Town Halls

In the fall of 2013, Grinnell College began a series of town hall meetings to encourage transparency and frank, civil discussion of topics that faculty, staff, and students consider important. Each town hall has sessions at noon and in the evening. The most recent sessions, held Tuesday, Sept. 30, focused on disability and accessibility. As with last year, attendance was strong, with about 70 people at each session.

Autumn Wilke was hired as coordinator of disability resources as a result of feedback at last year’s town hall meetings, it was noted. This year’s discussions were insightful and covered topics including:

• Exactly what is meant by the terms disability, accommodation, accessibility, and universal design.
• The importance of not using -ableist language and using person-first descriptions.
• Not making assumptions about the presence or severity of a disability based on external appearances.
• Being able to talk about disability and not shy away from the topic.
• Accommodation in the classroom and what both students and professors can do in cooperation with the Office of Academic Advising.
• The idea that disability is not, strictly speaking, a deficit; people with disabilities perceive the world differently, and their perspectives enrich this community.
• The need to put in place procedures to assist those with disabilities in emergency situations.
• Web and computer accessibility.
• The need to establish a checklist of resources of campus spaces.
• Whether the responsibility to note disabilities falls on students or professors.