To whom it absolutely should concern:

I am a current undergraduate student here at University of Wisconsin–Madison; while I am a first-year with minimal prior exposure to campus, I have quickly become plugged into various facets of campus life and hold many active affiliations throughout campus departments, organizations, and student groups. Becoming acclimated to a place as large as Madison has a learning curve, but it is even more difficult navigating the collegiate experience as a disabled student on a campus that is not structured with students with disabilities in mind. Yes, the McBurney Disability Resource Center exists– and yes, the access consultants and other staff members have been nothing short of kind and compassionate in fielding questions and concerns. However, the vague locution of access and compliance policies leaves wiggle room for misinformed and dismissive professors to decline accommodations that they deem unreasonable.

“Faculty are responsible for timely implementation of accommodations and may share accommodation information with others legitimately involved in accommodation implementation such as a teaching assistant or course coordinator. . .Faculty who are uncertain about or disagree with an accommodation or believe an accommodation poses an undue burden to the university must consult with the McBurney Disability Resource Center even if the accommodation was approved by the Division of Continuing Studies. The McBurney Disability Resource Center will provide guidance” (UW-855).

University policies regarding disability and accommodations are informed by legislation on multiple levels: UW System Board of Regent Policy, Wisconsin Statute, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, meaning that non-compliance with these policies is subject to monetary consequences or revocation of federal funding. But what happens when accommodation denial manifests in the form of ignoring student accommodations rather than formally declining or processing an appeal to accommodation implementation? In my experience, nothing happens. Despite having some incredibly empathetic and accommodating professors, I’ve been faced with a situation that is highly reminiscent of playground bullying. A professor who has previously taught their current course remotely and asynchronously (thus, possessing digital copies of all course materials), was being extremely unresponsive towards my attempts to discuss the implementation of necessary McBurney accommodations. I had sent an email to this professor regarding my inability to attend class in person due to mobility issues and hospitalization, and that I wanted to discuss broadening accessibility of the course so that I could still be successful without putting my health in jeopardy by showing up to didactic lectures in person. Instead of acknowledging my requests, I was met with the following response:

“Get notes from a fellow student, and you can arrange an extension on the first exam with your TA.”

For reference, this is a three-credit course within the Anthropology department that meets for lecture twice per week with a once-weekly lab section. The Canvas page is blank with the exception of a PDF of the syllabus. Many students have reached out to this professor requesting access to course materials due to illness, disability, and other absences– these student requests were addressed very early in the semester via a Canvas announcement instructing students to stop emailing the professor to request course content because he was not going to give anyone access to it. With there being many lab sections for this particular course, lab practical assessments occur at varying dates and times throughout the week that they are slated to be administered. These assessments are given remotely via Canvas, and students have access to notes while completing these practicals that consist largely of fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions. My practical was scheduled for Wednesday evening, meaning there were Thursday and Friday lab sections that would be taking the same exact assessment in the days subsequent to my scheduled lab. I reached out to the teaching assistant for this course and explained that I wanted to complete the lab practical with the Friday lab section. Upon suggesting this, I was under the impression that I would be completing the same assessment as every other student enrolled in the course because (1) not every student had yet taken that practical, and (2) nobody’s grades or answers had been released. However, I was told that the professor for this course was going to have me make up this practical in his office without access to notes– and rather than being the same assessment that the rest of my classmates had yet to complete, I would be expected to write a paper within an allotted testing time frame.

My request for an entirely reasonable and simple accommodation turned into a punishment. The professor’s stubbornness and unwillingness to grant my university-approved accommodations prevented me from attending class due to my disability and health concerns, and that same professor made the decision to leverage their power over me in a manner that caused me to face the consequences of the professor’s negligence. In no world is it fair or reasonable to assess a student’s command of course material by testing them via entirely different metrics. A remotely administered online exam with fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice questions with access to lecture notes is vastly different from taking an alternative essay exam, in person, and without notes. Rather than being tested on the basis of content recognition-and-regurgitation skills, I was expected to complete an exam that required me to recall and articulate course material that I never had access to in the first place. I am still in the process of seeking approval to drop this course without penalty, but nothing has been said about addressing the blatant discriminatory actions of this professor. 

This is simply one of many, many issues of inaccessibility and ableism present on campus. Transportation is a nightmare for fellow students with disabilities, and many have echoed similar sentiments regarding unaccommodating professors. UW Madison boasts its inclusive nature and its resources for chronically ill and disabled students, but rarely does it follow through and address issues of inaccessibility holistically. Consider addressing the absurdly long waitlists for mental health services, the lack of reliable and accessible transportation, the lifting of the mask mandate despite widespread student and faculty concern, the broken elevator in Mosse Humanities, and the frequency with which faculty members get away with mistreating students with disabilities before touting this institution as an equitable, inclusive, welcoming place to be. You’re failing medically vulnerable, chronically ill, and disabled students. 

The convenience of nondisabled individuals has always been valued over the needs of folks with disabilities, and I will no longer remain silent in a place that maintains minimal integrity and honesty in saying “all are welcome here”. 

Katie Sullivan

(P.S. The disability community is cited as the most quickly expanding minoritized group– you could very well find yourself in a position in which you need indispensable accommodations to effectively operate in a matter as simple as seconds. If you won’t advocate or support us now, at the very least consider paving the way to a more accessible future for yourself should you ever acquire a disability.)