Many of MUN's 'tragic' desks aren't usable, says student group, and they won't sit for it any longer
MUN Size Matters says inaccessible desks at MUN are ‘a matter of equity and inclusivity’
A group of Memorial University students say many classroom desks at the St. John's campus are unusable and pose problems for students with mobility issues.
Ben Leblanc, an education student at Memorial University and an organizer of MUN Size Matters — a group of education students drawing attention to inaccessible seating on campus — says many desks on campus just aren't suitable for students.
"We came together and decided that the seating wasn't appropriate for adults, it wasn't appropriate for adult learning, it wasn't equitable," he said.
"Whether you're five foot one or six foot nine, you can't sit in these chairs."
Leblanc said the chairs in many of the classrooms are from the 1960s. Some of the desks and chairs are attached — fixed pieces of furniture that don't move and can't be adjusted. He said it can be hard to fit in the desks and they're not designed to have laptops and notebooks.
"You cannot sit in these chairs for an hour and a half and expect to have good learning outcomes," he said.
"So it's a pretty awful experience. It feels like you're closed in and for somebody writing an exam, it's just an … add-on to the anxiety that they're already having."
The desks could also be difficult for students with mobility or accessibility issues to use, he said.
"They might not be able to literally fit in the seats," he said. And though there are desks designated for people who need accessible space, they are singled out, he said.
"Those desks are at the front of the class, they don't move. So it's really beyond the desks, it's really a matter of equity and inclusivity."
'Adult' furniture needed
Rich Hitchens, a student in the education faculty's teacher training program, says the campus has "a real infrastructure deficit."
"We are adults," he said. "There should be appropriate, adult, inclusive, and accessible furniture. These desks are something more suitable for my teenage daughter than they are for adults — adults of various, diverse body types."
The university should be able to see that the desks aren't suitable, said Hitchens. He said another student recently made a complaint about seating to the university's vice-provost of equity, diversity and inclusion, which resulted in two classes being relocated. But since then, he said, nothing else has been done — no plan to deal with the broader problem.
When the university moved classrooms after a complaint, he said, that took care of the issue only for the complainant.
"The problem persists not only in the building where the faculty of education is located but actually across the university," he said.
"So MUN has to get really serious because students can't optimize their learning," he said. "If they want us to actually learn, they have to provide us with the very basic thing which is somewhere proper to sit."
Hitchens has struggled with seating himself, he said, but only at Memorial. He hasn't had any problems in any other post-secondary institution he's been in.
"As someone who is older than most students in this program, certainly who is rounder than most students in this program, I definitely have a problem sitting in these desks. But there are also students who are much smaller than me in terms of size that clearly also look uncomfortable."
These desks would be funny if they weren't so tragic. They're beyond ridicule.- Rich Hitchens
Hitchens said one student told him that he has not attended any tutorials all year and even dropped a class last semester because of the furniture.
"These desks would be funny if they weren't so tragic," he said. "They're beyond ridicule."
Changes are made when 'funding allows': MUN
CBC News requested an interview with Delores Mullings, vice-provost of equity, diversity, and inclusion, but was told she wasn't.
In a statement, MUN spokesperson Chad Pelley, said the university offers alternative classroom seating, but only five students currently avail of the service. Students might not be aware they can access the accommodation through the registrar's office or accessibility services at the Blundon Centre, said Pelley.
"The university renovates and remodels its classrooms as funding allows. Where possible, these classroom remodels can include seating options to pre-emptively accommodate all body types" and all learners should feel comfortable, says the statement.
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