[nabs-l] Hand outs etc.

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Ashley,

First, calm down *smile*  I believe, at least on my part, I specifically
said I was not directing this towards you or anyone else.  And second, I
don't believe anyone has suggested you give up.  Quite the opposite.  A
couple of us have encouraged you to keep advocating for yourself.

All of us here understand the trials of being a blind student.  We have
experienced similar concerns, some worse than others.  Some suggestions
were made, and some advice given, but I don't believe anyone here would
say scanning fixes everything.

Perhaps you should try making an appointment with your instructor during
their office hours to discuss this.  If in deed electronic copies exist
of material, there is no reason you should not be provided with copies.
I have also suggested in the past that you speak with your disability
services office since they should act as a liaison when these situations
arise.  If this accomplishes nothing, then maybe you should speak with
your VR counselor.

And I have never implied you were lazy.  You obviously work hard, and
you are attempting to create an equal environment for yourself at
school.  You are not the sole person in this relationship, and others
should be working with you to ensure you have what you need.

What some of us are trying to say is that the reality is that as blind
students, right or wrong, we are still struggling for true equality.  We
need to face this reality and deal with it, but this does not mean we
stop advocating and quit fighting for equality.

You should not have to do more work if material is already accessible,
but also remember that, at least for now, this is just gritty truth for
blind students.  While we continue to advocate for equal access, we will
unfortunately have to do some work at times that others do not have to
do.

You may need to be creative and devise your own ways of achieving
success in school, but again, this does not mean you no longer request
accessible material and expect it in a timely fashion.

No one ever suggested advocating and requesting accessible hand outs was
a ridiculous fight, and that demanding equal access to websites is more
important.  Both are equally important especially for students.  The NFB
has fought, and is still fighting, for equal access to all formats of
information.  This is vital to the success of all blind people, and we
continue to fight this battle.

I am sorry you are experiencing this difficulty in school.  It is not
fair, but it is also reality.  Do not give up, and know that this list,
at least according to me, is here to help, support, encourage, but also
challenge.

Good luck.

Bridgit

Message: 7
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 16:22:35 -0400
From: <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Hand outs etc.
Message-ID: <5A0FCDFBF2FC429089EAB51DADECA7DA at OwnerPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=original

Hi all,
I do what I can to keep up.
You all don't seem to understand the situation and you all think that 
scanning solves the problems. I reiterate that some of these are tables
and 
sometimes on colored paper.

I do indeed do things myself.  But why don't I have the right to have a 
level playing field?
I have this accomodation. Yes not only do I speak to the profs but I
also remind them either in email or after class to send me information. 
Most professors have been good in the past; in fact most classes rely on

lecture/discussion so handouts and print matterial are really not an
issue. Yes there is a breakdown of communication because one professor
teaches so 
many classes he doesn't respond to emails.

I think school is hard enough that asking for them to follow an agreed
upon 
accomodation is not unreasonable.
I mean I pay the same tuition, so why can't I have equal access?  I was
in a 
journalism class and I remember handouts being passed out to read in
groups. 
I think we were supposed to pick out the lead or something. Anyway, this
was 
not accessible and reading two or three days later frankly doesn't help
me 
in class.
So I advocated and had it read to me!  But had I had it ahead of time I 
wouldn't have had to be taken out of class for this reading.
We left class because it would be disturbing for other students to hear
us. 
Then we came back
and I joined my group.  I believe that such accomodations help us and we
can 
compete equally then.
Also, isn't in the ADA and other civil rights laws we should have stuff
in 
accessible format?

Well, if we disagree oh well. I won't waste my time arguing. You NFB
students really send mixed messages when you think websites need to 
be accessible and other course content and then do not support something

like accessible handouts.
Well, the same logic applies. Well, you can work harder, do extra steps,
and 
have a reader read you inaccessible content.
Then for inaccessible documents, we can just scan them all.

Ashley