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See details re: disabled students conference in latter part of article Accessibility makes strides on campus > > >HELEN HENDERSON > >Julia Munk has had quite a ticket to ride lately. When I spoke with her >on Tuesday, she was scheduled to become the first person to ride the new >elevator at University of Toronto's Hart House. On Monday, she will >celebrate the opening of the university's first student-funded and >student-operated access centre in Hart House's east common room. >Membership is open to all students, disabled and able-bodied. > >And next weekend, with fellow accessibility advocates Mahadeo Sukhai and >Uzma Khan, she will be front and centre at the second annual conference >on breaking down barriers, hosted by Canada-Wide Accessibility for >Post-Secondary Students' (CanWAPSS) at the Toronto Marriott Hotel. > >Munk, founder of U of T's Students For Barrier-Free Access, Sukhai, a >Ph.D. student in medical biophysics at the U of T, and Khan, a graduate >of Ryerson University's information technology management program, are >co-founders of CanWAPSS, a non-profit group committed to increasing >accessibility and inclusion across the country for post-secondary >students with disabilities. > >The ivy-covered walls too often house physical barriers for students who >use wheelchairs, crutches or canes. But it is the attitudes on campus >that present the biggest stumbling blocks to those who move, communicate >or process information differently from what society decrees to be the >norm. > >With that in mind, one of the highlights of the weekend conference is >expected to be a Saturday evening debate between students and professors >from Ryerson and U of T, with plenty of opportunity for the audience to >get involved. The statement to be debated: "In order to fully access >equitable education, all accessibility requirements asked for by >post-secondary students with disabilities should be provided, regardless >of any concerns or issues raised by professors." > >Professors who refuse to recognize learning disabilities and those who >refuse to accommodate students who are blind or have low vision are >among the most common barrier builders on campuses across the country. > >Among other things, many don't release lists of required reading until >very close to the start of a course, making it difficult for blind >students to arrange for transcription into an alternative format. > >In this province, Terri Hulett, a graduate student working toward a >Master's degree in women's studies, has filed a formal complaint against >York University with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which had >released a consultation paper on barrier-free education for students >with disabilities. > >Hulett, who has very low vision, says the university's failure to >provide course material in an alternate format in a timely fashion >prolonged the completion of her degree and thus burdened her with extra >tuition fees. > >"These are systemic issues," says Hulett, a passionate advocate for >accessibility who will be among participants at another conference on >barriers to education scheduled for Nov, 12 to 14 in Ottawa. That >conference, called Right On! and presented by the National Educational >Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), will look at human rights, >access rights, equality rights, education rights and employment rights. > >Next weekend's Toronto conference on breaking down education barriers >will feature as keynote speakers CityTV's David Onley and Rabia Khedr, >founder of DiversityWorx, which helps governments, companies and >communities work toward inclusion. > >In addition to the debate between students and professors, it will >include sessions on exclusion and recreation, how to encourage inclusive >practices, self-advocacy and universal design. > >Everyone is welcome at all these fall conferences and events. For more >information, check http://www.canwapss.com, http://www.neads.ca and >http://www.diversity worx.com. > >Anyone wishing to support Terri Hulett in her human rights case can >contact her at [log in to unmask] _________________________________________________________________ Don't just Search. Find! http://search.sympatico.msn.ca/default.aspx The new MSN Search! Check it out! ________________End of message______________________ Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List are now located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.