For some students at Queen’s, accessibility is not only a matter of whether accommodations exist, but whether they are reflected in everyday campus life.
The Journal spoke with representatives from the AMS Commission of Social Issues, the Queen’s Disability and Neurodiversity Alliance (DNA) club, and the Queen’s American Sign Language club (QSAL) about the barriers students with disabilities continue to encounter and what a more accessible campus could look like.
Student perspectives highlight the desire to see promises on accessibility come to fruition and see their everyday experiences reflected in policy.
Accessibility as a plan, not an action
Queen’s Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO) is responsible for advancing accessibility, as well as Indigenization, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism at Queen’s.
When asked to speak with The Journal about accessibility challenges at Queen’s, the University declined an interview and instead shared its publicly available Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP) for 2026 to 2031.
The plan builds off the MYAP for 2016-2025 and is aimed at building a campus where all students can participate in the University’s academic, social, and research opportunities, regardless of disability.
According to Queen’s Accessibility Hub, the plan’s six priority commitments are united through the Garden of Accessibility Framework, which treats accessibility as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a set of isolated initiatives or tasks.
The framework is authored by Kate Brothers, the accessibility coordinator at HREO. Brothers lives with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects the development of bones and tissues in the face.
According to the plan, Brothers’ experiences in navigating institutional environments as a person with disabilities shapes the values, priorities, and design of the framework “in ways that policy expertise alone cannot.”
Progress of the plan’s initiatives will be communicated through the University’s Annual Accessibility Report.
When disability becomes a stigma
For students with disabilities, accessibility concerns extend beyond physical and academic barriers. Students say stigma surrounding disability can also shape how they are treated in everyday conversations and classrooms.
In an interview with The Journal, co-chair of Queen’s DNA, Christina Wang, HealthSci ’29, spoke about accessibility concerns she has experienced and heard from other students.
Queen’s DNA represents students with disabilities, particularly those who are neurodivergent on campus. The alliance’s mandate is to improve accessibility wherever it can.
According to Wang, their main focus is developing an inclusive community and improving student connection.
Wang emphasized how stigma surrounding disabilities is becoming increasingly prevalent among students, particularly in everyday conversations. She said she has noticed a lot of subtle anti-disability attitudes in daily dialogue among students.
“Very recently, I heard someone using the R-slur, and I was like, whoa, definitely a problem,” Wang said.
It’s disheartening, said Wang, adding that the alliance is really hoping to target this issue and decrease the amount of stigma surrounding the word “disability.”
Wang added that students’ and staff’s attitudes towards disabilities, especially invisible disabilities like ADHD, are not always taken seriously and are sometimes even mocked.
“I feel like stigma towards disabilities is definitely a big root of some of the issues,” Wang said. “I wish people would, you know, stop using the R-slur.”
When accommodations aren’t accommodated
Disability stigma is not only finding its way into conversations but into classrooms as well.
Wang told The Journal that a big concern she has heard from students with accommodations is that professors will sometimes refuse to allow or approve academic accommodations for students.
“This is a big issue, especially because a lot of students with disabilities need these accommodations in order to thrive, in order to complete their academic responsibilities,” Wang said.
She believes this resistance may stem from disabilities not being taken seriously. Some professors may view academic accommodations as giving students more “leeway” on assignments and tests, she said.
“I think many of them fail to realize that students do have real disabilities or conditions that kind of prevent them from doing assignments without certain accommodations,” Wang said.
AMS Vice-President (University Affairs) Edward Sy uses accommodated exams through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). In an interview with The Journal, Sy said that while accessibility is part of the University’s broader landscape, students do not always see the “gritty” changes being made at higher levels of administration.
Sy emphasized that instructors should not necessarily bear sole responsibility for addressing accommodations, highlighting the challenges of coordinating accessibility across the University.
He said student accommodations involve not only instructors, but also the office of Student Affairs, faculties, and higher administrations. As a result, information about instructors’ responsibilities to accommodate students can sometimes get lost in communication.
“That burden doesn’t necessarily fall to [instructors],” Sy said.
Day-to-day barriers
Queen’s students recognize accessibility as extending beyond mobility limitations and academic accommodations by identifying the barriers faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
James Langley, HealthSci ’27 and president of QSAL, spoke with The Journal about accessibility within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community at Queen’s.
QSAL is the American Sign Language club on campus and aims to advance accessibility and advocacy for deaf and hard of hearing students on campus through events, workshops, and social media presence.
Langley said accessibility concerns include everyday barriers, such as limitations when ordering food at the ARC.
“I would say it’s really just the kind of day-to-day, rather than some huge [issue],” Langley said.
While Langley acknowledged Queen’s is taking steps towards improving accessibility through action plans, he said these plans do not always address students’ everyday experiences.
He said he has heard stories of students encountering accessibility barriers simply when heading to class or ordering food at Common Ground, noting that these barriers are different than what can be set out in a policy.
“What are the efforts to step beyond putting it on a headline or as part of policy,” Langley asked.
These barriers for deaf and hard of hearing students are not only encountered on everyday walks around campus, but in the classroom as well.
Langley said students have encountered small print on classroom screens accompanied by a lack of captioning or difficulties with communication at university events.
He has noticed an increase in reviews conducted by the University focused on accessibility and accommodations, noting it is cultivating hope within the club. However, he also questions how these reviews will actually be implemented.
Even when supports are available, students are not always aware of where to find them or how to access them, Langley added.
Langley said he has heard from students who feel responsible for navigating these barriers themselves, rather than having accessibility supports incorporated into the system “from day one.”
An uphill battle for accessibility
While accessibility at Queen’s extends beyond the classroom, the campus itself presents another set of challenges for students with mobility disabilities. Built atop a hill, navigating campus can be particularly difficult for those with mobility limitations.
Sy acknowledged Queen’s hilly campus and how it creates barriers for mobility-challenged students, particularly in the winter when snow and ice cover the ground.
“When winter comes, and there’s snow and ice, it becomes a huge mobility challenge for students with physical disabilities,” Sy said.
He also identified infrastructure on campus that can create mobility barriers, noting that the University has a “whole master list” of priorities in terms of buildings that are not meeting the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards.
According to Sy, the University is working through the list in terms of where the need is most prevalent.
He specifically mentioned the frequent elevator breakdowns at Jeffrey Hall as one accessibility issue He also pointed to Mackintosh-Corry Hall with its confusing layout and common elevator breakdowns.
Sy added that it is ironic that Mackintosh-Corry exhibits accessibility barriers, given it is the building where the HREO resides.
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He added that the University ensures that newer buildings meet AODA standards, but he believes that older buildings are not necessarily prioritized for renovations. He explained that within the act, the University does not necessarily have to prioritize revitalizing buildings that already exist but don’t meet AODA standards.
Sy pointed to residence buildings such as Adelaide Hall and Ban Righ Hall, which, to this day, do not have elevators for students.
“They are very aware,” Sy said on Queen’s knowledge of the lack of elevators in residence buildings. “I can’t speak, though, in terms of where it fits in the priority sheet.”
Commissioner of Social Issues (External) Eshal Ali said there is definitely work that needs to be done in the realm of mobility accessibility in an interview with The Journal.
Initiatives underway
While students continue to raise concerns, initiatives to address accessibility at Queen’s are also underway.
Wang said that following many students expressing that there is a lack of accessible spaces on campus, Queen’s DNA is planning a study-space initiative where the alliance will rent rooms closer to exam periods, including the Adaptive Technology Centre, and make them more disability-friendly.
The AMS also highlighted financial supports available to students with disabilities.
Sy mentioned the Walkhome Safe Travel Bursary, recently passed at AMS Assembly. It allows students with mobility disabilities to take a taxi or Uber when necessary and receive reimbursement.
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Ali also highlighted the Accessibility Grant, offered three times a year. The grant is given to any student, student group, AMS-ratified club, faculty society, or campus organization undertaking work related to accessibility.
A more accessible tomorrow
The Journal asked Wang, Langley, Sy, and Ali the same question: If you could change one thing about accessibility at Queen’s tomorrow, what would it be?
Wang said she would want to see a change in attitudes towards accessibility at Queen’s. She said she feels as though continued stigma towards disabilities remains a “big root” of many issues, adding that disabled students should not have to feel “othered” or like they do not belong on campus.
“If I could wave a magic wand, [I’d change the] attitudes towards disabilities at the school and not have them be seen as a moral failing or something that’s wrong with somebody,” Wang said.
Langley said, as a hearing individual, the answer should come from those who have experienced living with a disability.
“That would be the number one thing, [it] would just be to invite those with the lived experience of the knowledge to actually lead and inform our next steps,” Langley said.
Sy said he would want to ensure that students know their rights and know who to raise concerns to when they encounter accessibility barriers.
If she could change one thing tomorrow, Ali said she would ensure there were more accessible spaces on campus to make sure that students with disabilities feel like they have a community on campus.
Though students recognize the steps the University is taking to foster a more accessible campus, they hope to see further efforts to address the stigma, mobility barriers, everyday challenges, and accommodation-related issues faced by students with disabilities.
Tags
Accessibility, Accommodations, accomodation, HREO, mobility
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