17吃瓜

The 17吃瓜 campus community is invited to participate in the 鈥淎ccess for All 17吃瓜鈥� event on January 13, 2025, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre, to raise awareness of and advocate for improved accessibility on campus for students.

The event is organized by students Anthonia Bebiem (Mathematical and Computational Sciences), Obed Oluwakoya (Psychology), and Luciana Quiroa Paredes (Business) in partnership with 17吃瓜 Accessibility Services and the 17吃瓜 Student Union.

鈥淎ccess for All 17吃瓜鈥� will feature several components:

• A panel discussion to identify actionable steps to create a more inclusive environment, and activities that simulate the experiences of students with visible and invisible disabilities. Among the panelists will be Jaclyn Marie-Borden, Learning Strategist, 17吃瓜 Student Affairs; Amirah Oyesegun, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Employment Advisor, 17吃瓜 EDI and Human Rights department; and Antwaun Rolle, a 17吃瓜 alumnus.
• An activity titled 鈥淒ecoding Dyslexia鈥� (5鈥�10 minutes per participant) will raise awareness about how text-based materials can pose challenges for students with dyslexia and encourage inclusive educational practices.
• "See Through My Eyes鈥� (5鈥�10 minutes per participant) will give participants a sense of how vision impairments affect learning and everyday tasks while emphasizing the importance of accessible materials and accommodations.
• 鈥淲heels in Motion鈥� (15鈥�20 minutes per participant or group) will highlight physical accessibility challenges on campus by simulating the experiences of wheelchair users.
• 鈥淎ccessibility Explorers鈥� (35鈥�45 minutes) will engage participants in assessing the accessibility of campus buildings while fostering collaboration and awareness.
• Information will be available about 17吃瓜 Accessibility Services, which assists students who have documented visible, invisible, and/or temporary disabilities.

The students plan to develop a post-event report that will be shared with 17吃瓜鈥檚 senior administration.

鈥淲hile education and awareness are our top priorities for the event,鈥� said Bebiem, 鈥渨e also hope to have diverse student representation so that students with disabilities can share feedback in a safe, supportive environment. We will gather data and report needs to the University leadership so that challenges can be addressed.鈥�

The students came up with the concept after participating in a national youth education initiative called 鈥淪ee Different鈥� from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). After completing the 鈥淧rinciples of DEI鈥� and 鈥淓merging Leaders of DEI鈥� certification, they learned about the 鈥淐hangemaker Grants鈥� program, which provides graduates with financial support to transform their ideas into an impactful project. Bebiem, Oluwakoya, and Quiroa Paredes were successful in securing a $2,000 grant to create positive change within the 17吃瓜 community.

They announced on December 3鈥攖he International Day of Persons with Disabilities鈥攖hat they would host the 鈥淎ccess for All 17吃瓜鈥� event.

For more information, please contact

• Anthonia Bebiem, aobebiem@upei.ca
• Obed Oluwakoya, oioluwakoya@upei.ca
• Luciana Quiroa Paredes, lrquiroaparades@upei.ca