Petition Letter
Raychel Husin
Student: 10140903
5654 Roseville Crt
Burlington, ON Canada
L7L 6V4
13rrh@queensu.ca
June 13, 2016
Faculty of Arts & Science
Associate Dean (Studies) Dr. Johanne Bénard
94 University Avenue
Queen's University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6
Dear, Dr. Johanne Bénard
I am writing this letter to ask for reconsideration for the Faculty of Arts & Science's decision to withdraw me from Queen;s for a minimum of one year. On May 24, 2016 I received an email indicating that I was to withdraw from the Faculty of Arts & Science for having failed to achieve a minimum GPA of 1.60. Following a meeting with my academic advisor it became clear to me that many factors beyond my control have significantly impacted my ability to be successful in my studies and I believe the Faculty should be aware of my circumstances in order to make a fair and informed decision.
Prior to my first year at Queen's University around October of 2013, I had suffered from depression and anxiety and wanted to seek much more natural treatment options such as establishing a healthy eating routine and regular exercise in an attempt to deter from having to rely on medicinal treatments (Please see medical documentation to that effect). Around this time my parents have been going through an extremely violent and abusive relationship that resulted in their separation. Even under these stressful and unbearable circumstances I worked hard to get into my dream school, Queen's University. Throughout my first year the issues at home have been continuous and progressively getting worse. On January 12 2015, an altercation with my parents had become dangerous and my mom (Inge Iskandar) was admitted to the hospital and put under critical care admission for a reported suicide attempt from the overdose of a series of medications (Please see medical documentation to that effect). The news of this illness came as a shock to the entire family. It was very hard to cope and deal with the severity of these family issues and made it extremely difficult to focus on my studies when the health and safety of my entire family, especially my mother's, was at risk. On top of this, my initial enrolment in degree plan, the Bachelor of Science (BScH) program was a huge problem and did not suit my academic strengths. This stressful situation put me into a very deep depression. Upon returning for my second year at Queen's I tried to change my academic plan by taking some Arts courses in which I excelled much greater in. Throughout the year, the safety of my family was still a huge concern and my depression and anxiety was ongoing. I wanted to keep pushing though the year without any form of medical assistance so I was reluctant in seeking any form of assistance. This made it hard to attend lectures and tutorials and put 100 into all of my assignments. On June 2, 2016 I decided to seek help from my family Physician to treat my chronic depression and anxiety. I am currently on Cipralex, an antidepressant. (Please see medical documentation to that effect). I have continued to follow the treatment protocol recommended by my physician and am doing much better now that I am under medical advisement. My family is also in a better place and I have found healthy ways to deal with my illness and am more attentive to my medical condition and the care it requires. For this reason, I can say that the problems I have faced will most likely not resurface in the future.
Student: 10140903
5654 Roseville Crt
Burlington, ON Canada
L7L 6V4
13rrh@queensu.ca
June 13, 2016
Faculty of Arts & Science
Associate Dean (Studies) Dr. Johanne Bénard
94 University Avenue
Queen's University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6
Dear, Dr. Johanne Bénard
I am writing this letter to ask for reconsideration for the Faculty of Arts & Science's decision to withdraw me from Queen;s for a minimum of one year. On May 24, 2016 I received an email indicating that I was to withdraw from the Faculty of Arts & Science for having failed to achieve a minimum GPA of 1.60. Following a meeting with my academic advisor it became clear to me that many factors beyond my control have significantly impacted my ability to be successful in my studies and I believe the Faculty should be aware of my circumstances in order to make a fair and informed decision.
Prior to my first year at Queen's University around October of 2013, I had suffered from depression and anxiety and wanted to seek much more natural treatment options such as establishing a healthy eating routine and regular exercise in an attempt to deter from having to rely on medicinal treatments (Please see medical documentation to that effect). Around this time my parents have been going through an extremely violent and abusive relationship that resulted in their separation. Even under these stressful and unbearable circumstances I worked hard to get into my dream school, Queen's University. Throughout my first year the issues at home have been continuous and progressively getting worse. On January 12 2015, an altercation with my parents had become dangerous and my mom (Inge Iskandar) was admitted to the hospital and put under critical care admission for a reported suicide attempt from the overdose of a series of medications (Please see medical documentation to that effect). The news of this illness came as a shock to the entire family. It was very hard to cope and deal with the severity of these family issues and made it extremely difficult to focus on my studies when the health and safety of my entire family, especially my mother's, was at risk. On top of this, my initial enrolment in degree plan, the Bachelor of Science (BScH) program was a huge problem and did not suit my academic strengths. This stressful situation put me into a very deep depression. Upon returning for my second year at Queen's I tried to change my academic plan by taking some Arts courses in which I excelled much greater in. Throughout the year, the safety of my family was still a huge concern and my depression and anxiety was ongoing. I wanted to keep pushing though the year without any form of medical assistance so I was reluctant in seeking any form of assistance. This made it hard to attend lectures and tutorials and put 100 into all of my assignments. On June 2, 2016 I decided to seek help from my family Physician to treat my chronic depression and anxiety. I am currently on Cipralex, an antidepressant. (Please see medical documentation to that effect). I have continued to follow the treatment protocol recommended by my physician and am doing much better now that I am under medical advisement. My family is also in a better place and I have found healthy ways to deal with my illness and am more attentive to my medical condition and the care it requires. For this reason, I can say that the problems I have faced will most likely not resurface in the future.