College concerns<\/strong><\/p>\nCamosun Community, Family and Child Studies chair Robin Fast is a Camosun graduate and has been teaching full-time at the college for 12 years. He graduated from Camosun in 1986 from what is now the Community Support Education Assistant certificate program, which trains people in working with and supporting people with developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n
The Centre for Health and Wellness is currently under construction at Interurban; Fast says that with the college in a time of growth and development, it\u2019s important to think about what is necessary and how the college can make things better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spoken with college leadership and let my opinion be known, and they\u2019ve recognized that they missed this piece at the trades building,\u201d says Fast. \u201cCamosun is redeveloping its policies. They are trying to bring in a broad group of people to form [a] diversity and inclusion policy working committee <\/b>in order to influence their policies and make sure the policies are aligning with their values and educational principles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camosun vice president of student experience Joan Yates and vice president of education John Boraas are co-leads of the committee. Yates says the goal of the committee is to have a college where everyone feels safe and accepted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have recognition of ways we need to act to be respectful, ways to communicate, ways we need to teach and learn, and even the way the classrooms are laid out,\u201d says Yates. \u201cWe will follow a process of equity. When developing policy that works for everybody, you need to understand everybody, and that requires a lot of input. We need to give people a voice right from the beginning. At this point, we are in the discussion stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Yates, elements of the diversity and inclusion policy that the college is working on currently exist in a number of college policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to roll it all into one major policy,\u201d she says. \u201cIt would give clarity to people and make sure that everything is consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast says that it\u2019s very important that the college addresses issues surrounding accessibility, diversity, and equity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so important for us as educators to keep in mind the larger messages that students are receiving, regardless of their background,\u201d says Fast. \u201cWhat message do they gather from what they see and hear when they walk onto campus?\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast says that there are elements of accessibility in designing landscape and buildings that most people wouldn\u2019t even notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe subtle things\u2014like uneven pavement and curbs that could trip someone up, or the placement of a crosswalk\u2014these things become so much more important when you are faced with mobility issues,\u201d says Fast. \u201cI participated in some tours last year of different buildings as we started talking about the construction of the new building. There was one building where we walked in and the elevator was front and centre. I can\u2019t imagine that many students would use the elevator because classes end at the same time and they would be waiting forever. It would be impossible. The only students who use the elevator are going to be students who need it. It had a totally different feel as you enter the building, however. \u2018This is an accessible building\u2019 is the first message that you receive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast says that first impressions can shape how a student imagines their education will be once they\u2019re in the classroom. If students just see stairs when they go in a building, Fast says that a student in a wheelchair could get the message that \u201cthis building is not for me.\u201d In order to access the building, the student would need to be accommodated somehow; Fast says that Camosun\u2019s goal is for the buildings to be constructed with that in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I enjoy about the college is that the leadership is very aware and concerned about accessibility and those unspoken messages,\u201d says Fast. \u201cThere are multiple pressures on them in terms of budget and priorities. We need to look at the difference between equality and equity. The idea for some is that providing everyone with the same thing is equality, but in reality, providing what people need is what creates accessibility and makes it possible for everyone to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learning to adjust<\/strong><\/p>\nFirst-year Camosun Legal Office Assistant student Natalia Grass saw her world completely change two years ago.<\/p>\n
Grass is from Golden, BC, and she lived quite happily there in the mountains. She grew up skiing at Kicking Horse Resort and, although she\u2019s modest, Grass says she was a pretty good skier. One day up at the hill she found herself skiing alone and came to the edge of an unmarked cliff. There was nobody in the area and no cell service, so, out of ideas, Grass says she had to take her skis off and climb down. She tried to descend the 60-foot cliff backwards, but she slipped and fell.<\/p>\n
Grass had to be airlifted out. She had an incomplete C6 and C7 injury, meaning she injured her sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae; she also got whiplash from the fall. Grass says that a piece of her C6 broke off and put pressure on her spinal cord. It caused enough damage that she doesn\u2019t have full use of her hands or legs, and she is paralyzed up to her chest. It\u2019s called \u201cincomplete\u201d because she still has some sensation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still feel pain,\u201d says Grass. \u201cI also have some minor hand movement as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grass was in the eleventh grade at the time of her injury; she spent the next six months in hospital. The community rallied around her and enough money was raised to cover expenses. Grass says she had to get an $8,000 wheelchair. She got out of the hospital the day before she returned for her final year of high school. Grass had to learn to adjust in a hurry, but she says she picked up new habits pretty quickly. She used a wheelchair to move from class to class. Her high school got a weight machine for her to use in place of participating in gym class. Grass learned to use an iPad for taking notes and writing exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy school was super helpful,\u201d says Grass, \u201cand the people did a lot to help me, but it was a small town in the mountains. I had to get away from the weather. It\u2019s really snowy there, and I can\u2019t get through it. I tried everything. I even have little skis for my front wheels. It was just too much when there was a lot of snow. If I go over any potholes, my wheels just go right down. The weather was quite a pain for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grass moved to Victoria with her mother, Shelagh, on January 2 of this year. \u201cI love the snow and always did,\u201d says Grass, \u201cbut the rain works better for me. I don\u2019t lose traction in my chair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grass came to Victoria with her sister before classes started to visit Interurban. She met with her instructors, and they showed her how to get around the building and find the labs.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy classes are all in the same building,\u201d says Grass. \u201cThe hallways are very easy to manoeuvre in the CBA [Centre for Business and Access] building and it\u2019s like I have my own elevator. I\u2019ve never seen anybody else use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grass says that, for her, Camosun is really workable, but adds that she has received a lot of help from her instructors as well as from the college\u2019s Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL). She says she meets with CAL chair Brent Wassermann often.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve helped me a lot with the Dragon speech-to-text program; I\u2019ll be using it for my exams,\u201d says Grass. \u201cThey informed my instructors that I\u2019ll need more time for tests because typing takes me much longer. I can get more time for assignments, as well, which I haven\u2019t used yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grass says that she might be biased because she came from an inaccessible town, but she finds Camosun very good about providing access for students. She says she understands that people have different needs, so it\u2019s never going to be perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now,\u201d Grass says, \u201cI just kind of deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for not being able to access the mezzanine in the trades building, Grass looks on the bright side.<\/p>\n
\u201cCamosun is really very workable,\u201d she says. \u201cI understand that there are issues with cost. I\u2019m not going to be able to go everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
College assistance<\/strong><\/p>\nWassermann says that the CAL has a mandate to ensure academic accessibility for students with different types of disabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents come to us to talk about what their academic goals are,\u201d says Wassermann. \u201cWe discuss their diagnosis and the barriers they face. In response, we provide academic support. That can be in class, like sign language interpreting, transcribing, or note taking. It can be exam-related support, usually with regards to time allowed or distraction-reduced environments. Technology support.\u201d<\/p>\n
In terms of physical mobility, Wassermann says that students face a variety of challenges. For example, he says that often they get the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to come help students with visual impairments \u201cto get a visual snapshot of the physical layout of the campus.\u201d Sometimes the CAL assists in making sure that students know about buses or handyDart, or, for students who drive, making sure that they know where accessible parking spots are.<\/p>\n
Wassermann says that the CAL also helps students navigate access to the Canada Student Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities, which is set up to help students pay for education, as well as to any other supports or services they might be eligible for.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of what we do is problem-solving in the moment,\u201d says Wassermann. \u201cWe don\u2019t have jurisdiction over the physical barriers. What we can do is act as an advocate with [Camosun] Facility Services, for example, and most of the time things get solved.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Wassermann,the best part of his job is building connections with students. He says that everybody has their own journey and everybody is carrying something that they deal with; he adds that he sees disability as being on the spectrum of diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at all of the places that I have worked, Camosun College is very inclusive,\u201d he says, \u201cand I\u2019m proud to say that I work here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Planning ahead<\/strong><\/p>\nAs previously mentioned, there is another major project underway at Interurban: The Centre for Health and Wellness, which is currently under construction. Camosun Continuing Care chair Carly Hall has spent the past year representing the School of Health and Human Services with the building design team. Hall says that she is there to make sure that the needs of faculty, staff, and students are heard by the design team.<\/p>\n
The new building will house all of the college\u2019s Health and Human Service programs except for dental. Hall says that it\u2019s a large, four-storey building with a $43.5-million budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will certainly be a busy place,\u201d says Hall. \u201cIt includes classrooms, health-care labs, high-fidelity simulation spaces, and lots of common areas for students, both for studying and social spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because the building is on a hill, Hall says that the main entrance will be on the first floor, with additional entrances on the second floor on the back side; she says that the landscape was designed with accessibility in mind. There will be pathways linking the building to the rest of campus from both the front and back. The interior of building will be serviced by elevators, and Hall says that all four floors will be fully accessible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the classrooms,\u201d Hall says, \u201cwe have planned for one accessible workstation in each classroom, which is adjustable so it can function as a standing desk or accommodate a wheelchair. We are trying to get away from moving a piece of furniture around with a student, and instead make any classroom accessible for that student.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking it downtown<\/strong><\/p>\nCity of Victoria city councillor Jeremy Loveday helped start Victoria\u2019s Accessibility Working Group, which is made up of people with experience with accessibility challenges. The goal is to make city facilities, infrastructure, and programming accessible to everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest issue in terms of accessibility at the city is trying to create a cultural shift,\u201d says Loveday. \u201cAccessibility should be thought of every time we make a decision, instead of trying to fix mistakes. Every time a new project begins, there are many chances to create barriers. We need policies at the city level, and it needs to be addressed at the provincial and federal levels to make sure that we are not creating new barriers. We also need to continue to undo the barriers that already exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Accessibility is covered in the Canadian Human Rights Act, and while the Building Code addresses some accessibility issues, there\u2019s no legislation that mandates accessibility or rights for people living with disabilities or accessibility challenges. Loveday says he first heard about this directly from people with experience in the community; he says that it was brought forward and the city was asked to be involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked with them to create a motion that passed here at Victoria City Council and then sent to the Union of BC Municipalities, where it passed almost unanimously,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause there was a transition in government, I brought a new motion to council to have the mayor write to the province directly, because this government is more receptive to this type of issue. We are calling on the province to bring in a strong and effective persons with disabilities act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loveday says that strong and effective disability legislation would help to make sure that issues like the lack of an elevator at Camosun\u2019s trades building don\u2019t arise in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could prevent issues from having to be solved one by one,\u201d says Loveday, \u201ceither in courtrooms or in the realm of public opinion when enough pressure is brought to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harrison says that Camosun is no exception to what the Human Rights Act calls a \u201cduty to accommodate\u201d and adds that the college is \u201crequired to meet the needs of people with a disability and allow them to participate in the educational community, like everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond the college, in society in general,\u201d says Harrison, \u201cwe are seeing a shift in thinking. The idea used to be that everyone should be treated the same. If we treat everyone the same, some people can\u2019t succeed. A simple example is building accessibility. If you say everyone should use a staircase, the people who can\u2019t are at a disadvantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Camosun College is a growing public institution. As such, it faces challenges in meeting the needs of a very wide demographic. The challenges have come to the forefront as Camosun has tried to balance costs, due diligence, and legal requirements as expansion continues. The college has done an admirable job, but the fact that it is still coming up short in certain areas raises questions.<\/p>\n
As I stood and looked at the staircase in the trades building, I couldn\u2019t help but wonder: at what point do we as a society step in and force policy change that would eliminate the questions before there is even a need to ask them?<\/p>\n
Then I left the building, thinking about someone at the college being concerned enough about this to email us in the first place, thinking about the mezzanine that isn\u2019t accessible to all students, and thinking about a future where these questions don\u2019t even need to be discussed. It\u2019s been a long time coming, and hopefully it\u2019s here sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Camosun\u2019s Centre for Trades Education and Innovation is a beautiful building, filled with modern equipment and hope for the future of our province. I recently took a bus out to see the building, which officially opened in 2016 and is located on the Interurban campus. I was amazed as I walked through the doors into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-february-21-2018"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15466,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15464\/revisions\/15466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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