Petition Letter
Petition Letter for Requirement to Withdraw for One Year and Late Course Drop
Mahdia Mehta
Student Number:20442159
Program: Computing
Faculty: Faculty of & Science
Date: June 6th, 2025
Email: 23tv20@queensu.ca
To: Faculty of Arts & Science, Associate Dean (Academic)
Dear Associate Dean of Queen’s University,
I hope this petition letter finds you well. I am writing to petition my requirement to withdraw from Queen’s University for one year, following my cumulative GPA at the end of my 1st year in the university’s computing program, as well as to petition the late drop of the following courses from the Fall Term: MATH112, CISC101, CISC102, and for the Winter Term: ASTR101, ENGL102, HLTH101, CISC121.
In Semester 1, around mid to late October, I experienced an uncomfortable physical situation with one of my male friends in computing. This event occurred in the evening in my dorm room in Waldron Tower. Because of the discomfort from this situation and the mild anxiety induced from the possibility of being around this individual, I stopped attending my lectures for my computing courses i.e. MATH112, MATH121, CISC102, as he was in my section. I kept attending my CISC101 class as he was not present in my section, however after seeing him appear at my section around late October and chatting with our mutual friends, I stopped attending CISC101 lectures as well. Thus, the only class I attended was my ENGL104 course as it was an elective course I took that he was not enrolled in—and this is a course I received an A- in.
In early to mid December, I booked a counselling appointment at Queen’s Student Wellness Services (SWS), as I was feeling what to me appeared to be depressive symptoms. I was diagnosed with depression in 10th grade back in my home country, Bangladesh, and was consequently prescribed antidepressants for a few weeks. In my counselling session in December, I described these feelings but faced a difficult time determining what was the cause of my depressive episode, as I assumed it was a result of my past experience coming to fruition again.
After winter break, I had a follow-up counselling session. By this time my depressive symptoms were virtually gone and I was much better. However, around late January I received the news that my maternal grandmother passed away after battling dementia for a few years prior; she was my last living grandparent prior to her death and the only grandparent who partook in raising me in my early childhood. This led me to another depressive episode, and was also around the time I got approved for a dorm change to Leonard hall, where I ended up self-isolating myself for weeks and would mainly leave for food or to meet with close friends. I started recovering some time in March and through mutual friends, slightly revived my friendship with the friend from computing. Unfortunately, this decision was a mistake because on St. Patrick’s Day, I was assaulted by him when the two of us met up to search for one of our friends.
Following this, I went back to isolating myself again and would only spend time with my close friends. The idea of going to lectures or exams would paralyse me further because this individual lived in Victoria Hall, and due to Leonard Hall’s close proximity to this dorm building crossing campus for classes would place me at a high chance of encountering him alone, as my friends would only accompany me outside in social settings, not academic ones. This constant state of paranoia and anxiety accompanied me through my second semester, and I failed to reach out for help and make use of Queen’s resources to deal with these forms of situations because of my humiliation around what had happened to me. That is until I faced a consequence—the requirement to withdraw—which made me realise that festering in this traumatic event and my bereavement was not helpful when there are resources that may have helped me grapple with the situations I had found myself in.
After reaching out for help to Daralyn Auld for academic advising for international students, as well as Sarah Lavinge to get support for sexual violence, I have been taking steps to improve my situation and place me at a trajectory for academic recovery and better performance. I am currently taking two summer courses, and have been gradually showing improvement through more consistent submissions and performances, as a result of my improved mental state due to knowing and using the resources available to me, since now I know where and who to reach out to if a similar situation ever arises again. I have also contacted Student Wellness Services again to continue my counselling sessions. I have been doing computer science and calculus practice on a platform called Brilliant to supplement my learning and maintain a consistent academic habit. If I am permitted to remain in Queen’s given these extenuating circumstances, I believe I am on the correct trajectory for academic recovery and success.
Thank you for taking the time to review my petition letter.
Regards,
Mahdia Mehta
20442159
Mahdia Mehta
Student Number:20442159
Program: Computing
Faculty: Faculty of & Science
Date: June 6th, 2025
Email: 23tv20@queensu.ca
To: Faculty of Arts & Science, Associate Dean (Academic)
Dear Associate Dean of Queen’s University,
I hope this petition letter finds you well. I am writing to petition my requirement to withdraw from Queen’s University for one year, following my cumulative GPA at the end of my 1st year in the university’s computing program, as well as to petition the late drop of the following courses from the Fall Term: MATH112, CISC101, CISC102, and for the Winter Term: ASTR101, ENGL102, HLTH101, CISC121.
In Semester 1, around mid to late October, I experienced an uncomfortable physical situation with one of my male friends in computing. This event occurred in the evening in my dorm room in Waldron Tower. Because of the discomfort from this situation and the mild anxiety induced from the possibility of being around this individual, I stopped attending my lectures for my computing courses i.e. MATH112, MATH121, CISC102, as he was in my section. I kept attending my CISC101 class as he was not present in my section, however after seeing him appear at my section around late October and chatting with our mutual friends, I stopped attending CISC101 lectures as well. Thus, the only class I attended was my ENGL104 course as it was an elective course I took that he was not enrolled in—and this is a course I received an A- in.
In early to mid December, I booked a counselling appointment at Queen’s Student Wellness Services (SWS), as I was feeling what to me appeared to be depressive symptoms. I was diagnosed with depression in 10th grade back in my home country, Bangladesh, and was consequently prescribed antidepressants for a few weeks. In my counselling session in December, I described these feelings but faced a difficult time determining what was the cause of my depressive episode, as I assumed it was a result of my past experience coming to fruition again.
After winter break, I had a follow-up counselling session. By this time my depressive symptoms were virtually gone and I was much better. However, around late January I received the news that my maternal grandmother passed away after battling dementia for a few years prior; she was my last living grandparent prior to her death and the only grandparent who partook in raising me in my early childhood. This led me to another depressive episode, and was also around the time I got approved for a dorm change to Leonard hall, where I ended up self-isolating myself for weeks and would mainly leave for food or to meet with close friends. I started recovering some time in March and through mutual friends, slightly revived my friendship with the friend from computing. Unfortunately, this decision was a mistake because on St. Patrick’s Day, I was assaulted by him when the two of us met up to search for one of our friends.
Following this, I went back to isolating myself again and would only spend time with my close friends. The idea of going to lectures or exams would paralyse me further because this individual lived in Victoria Hall, and due to Leonard Hall’s close proximity to this dorm building crossing campus for classes would place me at a high chance of encountering him alone, as my friends would only accompany me outside in social settings, not academic ones. This constant state of paranoia and anxiety accompanied me through my second semester, and I failed to reach out for help and make use of Queen’s resources to deal with these forms of situations because of my humiliation around what had happened to me. That is until I faced a consequence—the requirement to withdraw—which made me realise that festering in this traumatic event and my bereavement was not helpful when there are resources that may have helped me grapple with the situations I had found myself in.
After reaching out for help to Daralyn Auld for academic advising for international students, as well as Sarah Lavinge to get support for sexual violence, I have been taking steps to improve my situation and place me at a trajectory for academic recovery and better performance. I am currently taking two summer courses, and have been gradually showing improvement through more consistent submissions and performances, as a result of my improved mental state due to knowing and using the resources available to me, since now I know where and who to reach out to if a similar situation ever arises again. I have also contacted Student Wellness Services again to continue my counselling sessions. I have been doing computer science and calculus practice on a platform called Brilliant to supplement my learning and maintain a consistent academic habit. If I am permitted to remain in Queen’s given these extenuating circumstances, I believe I am on the correct trajectory for academic recovery and success.
Thank you for taking the time to review my petition letter.
Regards,
Mahdia Mehta
20442159