Accessibility Archives - Queen's Journal

QSAS’s new accommodations don’t effectively accommodate students

Written on November 19, 2021. Posted in Opinions.

This article discusses mental illness and may be triggering for some readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213. For students with mental illness diagnoses, it’s particularly important to attend an institution with systems in place to ensure one’s...

Rector candidate talks mending relationship with city at open forum

Written on October 1, 2021. Posted in News.

On Sept. 28, the 38th rector open forum took place with uncontested candidate Maya Morcos, HealthSci ’24. Moderated by AMS Secretariat Laura Devenny and Chief Electoral Officer Erica Johnson, the open forum kicked off with questions submitted by the student body. “I’ve had the opportunity to fully...

Sole rector candidate talks accessibility and communication

Written on September 28, 2021. Posted in News.

Following a successful nomination period at the first AMS Assembly on Sept. 21, Maya Morcos, Health Sci ’24, is the only candidate running for the 38th Rector position. On Sept. 25, The Journal sat down with Morcos to discuss the four main pillars of her platform. Pillars include accessibility and...

‘Disabled at Queen’s U’ Instagram shares experiences of students with disabilities

Written on June 21, 2021. Posted in News.

Instagram account @disabledatqueensu shares students’ experiences with and difficulties using academic accommodations at Queen’s for their physical, mental, intellectual, and sensory impairments. Inspired by Stolen by Smith, the account allows students to make submissions anonymously through a Google...

Queen’s alumna makes masks for Deaf people and hard of hearing

Written on July 11, 2020. Posted in News.

After masks were made mandatory in all Kingston indoor public spaces on June 26, the community began feeling the need for personal protective equipment that prioritizes accessibility. Smile Masks Project, founded by Taylor Bardell, ArtSci ’18, and Matt Urichek, has created a mask with that specific...

Queen’s promises to prioritize accessibility concerns ahead of online semester

Written on June 1, 2020. Posted in News, University.

As the University determines the logistics of offering the fall term remotely, it’s keeping the issue of accessibility in the discussion. Though Queen’s is in early stages of planning for the fall term, John Pierce, vice-provost (teaching and learning) said the University intends to prioritize accessibility...

At first Trustees meeting, principal pledges to restructure office for accessibility

Written on October 1, 2019. Posted in News.

The Board of Trustees gathered for its first meeting of the 2019-20 academic year on Sept. 27—marking Principal Patrick Deane’s first official appearance in front of the Board since he assumed his office on July 1. Principal’s Remarks In his report to Trustees, Deane said he wants to restructure the...

Living with a service dog at Queen's

Written on September 20, 2019. Posted in Features.

“Well, what’s your problem?” Phoenix Wilkie Yu (Sci ’21), a third-year student who lives with a service dog, was asked the question on a crowded city bus. Her service dog, Onyx, had just been kicked by a young child. When Yu asked the child’s mother to stop her daughter from doing it again, she was...

No longer ‘treading water,’ AMS Food Bank goes digital

Written on November 16, 2018. Posted in News.

For the first time since opening in 1996, the AMS food bank has eliminated a paper trail of patron identities, switching to a digital system and no longer recording student numbers. Besides showing the volunteers a valid student card to verify student status, patrons now check a box agreeing to the...

Invisible disabilities slip through the cracks

Written on October 3, 2018. Posted in Features, Investigations.

When Kaitlyn MacDonald entered Landmark Cinemas in Kingston this summer, she started to cry. It was the first time since her Diabetes diagnosis in January that she’d seen a safe place to dispose of her insulin needles. The $8,000 pump was prohibitively expensive and she chose needles to inject her...

Arts in Kingston should be accessible to all

Written on September 14, 2017. Posted in Arts.

Considering it’s 2017 and self driving cars are already a thing, it’s hard to believe how inaccessible things in the world continue to be for people who have a disability like deafness or blindness. When we think about accessibility needs, we tend to think of textbooks in braille, wheelchair accessible...

Academic accommodations aren't academic advantages

Written on September 8, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

As an educator employed at a university, Professor Bruce Pardy has an unusual attitude towards student success. It’s one based on survival of the fittest, or in this case, survival of the those without disabilities. The opinions held by Pardy — who works at the Queen’s Faculty of Law — were published...

Students with special needs need more thoughtful aid

Written on February 3, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

When it comes to finding the best ways to accommodate marginalized students, students with special needs can often be left out of the conversation. This past month, the Ontario government announced major changes to the education budget, improving tuition funding for mature students, and students from...

Living with an invisible disability

Written on January 27, 2017. Posted in Lifestyle.

For the average Queen’s student, typing or writing notes during class isn’t something they have to stress about. Two years ago, it wouldn’t have been something I stressed about either. Starting off my adult years, most of my concerns were centered on being independent, making friends and attending...

Replacing textbooks is a bigger change than we might think

Written on October 21, 2016. Posted in Editorials.

Buying textbooks comes at a high cost for students, but the price of more accessible resources is one we may not be willing to pay yet. Open education resources (OER) are educational materials that can be freely accessed, distributed and — in the case of classroom use — reworked to accommodate the...

Accessibility audit data to be compiled for winter report

Written on August 2, 2016. Posted in News.

The results of a two-year accessibility audit of campus spaces will be released soon, as the data collection portion of the process is projected for completion by the third week of August. The audit, overseen by Campus Planning and Development (CPD), is a two-year plan spanning six million square...

Special accommodations shouldn’t require hoops of fire

Written on January 19, 2016. Posted in Editorials.

In the wake of events at York, it’s worth considering whether other universities should review their mental health accommodation policies. A two-year legal battle between a student and York University — over the University’s requirement that students disclose their specific diagnosis to receive academic...

Accessibility progress slow at Queen’s

Written on March 20, 2015. Posted in Features.

When Andrew Ashby went to give a talk on accessibility in Jeffrey Hall last year, he couldn’t enter the lecture hall in his wheelchair. “It was in one of the lower classrooms and they only gave me a couple days heads up,” Ashby said. “I went there the day before, opened the door to the theatre hall...

Campus barriers unacceptable

Written on March 13, 2015. Posted in Editorials.

When it comes to accessibility, the bare minimum isn’t enough. Over the next two years, campus buildings will be examined for their accessibility as part of an audit launched by Queen’s last month. After the audit is complete, the University will receive a list of recommendations for how its infrastructure...

Campus accessibility audit begins

Written on March 6, 2015. Posted in News.

Queen’s is looking to make its campus more accessible, beginning a two-year accessibility audit launched over Reading Week. The audit comes at the halfway mark of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), which aims to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities...

Fines are fine

Written on October 31, 2014. Posted in Editorials.

Library fines aren’t the most serious financial barrier university students have to face. The University of Sheffield in England has decided to stop levying fines for overdue library books. Instead, they’ll implement an automatic renewal system, where students are allowed to keep a book until someone...

Merits of accessibility logo debated

Written on January 10, 2014. Posted in News.

An Accessibility Café took place at Common Ground Coffeehouse Wednesday to discuss changing the symbol of access, the blue man in wheelchair, into a more inclusive and positive image. The current symbol was created in 1968 by Rehabilitation International with assistance from the United Nations and...

Crowd celebrates website launch

Written on November 1, 2013. Posted in News.

A full crowd gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of the Accessibility Hub, an online resource for accessibility at Queen’s. The website will help prospective and current students living with disabilities navigate through resources such as mental health initiatives, counselling and disability...

Living beyond their limitations

Written on March 8, 2013. Posted in Features.

In her mid-twenties, Patricia Rae’s mobility was given an expiry date. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at age 24 and admitted to a hospital for complete bed rest in an orthopedic ward. At the time, she was a serious rower at Oxford University. She said it’s important to know that...

Queen’s aims for accessible campus

Written on January 25, 2013. Posted in News.

Two years after the approval of Queen’s accessibility framework, the University continues to strive towards a more accessible campus. At an Accessibility Café held at Stauffer Library on Wednesday, organizers aimed to inform members of the Queen’s community about “accessible program and course delivery.” The...

Accommodations a priority during Frosh Week

Written on September 11, 2012. Posted in Features.

The Orientation Roundtable has provided Frosh Week leaders with additional training in the hopes that they will be better prepared to deal with accessibility issues. This year, approximately 50 Frosh Week leaders from various faculties signed up for an opt-in accessibility training session, which...

Forum looks to improve accessibility on campus

Written on March 30, 2012. Posted in News.

In honour of Disability Awareness Month, the Equity Office held a town hall meeting at Robert Sutherland Hall on Wednesday to facilitate discussion on issues surrounding accessibility at Queen’s. The event spearheaded by Equity Advisor Heidi Penning aimed to engage community members in brainstorming...

Publication aims to reduce stereotypes

Written on March 2, 2012. Posted in News.

Correcting assumptions about accessibility on campus is just one aim of Disability Awareness Month. “You just assume there’s a wheel chair ramp or an elevator but there are a lot of accessibility issues on campus,” Justin Barath, ArtSci ’11, said. March is the fourth-annual Disability Awareness Month...

CFRC needs a lift

Written on October 28, 2011. Posted in Editorials.

CFRC volunteer Louise Bark has been unable to access the radio station’s space, in the basement of Carruthers Hall. Bark uses a wheelchair and previously entered the offices with help from her colleagues, who would help her down the stairs in a manual wheelchair. In Nov. 2010, CFRC spoke to Queen’s...

Volunteer can’t access campus building

Written on October 25, 2011. Posted in News.

Louise Bark hasn’t been able to return to her volunteer position at CFRC since April because the radio station’s office in the basement of Carruthers Hall isn’t wheelchair accessible. Bark said she was told a portable wheelchair lift would be purchased for use in Carruthers Hall, but there hasn’t...

Tag: Accessibility

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