In a reaction to an Instagram post, you called Emergohal an accessibility nightmare. Why is that? “There are so many things that go wrong with Emergohal. Even with Google Maps, it’s very difficult to guide yourself there. If you go by public transportation, there is no footpath there, only a road and a cycle path. When you’re on time and able-bodied, it already poses challenges. But when you’re someone who struggles to get somewhere on time, like a lot of disabled people for many different reasons, that makes it even more challenging.”
“The last time I was there, around a year ago, I was early for once, but there was nowhere to sit down in the waiting areas. So I had to sit down on the floor, which is difficult if you’re a disabled student.”
Disability RendezVU
Tait-Doak is a member of Disability RendezVU, a community for disabled students that emerged from a student panel which meets with the Studying with a Disability department to enact policy change together. They also collaborate with 3D to host a monthly support meeting for disabled students and staff. The group is currently trying to transform into a more general student association like VU Pride, FAM and NDSA.
Is the actual process of taking the exam the same as in any other space? “Taking exams is always a bit chaotic, but Emergohal is a very big space with a lot of fluorescent lights and a lot of activity. That makes it more bewildering. The RAI – where I had an exam before Covid – is similar in size, but not as bad. The accessibility is a bit better and it’s a bit less overwhelming.”
Does VU not offer a solution for people with disabilities? “You can sign up to do your exam in the provision room on campus, but this introduces other complexities. You have to book the room at least two weeks in advance of the exam, which requires a complex form separate from the registration for the course. For someone with a limited capacity, this adds another administrative task on top of all the things they already have to take care of. Being disabled is a full-time job. And if you’re late applying, you can’t use the room.”
Could you confidently say that the Emergohal has resulted in worse grades for you? “Yes, if the form of examination is inaccessible or causes me too much stress or distress, then it does affect my performance.”
You make the case that Emergohal is inaccessible to students with disabilities. Do you think that otherwise, the location is fine? “When we talk about disability and accessibility, we’re not just talking about people who fit cleanly into different categories of being abled or disabled. I am a registered disabled student, but I’ve had a long journey. A lot of students coming here at 17, 18 or their early 20s maybe don’t know they have a disability or undiagnosed illness, but the challenge is still there. When you accommodate disabled people, everybody benefits from it.”
Exam location the TenT has been torn down, reducing the examination capacity on campus. Isn’t that a valid reason to use Emergohal, at least in the short term? “If they’re going to implement a solution to the TenT and the W&N building being demolished, then they need to find accessible solutions: reintroduce the shuttle buses [between the campus and the Emergohal, Ed.]; make it accessible rather than having the students shoulder the challenges. And make it more lenient for students with disabilities to book a low-stimulus room for exams.”
Contested past
The Emergohal was already used for exams in 2002, university historian Ab Flipse says. There was a lot of protest against it, which the rector at the time described as justified. When the TenT opened in 2003, rector Taede Sminia said: “It is part of the VU’s educational culture that you can go to the campus for everything.”
Currently, the Emergohal has been back in use for several years. The university considers it the most suitable option for additional exam capacity, alongside other locations in use such as the VU Sports Centre. “We therefore expect to continue using the Emergohal and will offer support where we can to make the route to it as pleasant as possible for our students”, the Corporate Real Estate and Facilities (FCO) department responds to our question about the future plans for the exam hall. FCO did not receive the interview with Tait-Doak ahead of publication.