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THVol. LXIIIE, No. 63 VancouverUBYSSE, B.C. Friday, February 13.1981 s-T"^ IS Y 228-2301 'Audio Components for the Educated Ear' With Pride in Our Ability We Offer- Service. Knowledgeable Advice, and above all a Dedication to the Assurance of Quality and Value for All Who Love Fine Music. NOW TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU Page 2 THE UBYSSEY Friday, February 13,1981 ann gibbon photos «*• -&-;4n -y t.4*. ™ ifg^ **> £***"'* -***»« i s, . It. - : ''?ipg|?';;;.!;p - ^'| TIM LEWIS SUB defies handicapped admittance Disabled still face problems By ANNE GIBBON $33 a year. It is called "preferential" parking activity of the Pit. "All pubs should have ac­ He is "examining" his budget in light of 1981 is the International Year of the and it sounds ideal. cessible washrooms," declares Frazee. "It's the Year of the Disabled, and plans to ap­ Disabled Person, declared by the United Na­ Frazee, who requires such a place, dispels been one of my greatest crusades." proach the Physical Plant about renovations tions to create world awareness of the pro­ that myth. She parks in the lot near the Inaccessible buildings like SUB and costs beyond the university's usual ongoing blems facing the disabled and the need for ac­ Woodward building. The two spaces allotted Buchanan are among the major campus plans. But at the moment, there is no fixed tion. to disabled people there get rather busy at obstacles for the ambulatory disabled. amount reserved solely for the needs of the UBC students who use wheelchairs on times, she reports — since three people re­ But UBC is riddled with other, more subtle disabled. campus have had ample practice in being quire places. "You pay $33 and there are no problem areas. A heavy narrow door, an out- And UBC's student government would aware. They study on a campus initially parking spaces," she says. "It's ridiculous." of-reach elevator button, pay phone, or also do well to reassess its budget priorities. designed, and to a large extent still existing, Mobile students pay $10 per year to use B drinking fountain, a narrow library aisle — Plans for renovating SUB are currently exclusively for the ambulatory. Every day lot. Some handicapped students say the price all are minor details which can become major underway, but some disabled students are they confront countless situations taken for difference is unfair. Law student Tim Lewis problems for those in wheelchairs. Changes concerned about the necessity of the propos­ granted by the mobile student. Every day says having a parking space near one's classes are needed. ed changes when the existing facilities are still they must be resourceful in devising alternate is vital on such a large campus. "I don't The first step towards improvement is inadequate. approaches to such situations, or avoid them think you should lie penalized for the added defining the problem. An "Awareness "If they're going to spend all this money entirely. convenience," he says. "You shouldn't pay Week" is being arranged to make the pro­ The goal of wheelchair-bound students is more than able-bodied students." blems of the disabled more widely-known. to attain independent campus travel. Their But Al Hutchinson, director of traffic and Slated for March 9 to 13, the week is the pro­ major obstacle is building inaccessibility. security, says the price is worth the ser­ duct of organizing by students from Science student Pam Frazee is one who faces vice. "They get better parking than the staff Rehabilitation Medicine, Nursing, and this obstacle. She says UBC suffers from ar­ and faculty," he says. "I think it's fair." Special Education. chitectural problems since it was never plann­ After coping with traffic and dubious Debbie Wheatley (Special Education 4), ed well for people with impaired mobility. parking facilities, a wheelchair-bound stu­ co-ordinator of the event, says speakers, ac­ Glen Williams, UBC counsellor for han­ dent may make it to class on time. But often tivities, and workshops are planned to pro­ dicapped students, says that due to the age of a punctual arrival is meaningless if the mote a better consciousness and understan­ the campus, solving the problem is no simple building is inaccessible. The Buchanan ding of the needs of the handicapped. task. Many old inaccessible buildings still building is one of UBC's worst offenders. One such activity is the "Wheelchair abound. "It's a major job at an old institu­ Although the first and second floor can be Tour", which will allow mobile people to ex­ tion," he says. conquered via graded curbs, the wings are in­ perience the campus sitting down. UBC ad­ The size of the campus makes things more surmountable. The reason: a staff elevator ministration president Doug Kenny and pro­ difficult. "UBC is like a small city. It's like services all levels, but for the building's wings vincial education minister Brian Smith have trying to make Kelowna accessible," says it stops between floors. To reach the desired also been invited to take the tour so that they Williams. floor, several between-level steps must be too might determine the extent of architec­ In 1977 the exact magnitude of UBC's ac­ overcome. If a wheelchair-bound student is tural barriers on campus. cessibility problems was determined through unable to find others to lift the chair, he or Jill Kinmont, a former Olympic skier a study done by the faculty of Rehabilitation she is in for long wait. Buchanan also lacks disabled in a skiing accident, will speak on Medicine. The survey, available in the accessible washrooms. March 9. She is familiar to audiences through counselling centre, details the conditions of Often the classroom itself is entirely inac­ the movie "The Other Side of the Mountain" all campus buildings and includes recommen­ cessible. In such cases a class is changed to an which dramatized her experiences. dation for improvement. appropriate location. Co-ordinator Wheatley hopes the week The survey, which resulted in a much need­ "I've never been unable to take a class," fosters new attitudes towards labels given to ed awareness, also produced some tangible reports Tim Lewis. people with impairments. She calls it results. In 1978 a major project was under­ However, delays in classroom changes do "Special Persons" Week to avoid the label taken in which over 100 campus curbs were happen, at the student's expense. Last fall "handicapped". graded. Ramps were installed in various Lewis missed 3 months of a course while "These people are not in any way han­ places such as Cecil Green Park and the War waiting for a room change. dicapped. The only handicaps a person has ELEVATOR PANEL ... too high, just Memorial Gym, the latter being funded by After a day combatting such situations, the are the barriers we build for him." part of tha problem ill-designed SUB of­ the CKNW Orphans' Fund and the Grad wheelchair-bound student may decide to The barriers, then, are realized; awareness fers handicapped. is being created. But it is only half the battle. class of that year. The area outside the relax at the SUB. However, it is a sad irony on new renovations, it seems strange they Buchanan Building was also graded. that a student-funded building, designed for Tangible action is the next step. Unfortunate­ student use in fact discriminates against those ly, action costs money. As Glen Williams couldn't use part of the money in making one However, the study was done four years of the washrooms in the Pit accessible, or ago. And although any new building design­ in wheelchairs. The Art Gallery, the Audi­ notes, "We can bring things to the attention torium, and the Pit offer no means of inde­ of the administration but we can't handle the putting a little ramp into the Pit entrance," ed must conform with provincial accessibility says Lewis. regulations, a barrage of other accessibility pendent access for wheelchair-bound stu­ budget." problems still plague the campus. dents. "For regularly used places, there are The administration doesn't deny the finan­ Students in wheelchairs have confronted A simple examination of an "average day" loo many steps involved," says Lewis. cial implications in solving UBC's accessibili­ barriers long enough. They have used poor for the wheelchair-bound person reveals a ty problems. facilities, they have relied on others, they startling number of difficulties the mobile It is also interesting to consider that after "We've got a lot of old buildings, and they have adjusted, they have avoided obstacles. person never considers: recent renovations to the Pit, changes encom­ cause problems," says James Kennedy, vice- passing the needs of the handicapped were The day begins by getting to school. Some president of university services. "But to get But now their needs must be given new disabled students commute by special buses. overlooked. all existing buildings accessible is in the order priority, particularly among those who hold Others drive cars fitted with hand-controls. There are no permanent ramps leading into of the millions (of dollars). That's not going the purse strings. UBC must act to give the By arrangement with the UBC Traffic the main entrance. And there are no ade­ to happen overnight." disabled the dignity of independence. With Department, students can reserve an ex­ quate washroom facilities — a significant Kenny admits that "we do well, but that's the whole world watching, the International clusive parking space near their classes for oversight when one considers the principal not to say we shouldn't do more." Year of the Disabled is the perfect time.

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