[nabs-l] problem with college cafe

Fri Sep 20 16:39:51 UTC 2013

Dear Jamie,
I really like your idea Jamie about reorganizing the tables to make a
more clear path and I will suggest this to my school when I meet with
them on Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Nathan

On 9/20/13, Kirt <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> Karlee,
> I think having a friend help is fine… hell, I do the very same thing you are
> suggesting every now and again. Still, and I say this from personal
> experience, I found the putting myself in situations where I'm forced to
> rely on other people, and keep in mind that I making the distinction between
> being forced and choosing to do it of your own free will every now and
> again, is inconvenient, inefficient and counterproductive. I used to always
> get around the way you are suggesting… And it worked probably about 80% of
> the time just fine. However, those times my friends were sick, or busy with
> other things, or went somewhere else for the day, or those times when I just
> wanted privacy and my own personal space and couldn't have it because I
> needed to rely on other people were absolutely unbearable for me.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Sep 20, 2013, at 6:34 AM, Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> Good morning, Nathan,
>>
>>        Find yourself a hot chick, maybe and grab her arm or shoulder. Get
>> help! No man is an island...
>> for today, CarAt 11:39 PM 9/19/2013, Kaiti Shelton wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I don't know your entire situation, but here are a few suggestions.
>>> I agree with the views expressed by Kirt, Arielle, Justin, and others.
>>> I also like the idea of making the cafeteria more accessible to all,
>>> but realistically if the school has too many tables in a room that is
>>> really not big enough for them and extra space, it might not be
>>> possible.
>>> Getting your food in a bag or to-go box does wonders.  I do this all
>>> the time and it makes everything a lot easier for me.  Or, since you
>>> bring your lunch to school, you can skip the cafe if you really don't
>>> like dealing with it that day.  If you usually get a drink from the
>>> cafe before sitting down to eat, try bringing something from home
>>> along with your food.  Or, there is nothing wrong with eating outside
>>> in a courtyard or at a table in an academic building; other students
>>> do it all the time.
>>> If you really want to eat in the cafe though, I would suggest a few
>>> things if you have not done so already.  Check that you're confident
>>> in using your cane skills, as that can be a huge factor in this.  If
>>> you can find an aisle that is more open than others to get from point
>>> A to point B, figure out a route that works for you.  This might
>>> require practice on your own time, but can be worth it.  I would also
>>> try asking cafe staff if they could recommend a way for you to go that
>>> might get you through the cafeteria a little more efficiently than the
>>> way you're using now.  .
>>> As was said, I don't think that this is going to change.  I don't
>>> really see what security can do, and also think that web accessibility
>>> and other matters that can't easily be remedied by individual students
>>> are of more importance to faculty.  Yes, left out chairs is a hassle
>>> and it is a tripping hazard, but it is that way for all students, not
>>> just those who are blind.  They have to push in the chairs to clear a
>>> path too, so the best thing you can do is figure out a way to work
>>> through it to show that you are just as capable a navigator as a
>>> sighted student.
>>>
>>> On 9/19/13, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > Hi Nathan and all,
>>> >
>>> > I think there's something to say for only getting your disability
>>> > office involved in matters that are serious and those that directly
>>> > involve blindness. We all agree that chairs being left out are a
>>> > nuisance, and they make orientation a little tougher, but they don't
>>> > pose a safety hazard to blind folks who are using canes or dogs. I
>>> > don't think the problem is serious enough to involve campus security.
>>> > Jamie's redesign idea does sound nice for people with all kinds of
>>> > disabilities, but I don't think the issue is as important as those
>>> > involving campus website accessibility, for example.
>>> > Nathan, I think you are a cane user, but if you're not I would
>>> > encourage you to use a cane at least while you are in the café. It
>>> > might help to get a little orientation through the café and, in
>>> > particular, pay attention to sound cues that will help you find your
>>> > way to the room you're trying to find even if the messy chairs cause
>>> > you to lose your bearings.
>>> >
>>> > Best,
>>> > Arielle
>>> >
>>> > On 9/19/13, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >> Nathan,
>>> >>
>>> >> There's a big difference between educating the sighted public about
>>> >> what we need as blind individuals and changing bad habits. Yes, you
>>> >> can talk to your DS office and security and have them post reminders,
>>> >> but I would be willing to bet that the issue of chairs sticking out in
>>> >> your way is not going to be resolved any time soon. I have a guide dog
>>> >> now so she just takes me around the chairs or stop so I can nudge the
>>> >> chair out of our path, but when I was using a cane, all I had to do
>>> >> was nudge the chair in a little bit and I would have room to go on my
>>> >> merry way. You could try this simple solution to see if it fixes your
>>> >> problem before tackling other people's lack of courtesy. I also want
>>> >> to remind you that you're not going to have a DS office or a chief of
>>> >> security that you could run to in the real world when people don't
>>> >> have chairs pushed in.
>>> >>
>>> >> Cheers,
>>> >> Minh
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> On 9/19/13, Nathan Clark <troubleclark at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >>> Dear Tyler,
>>> >>> As blind people don't we want to educate others around us about what
>>> >>> we need and makes us the most successful and independent? I don't
>>> >>> want
>>> >>> to rely on a sighted person who walks with me and pushes chairs for
>>> >>> me
>>> >>> for obvious reasons that we all know about. I understand where you
>>> >>> are
>>> >>> coming from and I respect your opinion.
>>> >>> Sincerely,
>>> >>> Nathan Clark
>>> >>>
>>> >>> On 9/19/13, Nathan Clark <troubleclark at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >>>> Dear Tyler,
>>> >>>> My school's café is not exactly layid out in a way where you can
>>> >>>> travel around the outside by the walls and find the opening to the
>>> >>>> door. Our café has tables that are both pushed up against the wall
>>> >>>> and
>>> >>>> in the middle of the café so it isn't exactly a easy navigation like
>>> >>>> you thought it was.
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>> Sincerely,
>>> >>>> Nathan
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>> On 9/19/13, Littlefield, Tyler <tyler at tysdomain.com> wrote:
>>> >>>>> first, I'm not really sure what chairs being stuck out has to do
>>> >>>>> with
>>> >>>>> security.
>>> >>>>> Second, I really do think there are much bigger battles to deal
>>> >>>>> with.
>>> >>>>> You could get some person that has to push in chairs after everyone
>>> >>>>> so
>>> >>>>> you have clear paths, but I've never seen clear paths through any
>>> >>>>> cafe
>>> >>>>> regardless where the chairs are. My suggestion is to use your cane,
>>> >>>>> find
>>> >>>>> each individual chair and push it toward the table with your foot.
>>> >>>>> I
>>> >>>>> just balance my tray on one arm and use my cane with the other hand
>>> >>>>> and
>>> >>>>> it works out pretty well.
>>> >>>>> You may also be able to walk around the walls of the cafe
>>> >>>>> (depending
>>> >>>>> on
>>> >>>>> the layout) to get to the room you want to go to.
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> On 9/19/2013 1:16 PM, Nathan Clark wrote:
>>> >>>>>> Dear Nabs,
>>> >>>>>> My name is Nathan Clark and I am one of the quieter people on this
>>> >>>>>> list but I have a situation that I have at my community college
>>> >>>>>> where
>>> >>>>>> I would like to have some opinions fro you all. about.
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> Today as I was walking into my school's café I discovered that
>>> >>>>>> almost
>>> >>>>>> every table that I came upon had chairs that were sticking ot
>>> >>>>>> where
>>> >>>>>> people had been sitting in and forgot to push their chairs in. My
>>> >>>>>> school had a room off the café where students can eat their lunch
>>> >>>>>> in
>>> >>>>>> a
>>> >>>>>> more quieter environment which is where I usually eat my lunch and
>>> >>>>>> that is where I wanted to eat today. However, after struggling
>>> >>>>>> with
>>> >>>>>> navigating through the chairs that were not pushed in I just gave
>>> >>>>>> up
>>> >>>>>> and sat a different bale and had my lunch. After eating, I went to
>>> >>>>>> my
>>> >>>>>> school's Secutrity department and expressed my concerns with them.
>>> >>>>>> The
>>> >>>>>> lady who I talked to is named Sharon and she is not a security
>>> >>>>>> guard
>>> >>>>>> but the secretary for the department. She knows me very well and
>>> >>>>>> she
>>> >>>>>> knows from previous semesters that I have encountered this problem
>>> >>>>>> before with the café. She helped me schedule an appointment with
>>> >>>>>> the
>>> >>>>>> Assistant Chieef of Security on Tuesday.
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> My question for you all is should I have scheduled the meeting or
>>> >>>>>> just
>>> >>>>>> dropped the problem. What could be some solutions that I could
>>> >>>>>> bring
>>> >>>>>> up to my meeting with the Assistant Chief for Tuesday? If you were
>>> >>>>>> wondering I forgot to say that I talked to my DSS office and they
>>> >>>>>> said
>>> >>>>>> that they would work with the Secutiry department to solve this
>>> >>>>>> problem.
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> I would like to hear what people have to say and wondering if this
>>> >>>>>> has
>>> >>>>>> happened to other people on the list?
>>> >>>>>> Sincerely,
>>> >>>>>> Nathan Clark
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> --
>>> >>>>> Take care,
>>> >>>>> Ty
>>> >>>>> http://tds-solutions.net
>>> >>>>> He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a
>>> >>>>> fool;
>>> >>>>> he
>>> >>>>> that
>>> >>>>> dares not reason is a slave.
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>
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>>> >>>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> --
>>> >> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
>>> >> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
>>> >> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
>>> >> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>> >>
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>>> >>
>>> >
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kaiti
>>>
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