Student groups aim to change stereotypes with new accessibility signs

A committee of UNC students started a petition to change the accessibility signs around campus to show the Alternative Symbol of Accessibility.

The Alternative Symbol of Accessibility shows an active person with a disability, rather than the current accessibility symbol which shows a static person.

Senior Taylor Emory said the group of students have been working since October 2016 to bring the new signs to UNC’s campus.

“The whole purpose of the accessibility icon is to bring forth, you know, a new symbol, a new alternative to the current handicapped sign,” Emory said. “You know, the current handicapped sign is very immobile, upright and that symbol can create, you know, negative, implicit stereotype throughout certain people.”

Emory said the new accessibility icon would help to change the negative stereotypes of handicapped individuals by incorporating motions and independence.

The Alternative Symbol of Accessibility was introduced in 2010 and since then has spread through media campaigns and activism said Chris Corsi, another member of the committee. The sign has been officially adopted in New York and Connecticut.

“Hopefully with that momentum we can sort of carry it on here and contribute to that momentum,” Emory said.

By the end of the spring 2017 semester, the committee hopes to acquire the approval of University officials to adopt the Alternative Symbol of Accessibility on UNC’s campus. They hope to get funding from student government and other student fundraising resources, Corsi said.

“Starting with the Union, we are trying to implement and we are trying to take it to the Board of Directors and basically convince them to change the old accessibility icon to the new accessibility icon,” Marie Payne, another member of the campaign, said.

Things are easier said than done — Emory said identifying the costs could be a problem.

“We are still trying to figure that out because there’s a lot to go in the cost, so we have to figure out when the signs are needed to be updated, how much money we can get and there’s a lot of stuff to consider there that we are still trying to bring together,” Emory said.

Tiffany Bailey, the director of Accessibility Resources and Service, said there are many unknown factors related to changing the accessibility signs, including the costs or timeline of the project. She said it would be a gradual project.

“We are talking about signs in every academic building, in every residential building,” Bailey said. “We are talking about handicapped parking spots. We are talking about a number of different things, so I don’t know the cost of it.”

Despite all the difficulties, the committee still wants to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for people with disabilities.

“Everyone has ability,” Emory said. “Everyone brings something to the table, no matter, you know, race, gender, whether you get handicapped, whether it’s a cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, you know ... We are all equal as human beings and, you know, this is just a way for us to enhance our equalities here at UNC and build on the message that our University has done a great job.”

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