Tag: Accessibility Features
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The Blind at Davisville Station
A Silent City Blog Welcome back to Silent City. For this second short post, I would like to show you this photo I found in the City of Toronto digital archives. The Blind Navigate Davisvile Station for the First TimeDecember 15, 1957 This photo shows blind persons getting around Davisville Station. The reason why this…
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The Case for Movie Captions in Theatres
As the Toronto Film Festival begins, let’s return to the good old debate about captions in theatres. The last time I talked about the caption debate, a lot of international filmgoers were a bit confused. After all, having captions in non-English-speaking countries is the norm. Not so in Canada. The idea of having words on…
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U-TAAC’s “Ableism in the Classroom” Conference Opens up Conversations for Change at U of T
Addressing the gaps After four years of attending U of T and being registered with Accessibility Services, it has become apparent to me ( based on personal experience and of others) that despite having an accessibility system designed to support students, it is clear that there is a gap between the provision of accommodations and…
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U-TAAC: A Year in Review 2022-2023
All beautiful things must come to an end. This is the reality that I have been facing as I reach my final year at the University of Toronto. The past four years have been tumultuous, there were many days of feeling lost and frightened, but just as many days or even more so of joy…
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Is Robarts Library Accessible?
Short answer? No, not really. But we must acknowledge that it has certainly improved the accessibility of the building before it was renovated. In 2019, there was a brief moment in which Robarts had turnstile doors. They were heavy doors. Not very accessible. Nowadays, the main entrance of the building has been renovated and uses…
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Open your eyes, Hollywood
Have you ever wondered why most villains of fiction and fairytales tend to have a disability trait? Neither did I, I until Peter Dinklage pointed it out. Writing this feature was one of the more enjoyable ones. While it required doing additional reading on top of the readings I have to do for class, I…
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Broken Record: A Disability Retrospective
“Brokeness” It was the theme that drove many of my creative works in the year 2020. Yet as the world broke apart at the seams, I was healing the cracks of my identity. “Broken Record” was the poem that explored my frustration as a person with a disability. How I viewed myself and how others…
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Petition to increase ODSP funding reaches over 50,000 signatures
In an interview with The Varsity, I raised awareness of the petition to the provincial government to increase funding for ODSP. During 2020-2021 there were about 520,000 beneficiaries in the Ontario Disability Support Program. However, “the support provided by ODSP is 30% below Ontario’s poverty line with a single person can recive a maximum of…
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COP26: Nothing but Empty Words, No Action, and Inaccessibility
COP26, a UN conference that aimed to spread awareness of environmental issues and inspire political actors to take a stronger stance on global warming through new stricter policies. However, as Swedish activist Greta Thunberg stated that they are nothing but “blah, blah, blah”—empty words with no actions. We can say the same regarding the many…
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Accessibility Services Registration Video
So many students I run into tend to be on the fence when it comes to getting registered. Some claim it’s a long process, or that they feel that their “disability” does not deserve accommodations. Others are critical of the service. After all, no service is perfect, even if they claim to help students. However,…
Catherine CC Dumé 