I get nervous every time I go to UNB.
It’s a cold place, not as friendly, and lots of monstrous birds. But what I’m the most nervous about when I go down the hill is why I left UNB in the first place after only 1 year…accessibility.
Going there to vote last week, I saw not much changed. Going down a path near the Aiken Centre I came across a huge boulder right in the middle of the path. Going around it, I chuckled and shook my head.
At the SUB, you could see the more people going in than usual. It was great to see so many people turn-out to vote. As I go in, I follow the signs to where I’m supposed to vote.
Then I say it… stairs. The polling station was located down a flight of stairs.
Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Mike went downstairs to check on if there was any way down there. Mike came back with a worker, and she said that unfortunately it wasn’t accessible and that I would have to go to the station on Kings Street.
I think that’s when the vein popped.
I said that I wasn’t going anywhere. Forget about how there was only ONE accessible taxi in the city of Fredericton to get anywhere, but this is where students are supposed to vote and I’m a student.
She said she was going to talk to someone. After a few minutes, she came back and said it would take 30 minutes, but they will set up a special polling station for me in the SUB, secluded so no one can see me vote.
As they prepared the covert polling station, I paced around fuming. How could a University be so clueless? During the Federal elections, there was a polling station at the SUB that I could get to, why not pick that place again? You would think they would want ANYONE to vote.
About 20 minutes later, she guided me to the coverted station. Like a Mexican being smuggled across the US border, I sneakily enter the empty room so I can vote.
Needless to say, I did vote. In fact I may have voted in less time that it would have taken if I waited in line with everyone else.
But that’s not the point here. How can UNB once again STILL not get this? Putting something this important in an inaccessible place is like putting a diabetic’s insulin inside a box of jelly-doughnuts.
I would like to thank everyone for the support I got since posting my status. Blackberry has been flashing. Special thanks to the STUSU who offered me ways to get to other polling stations.
Anyway, I voted (eventually), but once again it was a stunning reminder that UNB, and the city has a long way to go.
