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U N I V E R S I T Yo f W I N D S O R • M A R C H . O 6 . 2 O 1 3 • V O L # 8 5 • I S S U E # 3 3 • U W I N D S O R L A N C E . C A
TAKING STEPS TOWARD CAMPUS ACCESSIBILITY
• photo iStockphoto
FAIZAMIRZA news editor __________________________
T
he University of Windsor marked the first annual accessibility day Tuesday highlighting major milestones achieved in the past year, though some say more needs to be done.
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Students seeking special accommodations, such as UWINDSOR STUDENT extended DAVEROBBINS, exam times, assistance with note taking and alternative format text books, must register with Disability Services at the university. There are around 350 students registered with the department.
I think our campus is very progressive in terms of accessibility. However, old buildings ... need further improvements
According to Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Committee, 15 per cent of people provincially have a disability. They suffer disadvantages when it comes to full participation in personal, professional and academic life. UWindsor is enhancing the educational experience for people with disabilities, as well as renovating facilities to bring the school into compliance with AODA regulations. Kaye Johnson, director of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility said, “In general, the vision for a fully inclusive university is one where accessibility is integrated into all aspects of campus life. That would include accessible facilities as well as accessibility conscious curricula, classroom practices, employment practices, resources, services, communication and so on.”
“Our aim is for accessibility where there is a universal, shared sense of ownership and responsibility toward eliminating barriers and enhancing independence. The goal is for a university where we are able to provide people what they need in order to flourish and feel as an equally valued student or employee,” added Johnson. Candace Spencer, political science and women’s studies student, has hearing and walking disabilities and is dissatisfied with the current level of accessibility on campus. “Leddy Library’s annex is very accessible and good for students with disabilities, however, there are other issues on campus such as elevators. To use the
elevator at the Lambton Tower one has to use a special code available at the second floor which is rather ironic.” “The elevators in some buildings such as Chrysler Hall are placed in inconvenient spots. One has to walk up and down unless you are ready to walk to the ramps which may be located at the other side of the building. The washroom at Erie hall has a handicapped stall but there is no way that a wheel chair can get in there because the doors are too narrow,” added Spencer. The university has undertaken several initiatives in 2011-2012, to make campus facilities more accessible. Installation of lifts in atriums at the Ron Ianni Law School, improvements to make washrooms in Dillon Hall fully accessible, upgrades in the science classroom of the education building and actuators and door holdopen devices in Chrysler Hall South are some of the strategic developments that took place in the past year. In an accessibility report to the university’s board of governors last week, the human rights office outlined further improvements to campus buildings, including purchasing an accessible anatomy table for the Schulich School of Medicine, installing five actuators in the Leddy Library and auditing the signage and way-finding systems in Chrysler Hall. SEE ‘UNIVERSITY’ O3 w