Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am James Yui Sing Lau, Queens Student number 10009237. I would like to appeal for a review on the instructor¿¿s decision on my final grade.
My main reasoning behind that was due to the fact my exam's schedule was clustered very closely together. I just wished I had more time spread on my exam schedule, as I have one exam on Tuesday night; then one at 7:00-10:00pm on the same week¿¿s Thursday; and another two exams on the following day, one at 9:00am-11:00am and another one again at 7:00-10:10pm. I cannot delay the schedule of the three exams huddled together because it's not 3 exams within 24 hours. Thus, I was unable to study and rest accordingly due to the scheduling.
If I had more time, I would've been able to achieve a higher grade if they were spread out more. I did study a lot for all the courses but due to fatigue and lack of sleep, I was unable to function accordingly. While working on the exam, I actually fell asleep during the middle of the exam several times. I was unable to focus my eyes on the words because they were easily blurred during the middle of the exam. Trying to understand familiar arithmetic or sentences may take up to several minutes due to my drowsiness breaking my concentration. Even writing was difficult. With the four exams so closely placed together, I sometimes I realized I had merged all four unrelated courses together because of exhaustion. Even though I¿¿m sure my exhaustion was due to the lack of sleep, it may be due to my counselor¿¿s suspected depression as she told me I have symptoms of it during the beginning of the year. If you require proof of that I would gladly ask my counselor to write a letter to support this.
I am from Hong Kong and I do not have any relatives living in Canada. I am the only person from my family living here. Currently, there had been many riots over Hong Kong known as the Umbrella Protests during 2014. Many violent outbreaks were close to where my family lives. I fear for their safety. My family was having financial troubles when I started university and they were trying to hide that from me. My parents are lending me money to study in university. OSAP barely covered my needs. They did not tell my father has lost his job while I was at university. Thus, I do not know if my family is safe or not, since they lie to me to ¿¿protect¿ me. There were marital disputes between my parents during my visit in Hong Kong, divorce was mentioned. But I will never know if they are separated during my time in Canada as they always lie to me. All these uncertainties are horrible.
I¿¿ve been isolated a lot before I was in university and still am. When I first came to Queen¿¿s University, I never felt that I truly fitted in anything at all. I lived with nine roommates but they all excluded me from a lot of activities. This motivated me to stay in solitude even further.
During 2015 winter, life felt bleaker. It was getting harder for me to sleep and when I am in bed, I just want to wake up from this nightmare. My pain is sharp and my mind is constantly full of cynical thoughts and the loss in faith. There was a loss of appetite; I was only eating one or two meals a day. My emotions are usually judgmental, angry and easily irritated. Having poor concentration and unable to make decisions were hard; it made reading in academics even harder. Studying academics were even harder, as I was under the pressure of bad grades and distracting thoughts. No matter how hard I try, my grades discouraged me every time. My parents believe I was lazy. I began to lose interest in anything I used to enjoy. I do not think this is a severe psychological issue because I'm not having suicidal or self-harming thoughts or performing any of those.
The only reason I am still trying is for my parents¿¿ sake. The reason why I¿¿m in economics and still studying was in order to get a stable financial income. It is in Hong Kong¿¿s culture that the son will feed the older family. Otherwise, I would¿¿ve chosen a program in film, media arts, or animation, something I truly enjoy. Yet, I can¿¿t be selfish enough to leave my parents behind to pursue my own happiness, sacrifice is necessary.
With those reasons, I really hope my instructors would re-evaluate my final grades. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
James Lau
I am James Yui Sing Lau, Queens Student number 10009237. I would like to appeal for a review on the instructor¿¿s decision on my final grade.
My main reasoning behind that was due to the fact my exam's schedule was clustered very closely together. I just wished I had more time spread on my exam schedule, as I have one exam on Tuesday night; then one at 7:00-10:00pm on the same week¿¿s Thursday; and another two exams on the following day, one at 9:00am-11:00am and another one again at 7:00-10:10pm. I cannot delay the schedule of the three exams huddled together because it's not 3 exams within 24 hours. Thus, I was unable to study and rest accordingly due to the scheduling.
If I had more time, I would've been able to achieve a higher grade if they were spread out more. I did study a lot for all the courses but due to fatigue and lack of sleep, I was unable to function accordingly. While working on the exam, I actually fell asleep during the middle of the exam several times. I was unable to focus my eyes on the words because they were easily blurred during the middle of the exam. Trying to understand familiar arithmetic or sentences may take up to several minutes due to my drowsiness breaking my concentration. Even writing was difficult. With the four exams so closely placed together, I sometimes I realized I had merged all four unrelated courses together because of exhaustion. Even though I¿¿m sure my exhaustion was due to the lack of sleep, it may be due to my counselor¿¿s suspected depression as she told me I have symptoms of it during the beginning of the year. If you require proof of that I would gladly ask my counselor to write a letter to support this.
I am from Hong Kong and I do not have any relatives living in Canada. I am the only person from my family living here. Currently, there had been many riots over Hong Kong known as the Umbrella Protests during 2014. Many violent outbreaks were close to where my family lives. I fear for their safety. My family was having financial troubles when I started university and they were trying to hide that from me. My parents are lending me money to study in university. OSAP barely covered my needs. They did not tell my father has lost his job while I was at university. Thus, I do not know if my family is safe or not, since they lie to me to ¿¿protect¿ me. There were marital disputes between my parents during my visit in Hong Kong, divorce was mentioned. But I will never know if they are separated during my time in Canada as they always lie to me. All these uncertainties are horrible.
I¿¿ve been isolated a lot before I was in university and still am. When I first came to Queen¿¿s University, I never felt that I truly fitted in anything at all. I lived with nine roommates but they all excluded me from a lot of activities. This motivated me to stay in solitude even further.
During 2015 winter, life felt bleaker. It was getting harder for me to sleep and when I am in bed, I just want to wake up from this nightmare. My pain is sharp and my mind is constantly full of cynical thoughts and the loss in faith. There was a loss of appetite; I was only eating one or two meals a day. My emotions are usually judgmental, angry and easily irritated. Having poor concentration and unable to make decisions were hard; it made reading in academics even harder. Studying academics were even harder, as I was under the pressure of bad grades and distracting thoughts. No matter how hard I try, my grades discouraged me every time. My parents believe I was lazy. I began to lose interest in anything I used to enjoy. I do not think this is a severe psychological issue because I'm not having suicidal or self-harming thoughts or performing any of those.
The only reason I am still trying is for my parents¿¿ sake. The reason why I¿¿m in economics and still studying was in order to get a stable financial income. It is in Hong Kong¿¿s culture that the son will feed the older family. Otherwise, I would¿¿ve chosen a program in film, media arts, or animation, something I truly enjoy. Yet, I can¿¿t be selfish enough to leave my parents behind to pursue my own happiness, sacrifice is necessary.
With those reasons, I really hope my instructors would re-evaluate my final grades. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
James Lau