A student at Memorial University of Newfoundland, who wishes to remain anonymous, has raised the issue of the university not being size-inclusive. They said that the administration is aware of the issue but will not address it.
They stated that the biggest problem is some of the classrooms on campus. “More specifically, the lecture-style rooms. The big rooms that are used for Psych classes are horrible. I know people who aren’t plus-sized who struggle with those chairs,” says the student.
The student then stated, “Not only is the width of them a problem and how close together they are, but most people who are plus-sized tend to have thicker thighs, those fold down desks are essentially useless for plus-sized people because they don’t go down, and they take up more room from the chair.”
Furthermore, the student brought up the lecture-style rooms like 3034b in the Education building. The student states in that room, “the chairs are bolted to the floor and are maybe 5 inches away from each other. While the chairs swivel, they’re still very difficult to get into and are all placed the same distance away from the table.”
In comparison, the student stated that the tables and chairs in the second-floor lecture rooms in the education buildings are perfect. They said, “[the chairs are] not attached to the floor, and they’re actual chairs that can be pulled out from the table.”
Moreover, the student says, “The chairs in the other classrooms while make me feel like I’m in high school (the ones with the desks attached to the chair) aren’t as bad because there are a few different sizes of those but still aren’t the best.”
In addition to the classrooms, the student stated that the gowns and hoods/sash’s that the university rents for convocation photos are not inclusive. The student said, “When I tried it on, the hood didn’t fit onto my shoulders, so it was useless because it kept coming up to my neck. The gown as well didn’t zip. MUN only takes height into account when you rent these items and nothing else. MUN could easily find gowns that are accessible to all students and make the hoods adjustable by getting ones that have elastic or Velcro to make them bigger. When I returned my items, I asked for a refund because I couldn’t use the items. Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one to come back and say it, so clearly, MUN knows about that problem specifically and hasn’t done anything to address that.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
Matt Barter 