Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Fredrick Marie
(20349261)
21amg28@queensu.ca
First-Year Con-Ed/Art-Sci Student

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter to request an appeal from the Concurrent Education and Arts and Sciences program at Queen??s University, as I am stepping away from my university education. I am deciding to resign from my studies due to the abuse and homelessness I faced during the fall semester, which negatively impacted my studies as well as my health and wellbeing.

Upon my arrival in Kingston this September, I had just escaped my abusive family in my hometown of Bracebridge, Ontario and had no external support from family members. This led me to move in with two older Queen??s students I met on Facebook extremely close to the beginning of the school year. Because of my lack of family support during this crucial time, I was left vulnerable to being mistreated, which is unfortunately what took place.

I was manipulated and abused both physically and verbally by both people living with and renting to me, and I was forced to flee the home on a number of occasions for my own safety and wellbeing. I continued to reside with them until the night of December 6th, when the home became too volatile and violent to stay in. I took a bus to campus and stayed with friends, sleeping in their dorms without any of my belongings until December 11th.

During this time, I was talking to my professors and Kel Martin at The Yellow House about my situation, and it was common knowledge that I was facing homelessness and a mental health crisis.

On December 11th, a longtime friend of mine from Bracebridge drove up to Kingston and booked a hotel room for the both of us to stay in for the following week. During my time staying in the hotel, I was still concating my professors and The Yellow House, while also connecting with Student Wellness.

On December 16th, I went back to my previous residence to collect my things and move them into a storage locker, as I still didn??t have a permanent place to stay. I went back to Bracebridge on the same day for the holidays, and stayed with another friend of mine. After a lot of talking with my friend, his family and my counselor, I decided that continuing my education at Queen??s would not be possible for me, as I was still feeling the effects of the abuse I??d experienced in the fall term.

I do not know if or when I will be returning to Queen??s at this time, as I am both putting school on the back burner for the time being, while also exploring options that would allow me to stay close to my friends and support system whilst pursuing my education, so I can have a successful and healthy post-secondary career.

I hope that due to the extenuating circumstances I experienced during the fall semester, I would be granted an appeal from my studies without academic or financial penalty. If you need to follow up with me or ask me any further questions, feel free to contact me via my Queen??s email (21amg28@queensu.ca).

Best,
Freddie Marie