Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello,

My name is Stella Zed, and I am in the Bachelor of Arts program at Queens University. This semester, I have faced various obstacles, which I continue to overcome; however, it negatively impacted my ability to learn content and complete coursework by the given due dates on occasion. Specifically, it has affected my ability to do my Social History Popular Music class, MUSC 171, which has three online tests, each worth 20% of our final grade, and a final exam worth 40% of our final grade. My father has a chronic illness, and I was informed that it had returned again at the beginning of October. I was miserable, so I flew back home to Vancouver for thanksgiving to see him. I returned to Queen??s University on October 17th, 2022, and my mental health was in crumbles. I was immensely vulnerable. Additionally, I suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, so it is more challenging for me to cope with pain than the average individual with good mental health conditions. On October 18th, my first day back at Queen??s University, we had an online test called ??MUSC 171 Online Test 3?. Due to my condition, I was unable to write this test. Then, we had a second online test called ??MUSC 171 Online Test 3?, and it took place on November 15th, 2022. While the test began at 8:30 am, I was in the Los Angeles airport going through security and customs. My computer got held up in security because they wanted to look at it. Once I got my laptop, I attempted to connect it to the wifi at the set of chairs by security while I waited for the rest of my family; however, my computer was dead. At this point, I had 20 minutes until the final boarding call for my plane. I went to the airport lounge to charge my computer, connect to the wifi, and go through as many questions as possible. I only had time to answer some questions, and then I had to run to the plane. I was in Los Angeles to visit my father because he surprised me with the trip so we could spend time together since I was distressed about his medical condition at the time. Also, throughout this morning, my sister was texting me about wanting to end her life. She has been suicidal for several years. This significantly impacted my mental state and was a huge distraction clogging my brain. After this, it came to my attention that regardless of if I got 100% on my exam, I would fail the course. In due course, I communicated this scenario with my professor, Emily Viau, through email; however, I explained my situation very briefly. She was in communication with the Centre for Teaching and Learning to see if there were any alternate assignments I could complete in place of those two online tests. Then, she informed me that they couldn??t provide me with an alternate assignment. As a result, I decided to drop the course; however, I didn??t want to drop it on my own in case it blocked my opportunity to drop the course without a failing grade. I was able to get extensions for assignments in my other classes during these times, so my ability to successfully complete those courses were not negatively impacted. The two causes of my mental health condition were entirely out of my control, and it would be exceptionally unfortunate if I had to suffer with a failing grade because of it.