{"id":18953,"date":"2020-02-05T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=18953"},"modified":"2020-02-07T08:26:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T16:26:38","slug":"outside-looking-in-the-ongoing-struggle-of-accessibility-at-camosun-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2020\/02\/05\/outside-looking-in-the-ongoing-struggle-of-accessibility-at-camosun-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Outside looking in: The ongoing struggle of accessibility at Camosun College"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0<\/span>have disabilities\u2014a bit of a soup of them, in fact. Most relevant to life at Camosun, I have chronic hip pain.<\/p>\n

I also have a class on the third floor of the Ewing building, which has no elevator.<\/p>\n

To me, it seems reasonable that the college installs in Ewing one of those little freight elevators that are in the Paul and Dawson buildings. So, I decided to get to the bottom of disability accommodation on campus, both up-front and behind the scenes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to consider with accommodation policy and implementation, as there is when considering when students have the right to obtain their desired accommodations and when they don\u2019t. Sometimes students should fight for an accommodation; sometimes they shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

There are lots of students on campus with accessibility issues. They each have a story to tell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that really does get me a lot is there\u2019s not really a lot of spaces on campus that I can sit and study at that aren\u2019t in a classroom,\u201d says Kelsey Worth, a third-year University Transfer student who has spina bifida and scoliosis, and uses a wheelchair. \u201cThe study spaces outside are the metal picnic benches you can\u2019t move. They\u2019re bolted down, and so are the stools that are inside the Fisher Building. There\u2019s nowhere to pull a chair up. And the cafeteria is a write-off; I can\u2019t get in there. It just kinda sucks, because I\u2019m on campus a lot, but not necessarily in class, and I\u2019d love to get some work done, but there\u2019s nowhere for me to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worth says that the downstairs portion of the library is cluttered and difficult to navigate in a wheelchair, and that it isn\u2019t ideal for studying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tables in the library, there\u2019s already too many in there. They\u2019ve got too many computer terminals and not enough study space,\u201d she says, adding that the silent study space upstairs in the library also presents exclusionary problems. \u201cThe chair makes a lot of noise even when it\u2019s turned off, so I would still be disturbing other people and I\u2019d get dirty looks. It\u2019s just not a comfortable space, because you know you\u2019re the problem for everybody else, so I kind of avoid the library; there\u2019s too many people and not enough space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worth feels that even in the buildings where she can find accessible space, there\u2019s still not enough room for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery other building except Wilna Thomas, the few tables that are available are almost always full,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Worth says that creating areas that are accessible to everyone but prioritized for disability access would be a step up, but she thinks it would be a burden on an already strained system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it would hurt, but at the same time I can\u2019t see it happening in a place like this because they don\u2019t want to take away from the limited resources they already have for everybody,\u201d she says. \u201cIt makes sense, but where would you put them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Worth feels that social inaccessibility is just as prevalent on campus as physical inaccessibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find starting a conversation with people on the first day of class very awkward because a lot of people don\u2019t know what to say, but it\u2019s like, why does it have to be about the fact that I\u2019m in a wheelchair? It\u2019s honestly like it\u2019s a giant beacon that says \u2018Do not approach me,\u2019 or that I don\u2019t have a personality outside of my limitations,\u201d she says. \u201cYes, I\u2019m in a wheelchair; yes, I have a physical disability. Am I any different in my interests and hobbies than anybody else? I honestly don\u2019t think so. I read the same books, watched the same movies that you did growing up. I just have a chair that moves instead of legs that move me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She says that many people in her situation would prefer people not focus on their disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the most part, we\u2019re not against speaking about our limitations, but we don\u2019t want to focus on it the whole time. I\u2019d much rather have a conversation about what book I\u2019m reading or what movie I\u2019m watching, you know; we\u2019re normal people,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that is probably the main thing for me\u2014don\u2019t be afraid to come and talk to me about anything. It\u2019s like people see the chair but they don\u2019t see the person. I feel like people don\u2019t understand that it doesn\u2019t need to be like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) is Camosun\u2019s primary resource for students with disabilities; CAL works with students and instructors to find ways for students to be successful in their courses by helping them with the challenges imposed upon them by their disabilities. CAL manager Darryl Gorrie says that they strive to stay above the curve when it comes to assistive technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with partners like ATBC [Assistive Technology BC] in Vancouver,\u201d says Gorrie. \u201cThey have grants and technology loan programs, so we\u2019ve taken advantage of that to obtain equipment to help students but also to bring our own knowledge up as we go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The mezzanine in Camosun’s Centre for Trades Education and Innovation will soon be accessible (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gorrie says that in a situation where a student\u2019s challenges are beyond CAL\u2019s ability to help, they\u2019re happy to make a few calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do referrals out to community agencies, and that goes for mental health as well,\u201d he says. \u201cWe will refer out to community agencies who have capacity in that area when we see a student who is really struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, help is right down the road, at the University of Victoria\u2019s CanAssist.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanAssist quite often will work with anyone in the community for whom a standard piece of technology you can buy on the market isn\u2019t suitable,\u201d says Gorrie. \u201cThey\u2019ll work to create something novel and innovative for an individual. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gorrie believes that gaining independence is invaluable, and says that CAL is highly committed to supporting that process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s super important that students learn the skills for independence as much as possible, and part of that is working with them around technology, so they can become \u00fcber-competitive in the job market, and extremely proficient in their area of interest,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you build self-serve tools, they start using those, and it creates a situation where people can become more independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that this successful process is what motivates people working within CAL.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat excitement is part of what drives all of us at the CAL because we see people moving forth, getting their credential, and being able to go out and start their lives in employment. I think stuff like that is what drives us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) is also a resource for students struggling with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a fair amount of work with CAL,\u201d says CCSS wellness director Eleanor Vannan, who also puts a lot of effort into building supportive relationships with students if they just need someone to talk with or to vent to. \u201cI\u2019ll take students for coffee, and one of the things I am quite good at is navigating institutional structures, so a lot of the time it\u2019s helping them know the right process, the right person to go to, that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vannan is also a student with multiple disabilities, so she understands the struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a diagnosed disability since I was in Grade 5. I ended up dropping out of high school because I didn\u2019t receive any academic support or accommodation,\u201d she says. \u201cI came to Camosun, and in that period I actually had quite a bad fall and injured my cervical spine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vannan says that she has nerve pain from that, so it presents as a physical disability, but she also has a learning disability, and, along with that, the associated struggles with anxiety and depression. She says that when talking to students she tries to reframe situations and provide students with some context.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur role in the CCSS is very often translating between institutional jargon and how students speak and understand things,\u201d says Vannan, \u201cas well as guiding them through the process and saying, \u2018Here\u2019s a reasonable outcome we can expect, and here\u2019s what we can\u2019t expect.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the more infamous accessibility issues around campus is that the Centre for Trades Education and Innovation, which was built in 2016 at the Interurban campus, had a mezzanine with no elevator access (the college is just finishing putting an elevator in, to make the mezzanine accessible). The argument at the time was that it came down to budget; however, it\u2019s a beautiful building, so there was obviously money allocated to visual aesthetics. I wondered if perhaps the issue was less about scarcity of resources and more about allocating resources to form over function.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a false dichotomy\u2014you can have them together,\u201d says Vannan. \u201cAnd we shouldn\u2019t slander function by thinking of it as something that must be utilitarian. You figure out what the function is, then you figure out how to make it beautiful, and I think you can find beautiful options at any price.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Vannan believes that preemptive problem solving is the key.<\/p>\n

\u201cCamosun is very much a patchwork community,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople come from all different backgrounds, abilities, and lived experiences, and that\u2019s what makes it such a wonderful community to be a part of, but we need to have diverse groups making the design decisions about what these spaces should look like and how we\u2019re going to use them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gorrie agrees with this and says that it\u2019s simpler to be proactive than retroactive with accessibility issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all goes back to the principle of barrier-free design,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s super important to think about things at the outset of the design phase, because it\u2019s much easier to build in accessibility principles at the beginning, rather than having to go back and retrofit.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking of retrofitting, I looked into what it would take to put an elevator into Ewing, and I came across the concept of \u201cundue hardship,\u201d which is the only scenario in which the college is not mandated to provide an accommodation.<\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, \u201cUndue hardship describes the limit, beyond which employers and service providers are not expected to accommodate. Undue hardship usually occurs when an employer or service provider cannot sustain the economic or efficiency costs of the accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get a better understanding of what this means, I spoke with Camosun ombudsperson Carter MacDonald.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very high standard in human rights legislation,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s incumbent upon the college to grant accommodations up to undue hardship.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MacDonald provides two examples. The first involves a student\u2014not from Camosun\u2014who used a sports wheelchair with a wide wheelbase that couldn\u2019t fit through a bathroom door. It was going to cost $50,000 to accommodate the student, says MacDonald, so the institution denied the request.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, quite frankly, $50,000 for a post-secondary institution is not undue hardship in order to accommodate a student if it\u2019s got a $150-million budget, so the Human Rights Tribunal found in favour of the student,\u201d says MacDonald, adding that the institution has to be able to really demonstrate that it would impede its operations or put it at financial risk of bankruptcy if it were to respond to an accommodation request.<\/p>\n

The second case regards a former Camosun student who was not allowed to record some of her class lectures. Since the crucial focus of the courses revolved around functional communication, simply recording them would not fulfill those requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tribunal ruled that post-secondary institutions are not obliged to change the integrity of their courses to meet, in this instance, a desire by a student for an accommodation she didn\u2019t even have, and the tribunal found in favour of the college,\u201d says MacDonald.<\/p>\n

MacDonald says that a significant consideration around the feasibility of accommodation is maintaining academic integrity, and Gorrie seconds this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith courses, it\u2019s always based around what\u2019s essential,\u201d says Gorrie. \u201cIf you\u2019re in a Nursing course and you have to be able to suture a wound that\u2019s bleeding within so many seconds before the person died, [that\u2019s] an essential task that\u2019s required under time pressure, so [the student] couldn\u2019t have double time to do it. It wouldn\u2019t be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A\u00a0<\/span>2016 Nexus<\/i> article identified that Camosun did not have a proper policy when it came to providing accommodations for students; as of 2020, it\u2019s still in the works. Camosun education policy specialist Rashed Al-Haque says that the intent and function of the policy is to ensure that the students who need these accommodations get them; he says that, according to the Human Rights Code, students with disabilities should receive accommodations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a legislative obligation that we have,\u201d he says. \u201cSo we use very strong language in this draft policy to really hold the college responsible, because at the end of the day, our policies should reflect our values and principles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Haque stresses that having a policy is important but that it\u2019s only a formality, since appropriate accommodation is mandated by law and is already being fulfilled by Camosun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis policy is just that extra added layer, that protection for everybody to ensure that students do in fact receive their accommodations,\u201d he says. \u201cIf it\u2019s been recommended by CAL, they should receive that, and at the college we have a responsibility to ensure that we\u2019re supporting our learners and students to be successful academically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Haque hopes that the policy will be finished by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u00a0<\/span>find it difficult to distinguish the line between what should be a legitimate expectation and what may be considered an undue sense of entitlement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really goes back to expectation-setting, and it\u2019s something I face,\u201d Vannan admits. \u201cI\u2019m frustrated all the time, because you think to yourself, \u2018In this one particular instance, if they just did it this way, my life would be so much better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Vannan recalls a line she read in a policy: \u201cAn acceptable accommodation is not necessarily a perfect accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI read that at first and I thought, \u2018I don\u2019t like that language, that\u2019s very condescending to students,\u2019 but the more I thought about it, I thought, there is some truth in that,\u201d she says. \u201cAt the end of the day, we all like our barriers to be taken down in exactly the way we want, but sometimes we have to be able to say to ourselves, \u2018Does this leave the barrier in place, or does it take it down, just not in the way that I want it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

This ties back into Ewing not having an elevator\u2014Vannan points out that the building technically has access to every floor (through the walkways that lead to and from Fisher).<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it ideal, not having an elevator in Ewing? No, it\u2019s not,\u201d says Vannan. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of the bitter pill sometimes, understanding that when you\u2019re fighting for access, you sometimes have to accept the things that are less than ideal but are good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Vannan also has trouble in discerning where that line is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to sit and check myself for a moment, saying, \u2018Is this you being that person who just wants what they want because it\u2019s comfortable?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard, because I think, for students with disabilities, we are so used to being shut out of places, and going into situations being ready to have a fight. It\u2019s really hard to step back and say, \u2018Should I be having a fight?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Vannan reminds students that a win is still a win, and that they need to choose their battles.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have people who are very adamant that this is what they need,\u201d she says. \u201cBut in certain situations where there\u2019s not that documentation or diagnosis, it\u2019s not necessarily the hill to die on, in terms of making the college provide accommodations. But when you have a situation where you do have that documentation, that\u2019s when you have that big fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Second-year University Transfer student Malcolm McLaren has been diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and depression. McLaren\u2014who is also shift captain at the Lansdowne campus for the CCSS\u2019 WalkSafer program\u2014acknowledges that disabilities can produce challenges in all aspects of life, and says that people who have disabilities need to judge when to disclose this to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs difficult as it is, when you\u2019re generalized by another person, it\u2019s your responsibility to let them know that you require different treatment,\u201d he says, adding that it\u2019s not an excuse, it\u2019s just the person explaining what they need.<\/p>\n

McLaren says that it can be hard for students to admit that they have a disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, when I first came to the Carpentry program here, I was struggling, and my teacher didn\u2019t directly say it to me, but he said to the class three or four times that if you have a disability you should go to the CAL, and eventually I did, and he said, \u2018I knew it! I was trying to tell you, but I couldn\u2019t!\u2019\u201d McLaren says with a laugh. \u201cYou know, it\u2019s a pride thing for a lot of people, like you don\u2019t want to admit that, and a teacher breaking that stigma, I think it really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren says that it might help to have a standard addition to all course outlines that addresses the disabled elephant in the room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe there should be a section at the beginning where they could explain that if you\u2019re a student with a disability you can go to the CAL and get help,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

However, McLaren says that he\u2019s really happy with the state of disability accommodation at Camosun.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing back to school as an adult, I had some big fears,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought coming into a school with a disability I might be treated like I was when I was younger, or like I was with an undiagnosed disability in the real world, which was pretty awful, and I was really surprised and overwhelmed with positivity working with the CAL.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren says that CAL began supporting him even before he became a student.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were willing to help sign the student loans up with me, so they could get me the best services I needed,\u201d he says. \u201cI was blown away by the college administration trying to help me out; I\u2019ve never experienced that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gorrie feels very strongly that the college really cares for students with disabilities, and this comes across in the enthusiastic cooperation with which CAL staff work, both with each other and with students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons I\u2019m so happy to be here\u2014the fantastic people. I couldn\u2019t have landed in a friendlier or more supportive environment,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s always issues in organizations, but the willingness to work together to look at the future as an opportunity to make good systematic change, to create powerful mechanisms that everybody wants to be involved with, that\u2019s a very exciting reason why I came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren says that usually a non-visible disability gets the person \u201ctreated like garbage\u201d everywhere they go, but he says that it doesn\u2019t carry that stigma at Camosun.<\/p>\n

\u201cCAL and most Camosun faculty are really understanding,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren also says that students have the power to make positive changes when issues arise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a problem that a student has, they can go to Nexus<\/i>, they can go to the student society, and make a fight for themselves, as well as others, and make a change on campus\u2014they really can,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Vannan wants students to know that the CCSS is there for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe student society\u2019s entire purpose is to serve our membership to ensure they have the best Camosun experience,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd we can celebrate with them when times are good, but we will fight for them when things go wrong. And certainly, in my position, that goes doubly for students with barriers to access, so they\u2019re always free to send us an email or stop by our office.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren agrees with this, saying that students should seek out the student society if they are having problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if people do have accessibility issues, or they feel they aren\u2019t being represented, then they should come seek out the CCSS and know that we have their back,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s always ways that we can help, and even if it doesn\u2019t directly solve it right here, right now, there\u2019s others like you, and, through advocacy and the work we do, there will be a change one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Correction: This story originally said that the\u00a0mezzanine in Camosun’s Centre for Trades Education and Innovation had no elevator; the college is in fact almost finished putting an elevator in. We apologize for the mistake.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0have disabilities\u2014a bit of a soup of them, in fact. Most relevant to life at Camosun, I have chronic hip pain. I also have a class on the third floor of the Ewing building, which has no elevator. To me, it seems reasonable that the college installs in Ewing one of those little freight elevators […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19001,"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":[10,247],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-february-5-2020"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18953","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=18953"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19002,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18953\/revisions\/19002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}