So I flunked out a semester, too, and have managed to get re-admitted, get jobs and get into grad school. It sucks right now but it can get better, even if it stays canon. (For the record: petitioning was not a common process at that time. I don't think, anyway?)
I ALWAYS call it out and paint it as an experience having overcome difficulties rather than trying to sweep it under the rug. I think that modern life is a bit too obsessed with "perfection." If you're otherwise a stellar student, don't let it drag down your sense of your abilities. Get your butt in counseling, and learn study/coping habits. Any mean GPA with that much of an anomaly isn't going to be a useful metric anyway, so if you need help crafting a statement, let me know.
I wouldn't say I'd do it again, but it wasn't the end of everything the way I thought it was at the time. Hopefully you can come up with a two-Tweet-length petition, though!
bad semester
Moderator: Marduk