The university should be accessible to everyone!
The Independent Student calls for the Board of the University to have more attention on the accessibility of the University. The student party receives complaints of students stating that university buildings are not sufficiently accessible to students with a disability. They have also received complaints of internationals students not being given the same career opportunities as Dutch students at the university.
“It disappoints me that not every University building is accessible for students, especially in 2020” says candidate-party leader David Jan Meijer “Doors and entrances are often not accessible for wheelchair users, elevators are unavailable and accessible toilets are not present. Even evac-chairs (which are used to evacuate wheelchair users via the stairs) are hard to find.” The Independent Student calls for the University to push these improvements in the upcoming months, as the University Building are closed for students and staff until September.
Next to that, it surprises him the University does not take people who are hard of hearing in account at speeches or video conferencing, “at council meetings, tutorials and lectures there is no hearing loop (radio signal that sends the microphone signal directly to the hearing aids) available, during important events there is no sign language interpreter present and in video-messages of the administration there are no captions” continues Meijer “accessible and clear communication is essential, especially during the times in which we live now.”
Furthermore, Meijer emphasizes the outdated vacancy-requirements, which are the reason international students are missing out on job opportunities. “For vacancies, the command of the Dutch language is mandatory. Which is weird, especially when you are applying for a job that takes place in English.”
The Independent Student also has a proposal on how the University should finance these measures: “The university now wants to spend half a million euros on a diversitymanager, let us invest this money in making the University accessible for everyone. It’s an investment in real diversity” concludes Meijer.