it difficult to keep up with my studies.

Although I considered it, I did not take the semester off earlier due to family pressures to take no gaps in between my studies, and because I was continuously searching for solutions, I was convinced that I could improve my situation and adapt to the difficult circumstances in order to regain my usual work ethic. Instead, with the passing of time, I found myself suffering worse from the lack of social interactions, anxieties surrounding my family and my deteriorating mental health. I am currently in the process of seeking professional help with regards to my mental health and my father is wrapping up work in order to come to Canada where he can be safer from COVID-19. Moreover, with the first round of vaccinations, the prospect of returning to our social circle and seeking real world opportunities has improved my mental health greatly. I intend to use the break to make the necessary changes in my living circumstances, resolve my family circumstances and return to full-time studies with a better mental state in the Winter 2021 semester.

Attached to this appeal are documents showing the lease of the one bedroom apartment as well as the flight itinerary of my father leaving Canada before the pandemic and his plans to return this December, which have now been postponed.

Best Regards,
Arwin Kamyab.