https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/70fe0298aaa9cc668a00427e3eb4d5fc.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=VJkbmBHmXD%7E8KB6C9fhp5NiWRKzH9vDsc5GxUukLx-XNg1RxglqHwDxYHJnqmzhTJJaxOhHBvCsZZ9k9d6fUkKIqQI4%7E7UyHAU%7E15bX4nfRXQ-vGjBq8oVJ3MrnLgSRNdXoR5h3r-ixtwl4bCnI9zuB1vUOF5OX9daQbTg1YDIG5I3pPKHOU3-ddGr8jGdOiy6DyFr%7EXhsmIWe5GSxZ%7EakuAPqVZe4DS2n%7EokUvczS-1L8IVM85OQ06qectj3%7E7WZ6SnA5TleZSCV-CgEuf-qPnKV6XedOOwd16IVvWPzGzf0VGnRUbxGkm6JucLiPv5nJMyHDPgsRO3X3T-hYmOpw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 88e8f59b3f191eaa33a7345e1b8ca8bd PDF Text Text Volume 90, Issue 29 • Janu.ary 29, 2001 • mcgilldaily.com • On our hands and knees since 1911 The .Uphill Climb to Make MCGi/1 Accessible pg. 8 �8 THE McGILL DAILY • News 29,_ 20Q!. Access Denied ' ; An activist for the mobility-impaired thinks McGi/1 and the community have a long way to go in their to make campus accessible BY ROIIERTO ROCIL\ Neu·s Refiorler ra Bednarski never IX?Cn inside le She rowsc the architecture library stacks ami she never cats in the cafeteria. That's because is one of alxlllttwo do1.cn students with mobilityimpainncnls who rdy onwhl'elchairs or cmtches totramportthem· selves. \X11al troubles her l'\'C n more th:m McGill's mediocre accessibilityisthatnothinl\ isdone ahout it until shespeaks out. Many obstacles confronted Nora when she came to Mcfiill in 1995to be a law student. As if il weren'I that the law faculty's Chancellor Day Hall buildinj\ on a steep hill, there was no ramp to the main entrance while the restroom stalls were too narrow to accommodate a wht'C Ichair, and had no hamllebars. "After some lcller-wriling and a lot of they were able to accommo· date students with disabilities, espcciall)' those in wheelchairs," she rL'Calls. Following lengthy consultation, Nora's with the building were eventually addressed. And when construction began on the law faculty's nt•w library a few years ago, designers worked extra hard to make sure that the new facility accessible. "When students with disabilities raise the issues ami make sure that the admiilislration is taking their needs into :JCcounl, gel done," she sa)':i. "Uutthe problem is, when we're not there as a constant watchdog reminding people, problems occur." She also points to the rL'C cnt construelion of a newpath from the Roddick Gates to the llurnside terrace. "There a difference in elevation of about thrt'C feet. No ramp, oni)' stairs," remembers Ucdnarski. N in McGill's Office for Students with Disabilities and a wheelchair user himself, "McGill has come along to impr0\1ng for students with mobility disabilities." Louis S:L)':i that a "fair of McGill building arc currentlyaccL'\Sihle. And installing r:unpsisn't all that McGill done tomake McGillmorc accessible. In addition to services theOSD, there exists a Senate conunillee on students with disabilities, and regulations for -the Barrier·frL'C Standard -that arc even stricter than national building codes, Louis says. Allr.wsn But even an accessible campus is not necessarii)' a conrcnient one for llcdnarski. She d&ribcs the new Brown student services building as a hellish labyrinth for anyone in a wheelchair.To gel to the Health Scn•ices offices, she S:l}':i, she must take a total of thrt'C different elevators. "I wht'CI in at McTavish, take an elevator, whl'CI down a hallway, take a second elcmtor, wheel though Health Services which is this nw.c of doors and corridors, then there's a liule lift that takes me up to rL'Ception. ll's just had she says. But Chuck i\dlcr,director of the University Office, contends that that's an unavoidable conSC<jUcncc of ha1ing a university built on a The elevation gradient on McT.1vish, he explains, resulted in the Brown building's "half-floors." Nonethclcs.<;, he says, the building is "onecent Bcdnarski thinks, however, that in spite of the many sen·icL'S provided by not much seems to be done. ''There arc people who know what the arc, those who want to be Nom Bedn11rski StiJWsbe bas complainIs 11boul accessibili(J' a/ McGill the only way to the elevators is up a flight have to say tl1erc arc different that we of stairs. Sim, University Affairs can communicate about a building with the Coordinator for the Post-Graduate Students public and still make it acccs.sible, tl1a1 tl1crc Society recounts that McGill's solution was is a univcrs;li appro:JCh that can to provide wheelchair users with special ID include L'\'el')unc," S:I)'S Bedn:U':iki, who is cards that would allow them to use the cor- now stud)ing url>:m design. porate entrance with elevators proMcGill allots $100,000 yearlyfor :JCccsgrammL'tllo stop only on university floors. sibility projects, according to the Office for "We were concerned with the dignity of Unirerslly Planning. Ideas for the projects wheelchair users, of ha1•ing abnonnal arc put forth by joan Wolforth, the OSO's acccs.<;," said Sim. Nonetl1clcss, nothing Director, who collects a number of commore was L'Vcr done, he says. plaints from students like Nora e\'CI')' year. One other problem area for llcdnarski And for ;myone wanting to know what is the Blackader L1utennan library stacks. makes these projects worthwhile, Bcdnarski "I have to get someone to go and get likes to empahsi7.c the importance of havthe books for me," she explains. "But when ing a c:unpus frL'l' of barriers. doing research, I look not for one particu"We llitlc 10 tl1ink of tl1cfunaioning of tl1e lar book, but for many books around the Mdiill as a wi10le and we it same area. I can 'I do that in certain aisles. to lx! inclusirc,:md we want :myonc 10 lx! :d>le This is clearly a barrier to learning. But to apply here knowing this le; a barricr-flt'C that's whyI'mhere, and otherstudents like \\'c hal'c to our me - because we want to learn.'' L'Xtmditurcs bynumlm ofdlo;.'lblru Rr.riiiSKISG OuR NoR\IS But the fact that McGill is on a mountain and that its buildings arc in lamentable disrepair is on I}• part of the problem. A Quebec law prohibits any"chanj\CS to be made to the front of historical silL'S without consent of the Viger Commission, a heritage protection watchdog. Sure enouj\h, many McGill building.s arc considered historical, includinl\ the Rcdpath Museum which h;Ls no cntr:mce r:unps. "As a person with a disability my-:;clf, I &df!alb lfttff :,· a dmmling prospecl for sltulenls trilb mobili(J' impairmenLI' find. it incrt'tliblc that the prcscn·ation of What she finll'i most outraj\eous, howmr, ami there arc those who ;Ire making deci- buildings precedence over human is that apparent!)' there was a ramp in the sions ondesign," she says, ''but somewhere rights," says Louis. orit:inal design that sacked in the along the line there seems to be a commulndct'<l it seems like laying all the name ofculling costs for the projt'C I. "Only nication breakdown. I! like an bl:unc on the university is sidestepping the lx.•c:1usc of student and adrocacy, efficient procedure." root of the issue. Acconling to Bcdnarski, the unircrsity realized their mistake ami About two years ago, McGill's Senate society as a whole needs to·do awaywith the the of what they did. to address what it agrees was inade- idea that large staircases com·e)' structural They just recently repavcd." quate accessibility in building at 688 eminence. llutthe uni1·ersity thesituation for Sherhrookc. McGill's le:L<;e on the "\\11)' not just hare a nice entrance with studentswith mobilityimpainucnts is alloll':i ilto make a separate entrance from a gradual slo1X!?'' sheoffers. "If youwant illo not :L'i dire :L'i it mar Accordinl\ to the main doors, where students can ele- be grandiose, you don'I hare to hare st:U,rs. an Accc:\'i Serl'ices Coordinator vators to go to unil·crsity-held floors. But \Vc hare to challenge our design nomlS. \\'e A."i UsASS\\l:HW Pm Bcdnarski also thinks that campus acccs.<;ibility problems maycrcn lead many with impainnents who arc considerinj\ McGill, to go elsewhere. A llalif:tx natil'c, sheS<l)':i she had some apprehensions about moving to Montreal. "\'c ry often routes a re I'CI')' obscure. M1en you have to face obstacles L'I'C ry day, alw.tys having to \\Tile lcllcrs, and complain, I'm sure it would put some students off from roming to McGill." For students \\'ilh mobil· ity impainnents choosing a it seems hard to ignort' the great some other schools ha1c made in the name of acccs.sibility. Carlcton niversil)' has tunnels connecting all of its York University and the of British Columbia arc notorious for their :JCccssibility. Given tl1c choice, Bcdnarski thinks many dis.'lblcd students likelyha1c to weigh accessibility when dL'Ciding whether to come to McGill. "That is not a criterion that should affect where you choose to study," she S.1)'S . Last she adds, she wrote a letter to McGill's \'ice-Principal Administration and Finance Mort)' YaiOI'S k)•. The letter addressed six problemareas that need remedy.She is still wait in!\ for a reply. What makes her most upset is not so much that these problems need fixing, but thatlillle isdoneabout themuntil students like her speak out. At the end of the inter· l'il'll' she smiles, and lea1·es a final rL'SOnant note of wisdom accrued from years of a solitaryfight. "ll's a responsibilityfor all of us to ensure that our society is acccssihlc. 11 can 'I be the disabled people who arc reminding creryone. If something doesn't look it's our duty to speak out." 17x: Engineering Cafelen(t: 11110/ber unaccessible sfiol on Cli111/JIIS � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 90 Issue 29 Page Number(s) 8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Access Denied Description An account of the resource Struggling to navigate McGill's campus, a student who uses a wheelchair raises awareness of the inaccessibility of campus buildings. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Roberto Rocha Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001/01/29 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF ableism accessibility campus space disability