In a push to improve the organization’s accessibility, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) hosted an open forum for students to engage in accessibility dialogue.

Held over two days, the sessions saw a handful of student participants who gathered to discuss issues and brainstorm solutions to help accommodate the needs of a diverse student body.

SFU student Micaela Evans, who coordinated the event, was hired on by the society as the temporary Accessibility Project Worker. She will be working until the end of the month to put together a final report of her assessments and suggestions on how to address accessibility needs that are not being met.

Items of discussion at the focus group included revising SFSS Food and Beverage Services (FBS) policies, creating spaces for students with disabilities in the new Student Union Building (SUB), ensuring that clubs and Departmental Student Unions (DSU) make accessibility considerations, and putting a scent-free policy in place.

Conversations around the FBS addressed a need to better account for students with allergies and dietary restrictions. Participants shared their varied experiences and said that they have found it to be inconsistent. Evans said she will work on trying to firm up policy around this so it is not “changing all the time. I don’t think that’s very fair,” she added.

“Equity should be more important, because that means that everyone is on the same playing field.”

Micaela Evans,

Accessibility Project Worker, SFSS

They expressed a desire for venues dedicated to accommodating sensitivities, such as ‘nut-free,’ or entirely vegan restaurants. It was also suggested that SFSS food establishments keep a list of the ingredients that go into each of their items as well as possible cross-contamination information available to consumers upon request.

The focus group saw the SUB as a place to create safe spaces for students with accessibility needs. Some suggestions included a space with low sensory stimulation — a “zen room” — for people to escape foods or scents to which they are allergic, as well as overstimulation from things like fluorescent lighting and excessive noise. It was also brought up that there is a lack of 24-hour safe space for those who do not identify as women.

Evans remarked that Build SFU has expressed a willingness to dedicate space for disabled students, given that students expressed a desire for it and that Students United for Disability Support (SUDS) could grow its membership.

She commented that both SUDS and the SFSS Accessibility Fund Advisory Committee suffered from a lack of participation, saying that the committee does not meet regularly, only when specific items are brought to the table.

Aside from her final report, Evans is also compiling an event guide for clubs and DSUs that will help them make their events as inclusive as possible. She explained that while the SFSS can make suggestions, there is not a lot they can do yet to hold groups accountable for accessibility issues.

Evans noted that the SFSS website also needs some work: “Websites need to be looked at from a dyslexic standpoint, from a screen reader standpoint.” She explained the challenges of ensuring that screen reader programs will recognize and voice all words on the page for the visually impaired, also mentioning that it could prove difficult for students who struggle with dyslexia.

Much of the discussion centred around students’ experiences with SFU’s academic protocol and the physical layout of the campus. Students expressed a desire for professors to keep accessibility in mind when structuring their courses and suggested that the university provide optional education for faculty. One large concern was the challenges SFU poses for those with physical disabilities; It was also noted that there seems to be a lack of accessible pathways and safe zones for emergency drills.

While the SFSS cannot directly effect changes such as these, Evans intends to share the data they have collected with the university and give voice to the participants’ suggestions to the administration.

To conclude, Evans remarked upon the difference between ‘equality’ and ‘equity.’ She explained that equality is about everyone having the same tools, while “equity should be more important, because that means that everyone is on the same playing field.”

SFU has plans to rollout an on-campus Indigenous catering option on Burnaby Campus this September.

The university is in the midst of working out a contract with a traditional Aboriginal caterer that would be able to prepare and serve authentic cultural dishes, blessed by elders, at Aboriginal events on campus.

Due to the agreements that SFU has in place with its two current catering services, events on campus must be catered by either the SFU Dining Services and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Food and Beverage Services.

This has posed a challenge for the Aboriginal community on campus since the provided services cannot offer the traditional foods typically served. The First Nations Student Association (FNSA) and the SFSS first brought this to the attention of administration nearly two years ago, and have been advocating for it ever since.

Tsatia Adzich, leader of the FNSA’s Indigenous Catering Initiative, explained the significance of having their own caterer. “Food is a very essential part of a celebration,” said Adzich. “Food brings people together and that’s really what this is all about. [It] is creating that community and that safeness.”

She expressed frustration at the length of time this has taken and what she sees as relatively little progress. Adzich stressed that this is a particularly important issue for the FNSA to have Aboriginal caterers at Aboriginal events, especially as SFU’s campuses are situated on unceded Coast Salish territory.

The SFSS issued an official letter of support for Aboriginal catering on campus last March, in addition to a similar statement in favour made by the SFU Office for Aboriginal Peoples. They, along with the Indigenous Student Centre, have also been in consultation with SFU’s Ancillary Services throughout the process.

For Dan Traviss, manager of SFU’s Dining Services, it has taken longer and been more complex than Ancillary Services initially expected.

He outlined some of the obstacles that the university has faced in bringing about the policy change, such as insurance and liability, food safety certifications, consultations with different stakeholders, and ensuring that an external caterer would respect SFU’s stance on sustainable packaging and fair trade.

Adzich voiced concerns about a lack of consultation with the FNSA. “I was very clear that I wanted to be an active member of the process,” she said. She added that they have had difficulties with arranging caterers with SFU in the past and she hopes they can continue to work together to resolve the issue.

She added, “If this process were approachable and easy to navigate for students in general, the relationship between students and administration would be better.”

Traviss responded to her concerns, “We tried to be as transparent as we could. [. . .] There’s a number of things that were important to us.

“It did take a bit of time, both with getting an agreement written out and with stakeholders, how are they going to order, who are they going to go through — all of those logistical things.”

He said that SFU is in talks with the preferred caterer of Aboriginal groups on campus, Cedar Feast House Catering, and that they are working to establish a “pilot agreement” with the company. The agreement would cover service to SFU’s Burnaby campus only, as the contracts with other campus caterers would require a different approach. The university’s catering agreement with its Burnaby caterers expires in 2017, at which time there will be the opportunity to re-visit the food contracts details before going out to tender.

He stressed that Aboriginal catering is the first priority and referred to SFU’s new Aboriginal Strategic Plan.

“We’re on Salish land. We see it as important.”

SFU’s campus and community radio station CJSF is holding their eighth annual Radio Kids Camp for children ages eight to 12.

The program gives children the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a radio station, equips them with radio journalism skills to produce content, and allows them to take over the air on the final day of the camp.

This year’s camp will run from August 10 to 14 and will accommodate approximately 10 participants. “We wanted to do an alternative summer camp,” said CJSF program assistant Gurpreet Kambo.

Kambo explained that due to the nature of CJSF being a campus and community radio station, providing alternative content on air is both a key priority and requirement.

The theme for this year’s camp is magic. “There’s kind of a magic in producing audio,” explained Kambo. “With film or radio [. . .] you don’t necessarily know exactly how it came together, there’s kind of a magic to that. We want to go behind the scenes and break that down and give the kids access to that.

“In terms of our philosophy, and being community-oriented, we feel that youth also have an important voice, and we want to be able to provide that opportunity,” continued Kambo. “We should be taking their intellectual and creative contributions more seriously.”

The camp will include workshops facilitated by CJSF staff and volunteers on storytelling, interviewing and field recording, beatboxing, and basic training in the “On-Air” studio.

The participants will also have the opportunity to do “streeters,” where they will approach passersby on campus to ask them a question of their choice.

A new addition to this year’s camp is a tour of CBC Vancouver’s Radio and TV studios on the third day. “It sort of fits into our magic theme,” said Kambo, “because it’s going behind the scenes to see what the magic is, and how the CBC comes together, because they produce such great stuff.”

On the last day of the camp, the participants will put their newly developed skills to use as they take over the station for a few hours. “They’re going to be the DJs, and the hosts, and the reporters, the interviewers, and they’re going to decide what music gets played and what are the important stories to tell,” Kambo explained.

In between all the hard work and training, the campers will also be making T-shirts and buttons, swimming at Kensington pool, hiking to Burnaby Mountain Park, and enjoying some sweet treats including pizza and ice cream.