McGill’s primary governing bodies, the Senate and Board of Governors (BoG), have recently been subject to criticism from students regarding issues of transparency and accessibility, with meetings being difficult to attend, and recordings not being made public, or only staying up for a limited period of time. Students have also[Read More…]
Tag: Accessibility
Zooming in on positive changes this school year
This year has placed us all, however unwilling, in Zoom University. Now, weekends are for binge-watching lecture recordings. It’s easy to tire of the everyday routine of Zooming and the stifling feeling of cabin fever, but let’s pause to reflect on some of the positive changes made this school year.[Read More…]
SSMU revamps accessibility policy, creates commissioner position
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) adopted a new Accessibility Policy during the Legislative Council meeting on Jan. 28. Last updated in 2016 and having expired on Jan. 1, 2021, the new policy expands beyond its previous focus on physical disabilities to include a more comprehensive commitment to accessibility[Read More…]
Alice Wong calls attention to the importance of disability visibility
As part of a speaker series organized by McGill Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Faculty Lecturer Dr. Alex Ketchum, author and disability rights activist Alice Wong and Faculty of Education professor Elizabeth Patitsas gathered virtually on Oct. 28 to discuss the diverse experiences of people with disabilities. Wong, the keynote[Read More…]
Online learning must prioritize accessibility
Like many students, I found myself returning home before the end of the Winter 2020 semester. Recognizing that these unique circumstances presented an opportunity, I decided to enroll in courses during the summer semester. This was both a wise idea and a horrible one. Having never been to my parents’[Read More…]
Zoom University threatens to leave students behind
During the last two weeks, students were welcomed back to a McGill that no one had ever seen before. Across time zones throughout Canada and around the world, frantic searching for class locations was replaced with anxious scrambling for Zoom links as students and academic staff struggled to adapt to[Read More…]
Students deserve to choose distance learning after the pandemic ends
The recent announcement that the Fall 2020 semester will take place primarily through remote instruction was jarring news to students who have already experienced significant disruptions to their academic routines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the switch to distance learning has been challenging for some programs, there are undeniable[Read More…]
Podcasting as a medium for all
For the 20th event in the Feminist and Accessible Publishing and Communications Technologies Speaker Series, podcaster Anna Sigrithur led a Feminist Podcasting Workshop on Jan. 10 in Wilson Hall. With about 20 participants, the workshop was an interactive and judgement-free space. Sigrithur began by describing the most common podcast formats,[Read More…]
McGill ignores invisible disabilities
Accessibility barriers are, unfortunately, part of the McGill University experience. Students at McGill have repeatedly reported a lack of silent study spaces on campus, and the closure of the Schulich Library and the University Centre—among other construction currently taking place on campus—exacerbates this problem. While the initiatives of on-campus advocacy[Read More…]
Construction is inevitable, accessibility barriers are not
The McGill experience would not be complete without campus construction. However, while some campus improvements are necessary, construction should not bar students or faculty with disabilities from participating in classes and campus life. Able-bodied people may see construction as damaging to the campus’ aesthetics, but for disabled McGill students, construction[Read More…]
