Human Rights at UPEI

The Journal Pioneer
August 21, 2008
Editor,

Arguments have been put forward that the decision to remove accessible parking from the UPEI campus is an improvement in accessibility.

Simple logic tells us that reasoning is wrong. Forcing people with a disability to walk farther is not better for them, it’s worse.

Grover understands near and far

There is a Sesame Street lesson on near and far where Grover stands close to the camera and calls it near. Then he walks away from the camera and calls it far. The near and far concept is easy to understand.

We have disabled parking because people with disabilities have a hard time walking very far so the parking is near.

That logic is, wherever there is disabled parking, parking is near the place people need to go. At shopping malls wouldn’t it look strange if the disabled parking was in the far end of the parking lot? Of course we logically expect to see it near the door.

So why is UPEI trying to rewrite logic and common sense by pushing the disabled farther away? Why did President Wade MacLauchlan and his executive team decide to remove accessible parking?

The project to remove accessible parking is called Main Quadrangle Revitalization Project. The details are on UPEI’s main web page. Main Quadrangle, in my opinion, is a beautification project that will create a Disneyworld-ideal campus look.

People with disabilities are not part of the culture of youth that pervades UPEI as it gets ready for the Canada Games 2009. We don’t look neat and pretty and photogenic.

The new Main Quadrangle will look like one of those ideal movies about Americana. There is no place in that vision for people parking their cars because they have a disability. They are being pushed out. There is still enough room for trucks and vans to come and park as they please.

People with disabilities are expected to walk farther to make the campus more beautiful.

Stephen Pate,
PEI Disability Alert,
Charlottetown