Representatives from the Disability Cultural Center and the University of Arizona women’s wheelchair basketball team spoke to the Associated Students of the University of Arizona on Feb. 1 to ask for better accommodations at ASUA-sponsored events.
According to them, students with disabilities have been experiencing physical and social accessibility issues at programs run by ASUA, including Bear Down Camp, Winter Fest and the recent poster sale held by the Wildcat Events Board. The poster sale, for example, was held on the mall, a grassy terrain that can be difficult for those using wheelchairs or other mobility devices to travel across.
To solve this issue, the representatives wrote bill S5004 in conjunction with Senate President Amy Gaudet and Patricia Yango, former director of campus culture and climate for ASUA.
“The difference between participation and meaningful participation is crucial,” Yango said during the senate meeting.
The text of the resolution outlines guidelines to maximize accessibility at ASUA-sponsored events and would make accommodations a prerequisite for clubs and organizations to receive funding from the appropriations board. Accommodations would be planned in conjunction with university organizations.
“It doesn’t put the onus of accessibility entirely on ASUA and its components. We actually request accommodations that are designed in collaboration with the spaces on campus that exist to provide these things, like the Disability Resource Center and the Disability Cultural Center … ” Yango said.
The senate moved to discuss the bill in executive session, before which the Wildcat was asked to leave the room.
Tuition Increase
UA students may be facing yet another tuition increase in 2025. Student Body President Patrick Robles met with the university’s CFO on Feb. 1 to find out more information.
“I met with the Chief Financial Officer, Lisa Rulney, this afternoon, and learned that the university is proposing some tuition increases for the class of 2025,” Robles said.
The university is proposing a 3% increase for resident undergraduates, a 4% increase for non-resident undergraduates and a 5% increase on fees. Members of ASUA will be present at the next Arizona Board of Regents meeting when these increases are proposed.
The next ASUA senate meeting will be held on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. in the Pima room of the Student Union Memorial Center. Meetings are open to the public.
Follow Kristijan Barnjak on Twitter
