Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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A fellow student was prevented from participating in an activity because they’re blind, advice? (self.Blind)
submitted by girlacrosstheocean
Hi! This is my first time posting here, so I hope it’s allowed.
I recently started a graduate program, and one of my fellow students is blind. We had a trip somewhere, and they weren’t allowed to come because the insurance was “too high.” The student tried to work something out, offering to get their own insurance or something, and the program didn’t allow it. This was a totally free trip, and my friend wasn’t allowed to go because they’re blind - despite the fact that they are able to move independently and also many of my fellow students would be willing to help/guide them if necessary, like we already do.
I wasn’t there for the conversation or anything, and in fact didn’t find out until after the trip, but it just strikes me as so unfair. There will be other trips throughout the two year program, so I know the situation could possibly come up again.
Has anyone dealt with a similar experience? Is there any advice I can give to my friend to deal with this so that they’re able to participate fully in other program activities? Or is this something the program is allowed to do because of liability? This is in Europe, not the US.
I recently started a graduate program, and one of my fellow students is blind. We had a trip somewhere, and they weren’t allowed to come because the insurance was “too high.” The student tried to work something out, offering to get their own insurance or something, and the program didn’t allow it. This was a totally free trip, and my friend wasn’t allowed to go because they’re blind - despite the fact that they are able to move independently and also many of my fellow students would be willing to help/guide them if necessary, like we already do.
I wasn’t there for the conversation or anything, and in fact didn’t find out until after the trip, but it just strikes me as so unfair. There will be other trips throughout the two year program, so I know the situation could possibly come up again.
Has anyone dealt with a similar experience? Is there any advice I can give to my friend to deal with this so that they’re able to participate fully in other program activities? Or is this something the program is allowed to do because of liability? This is in Europe, not the US.
jrs12 8 points 4y ago
Oh dear! I'm so sorry to hear about this for your classmate. While there are certainly some situations where people with visual impairments may not be able to participate, it should be the exception rather than the rule. Do you know who made this decision? Sometimes if a person can get away with it, it's easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. If it was the people at the field trip site that said no, then next time I wouldn't inform anyone that I was visually impaired. If it was a teacher, I would report them to their supervisor because I paid for the classes. I should get the experience. Sometimes getting access is more about knowing how to work around prejudice more than following procedure.
girlacrosstheocean [OP] 2 points 4y ago
Unfortunately, it was the program management themselves, so I’m not sure there’s anyone higher than that. The outings aren’t mandatory, don’t give us credit and are purely optional, so I’m not sure how far the argument about having paid for classes would go. This is an institution within a larger university though, so I could see if there’s any disability or accessibility office on campus that has any sort of jurisdiction over grad students. Thanks for your reply!
jrs12 6 points 4y ago
Do you have to sign up for outings? Is there a bus that takes you there or do you agree to meet some place at a certain time? If possible, I would probably be a bit of a problem child about it and just bring your classmate along. Not asking for permission or giving any indication that they will be there. Once the school sees that your friend is fine on field trips, they might be fine.... it's just getting around the part where they think they get to say no. Accessibility rights didn't come about in the US from people being nice. The first guy who had a guide dog got kicked out of restaurants all the time. He would try to explain himself and what he needed the dog for, but there were no laws about it then. So he would finally leave and tie the dog up outside, then come back inside purposely knock over all the tables and chairs on the way back to his seat. It won't feel good to get your friend access at first because it feels like you are breaking rules, but really you'll be breaking down barriers.
girlacrosstheocean [OP] 3 points 4y ago
We have to sign up for them, and there’s a bus usually I think. In this case, it was overnight, so just showing up would be an issue with hotel rooms and such. But that’s a good point - if there’s any single day outings, I could recommend to my classmate that we just show up at the destination and see how it goes. The program probably hasn’t had any/many disabled students, so it could just be a matter of making them get accustomed to this?
angelcake 2 points 4y ago
Sounds like a human rights violations to me. I would consider talking to a lawyer.
LanceThunder 2 points 4y ago
unfortunately, accessibility seems to be one area where the EU is a little behind. if this happened in north america i think your school would be in a lot of trouble. the good news is that it looks like an act is going to be passed soon to correct this.
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202
girlacrosstheocean [OP] 2 points 4y ago
Thanks for replying :) That’s great to hear there’s a act out there! With how slow legislation can move in the EU, I doubt it will make a difference for my friend, but hopefully it’ll progress far enough one day. The webpage didn’t mention anything about education though, unfortunately, mostly just jobs and economic stuff, but I guess we’ll see what effects it will have if/when it passes.
LanceThunder 1 points 4y ago
you should do a little more research into EU accessibility. your human rights code might dictate that people can not be discriminated against based on ability. there might be other legal protections in place as well. i'm not a lawyer and i don't really know much about the EU.
enzwificritic 1 points 4y ago
try r/legaladvice
Silverottawa 1 points 4y ago
What exactly did you do on the outing? Was it extreme hiking or axe throwing? If not I see no reason to deny other than some board covering their backside
girlacrosstheocean [OP] 1 points 4y ago
It was literally just walking around listening to people and touring places. So... not really much different from class. I think it was all about ass-covering, I mean they mentioned insurance being too high as a primary reason. Could have something to do with the trip being to another country? But I mean, it’s all in the EU, so I don’t know.
ravenshadow2013 1 points 4y ago
You may want to check with the European Disability Commission to see if there any regulations regarding discrimination
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