Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dr. Stephenson,

My name is Mackenzie Davidson, and I am currently completing my fifth year in the Life Sciences specialization with a Psychology minor. I am writing in regards to a request to appeal my fall and winter semester courses: (PSYC473, PSYC333, IDIS373, and PSYC330). While I am aware that I have done poorly in several courses during this past academic year, I believe that there are extenuating circumstances which are not being considered and don??t reflect my academic capabilities.

I want to apologize first and foremost for not handing in this appeal letter earlier but due to a series of incredibly unfortunate circumstances (such as a throat infection that brought me to the hospital and COVID-19 shortly after),, I hope you??ll understand why.

I have tried during the past academic year to keep Professors and Queen??s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) up to date, as much as I could with my mental health issues and extenuating circumstances as they arose. However, problems piled up so fast that it was unmanageable to do so. In December of 2017 (my first year of undergrad), I was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. Although this realization was eye-opening and allowed me to start my recovery process the mental weight it placed upon me was unbearable . With determination and therapy, I have survived some incredibly difficult situations during my undergrad (such as several suicide attempts of my best friends)I have had many moments in my life where my resilience has shined through the darkest but this past year took a turn for the even worse which made it impractical and impossible to keep up with my academics. When enrolling in PSYC473 and PSYC333 in the Fall of 2021, I transitioned into a depressive state where unfortunately the thought of leaving this world was more common than the thought of standing in it. In addition to this, I had just been diagnosed with ADHD, which proved to be as much a curse as it was the answer to years of questions. The realization that my struggles would never fully improve was heartbreaking. We tried different medications to help me cope with this new finding, but finding the correct dosage was a process of trial and error that frequently left me so anxious I experienced physical symptoms (eg. nausea and back pain) almost constantly . This reached its peak in December of 2021, when my Doctor decided to increase both my antidepressants and change my ADHD medication back to one which had agreed with me better early in the semester. I attempted to contact QSAS and Queen??s Accommodation Services during this period to get further extensions and accommodations to help me through this time but I had no luck obtaining guidance. Suddenly, all the hard work I had been so proud of throughout the semester was gone and I was met with poor results in my transcript. In the Winter of 2022, I took IDIS373 and PSYC330. At the start of the Winter semester I was doing well, my determination persevered again and I went to all my classes and worked consistently on all of my assignments (examples included in the appeal documentation). Unfortunately, however, determination cannot cure mental illness, and life circumstances chipped away at me. I had a family member pass away in January and had to leave Kingston to attend the funeral. Rather soon after, I completed an assignment for IDIS373 where we had to discuss end of life planning. Though I was not able to recognize it at the time, that assignment triggered memories of my friends?? previous suicide attempts, remaining grief from the recent death, and the knowledge that a friend of mine has Stage 4 Breast Cancer and probably won??t live to see her kids graduate elementary school. My mental health spiraled further, but despite this crippling weight, I continued to go to classes and submit work to the best of my abilities until I got sick at the end of April. I caught a bad case of Strep throat and spent nearly a week and a half in bed. Shortly thereafter, I caught a case of Tonsillitis that eventually brought me to the Hospital, and then COVID-19 not long after that. This illness, in addition to watching my semester crumble in front of me, ruined me.

As I??ve been through so much in the last year, I see a therapist each week and am now on the correct medication for my mental health. I am able now to recognize the circumstances which lead me to this position, and am working hard in conjunction with my therapist to prevent them from reoccurring. I also decided to take on Summer classes to improve my academics. I am hoping to graduate by the end of this Summer, but will only be able to do so if I am given the chance to redeem myself from this past year that haunts me. With this combination and your gracious nature in granting this appeal, I do believe I will be finally able to complete my undergraduate degree at Queen??s and be a part of the Queen??s alumni family.

Many thanks,

Mackenzie Davidson

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