December 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Niagara College is committed to advancing accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity to highlight recent developments with Project Refresh and a unique collaboration between Planning, Sustainability and Capital Projects, professor Theresa Anzovino, and 52 Social Service Worker program students in the EDI in Canada course.
Through Project Refresh, NC is making investments that will breathe new life into student gathering spaces and academic areas at both Niagara-based campuses; spaces that are welcoming and comfortable in which our diverse community sees themselves reflected.
This work aligns with the theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities: United in action to rescue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for, with and by persons with disabilities. The 17 SDGs are a roadmap for how humans and the planet can thrive today and into the future.
On November 13, NC’s Nadeen Shehaiber, Senior Director, Planning, Sustainability & Capital Projects and representatives from Gow Hastings Architects, sat in on Anzovino’s class as students completed an assignment to audit the accessibility of the Welland Campus. The visit was part of broad consultations to assess community need for more inclusive spaces.
“The hope for this project was to be able to facilitate an experiential learning opportunity that could continue to add to what was really already a robust consultation process for Project Refresh,” said Anzovino. “As we know, accessibility is a process that is never “done”; it is evolving and can always be improved.”
Shehaiber gave the students a brief overview of the work underway at the College before the class explored how students with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities experience the campus as barrier-free and accessible and ways in which students might be challenged by certain physical aspects of the campus.
Some of the questions they were asked to address were:
- Can everyone use this physical space or architectural elements in this space?
- Are they barrier free for everyone? Or do they accommodate only certain disabilities with specialized design?
- How and for whom are they a barrier? What might make these more accessible?
One of the accessibility signs created by students Halle Brohman, Alexandra Fedulova, Niki Brookes, Emiley Mcintrye and Kristin Terry.
Anzovino says the project was meant to promote disability awareness among students, and give them a voice as NC improves access within our facilities.
“The concept of using larger groups of students for this type of audit and feedback is important to best practice of “Nothing Without Us” and has the potential to reflect the vast diversity of lived experiences that need to be accounted for in accessibility plans and universal design,” said Anzovino.
Each student group presented their assignments, which included photos and descriptions of something they saw done well, and an obstacle or challenge that did not conform to universal design. They also presented a solution: a sign they created to be used for universal design in the area that they audited.
First-year student Mary Morrison from Beamsville says the chance to influence Project Refresh was a chance “to see, first-hand, what it means to be a social activist for your fellow students,” and a way to “experience the meaning behind diversity, inclusion, and equity.”
“We as students had the opportunity to look around at the space most of us spend all our time in and really see if he is designed to accommodate everyone,” said Morrison. “I have a disability and having the opportunity to have my voice heard on where I think the college can make improvements is important.”
“I found the exercise to be extremely educational, it was great to hear, first-hand, from the students,” said Shehaiber. “I am excited to be able to send Theresa photos back when we implement some of the items the class brought forward.”
“The hope is that as they see changes happening on campus as a result of Project Refresh, that they will come to know that their contribution to the process mattered and that they made a difference,” said Anzovino, who credits Shehaiber’s “creative vision” and “student-focused approach” for bringing the consultation to fruition.
The EDI in Canada course is delivered by faculty in Liberal Students to students in over 30 programs and includes a unit on disability, accessibility, and universal design.
Social Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability the key theme of Day of Reflection
A reminder that, on February 28, 2024, Day of Reflection will take place at the Welland Campus. Project Refresh is one of the many projects that will be showcased during this year’s Day of Reflection which will centre on Social Inclusion and Environment Sustainability a key area of focus in our Strategic Plan.
A beloved NC tradition, Day of Reflection brings us together as a college community, and provides important opportunities for collaboration, learning, and reflection of the past year and the opportunities that lie ahead.
