Sequenced closure to last until next year
Over the next year, MacEwan will upgrade its elevators in buildings 5, 6, 7 and 8. Each elevator will be closed for five weeks at a time — with the elevator near Building 6’s cafeteria being the first closure. These elevators are original to the building and were built in 1993. An announcement on the MacEwan student portal says, “Their control system is obsolete, and parts are no longer available.”
While an inconvenience for people who are considered able-bodied, the multiple closures on the elevators represent an ongoing issue of accessibility.
Even before the official announcement of the renovations, Dawn Coty (a MacEwan Student and wheelchair user) faced issues with elevator closures in the past.
“I have two classes back to back […] They’re not in different buildings, but they’re in different parts and different floors. So, even before the elevators were scheduled to be re-done, they’re constantly shut down,” says Coty. “And if one is shut down, then I can’t get to my other class, and then I lose out on accessibility.”
Hallway traffic can make anybody late for class, but then there’s the added challenge of finding a working elevator: “Unfortunately, I’ve actually been thinking that I might have to [leave] early — about three minutes early — but then I disturb the rest of the class while they’re still doing whatever because when I back up, it beeps. And then I have to move everybody to get out of the class.”
In my eight years here, I’ve dealt with some extreme issues of inaccessibility, but not having elevators is probably one of the worst.
Dawn Coty, MacEwan student and wheelchair user
The closed elevators will have a map posted next to them showing the locations of other operational elevators. Coty acknowledges that this is helpful, but we must remember the frustration of traversing the hallways between classes just to find out the elevators are down.
“I’m glad they’re fixing it [the elevators],” Coty says, but she wishes it was at a time when there were fewer students around.
John Archer, Media Relations Adviser for MacEwan, shared that the elevators are being renovated to “avoid longer unscheduled out-of-service periods” and that this project “will replace the control system while simultaneously upgrading the elevators to meet current code requirements.” Additionally, Archer says the message shared with staff says the “schedule was arrived at after exhaustive consultation with all Faculties/Departments including Access and Disability Resources.”
Archer also warns that one elevator in building 5 will lose complete access to the 3rd floor, but “It is taking place in July 2025, and the third floor will not have any scheduled classes during that time.”
Outside of elevators, Dawn Coty has encountered several issues of physical inaccessibility while at MacEwan. Sometimes, it’s issues of tight spaces, like not having enough room to turn around or door frames not being wide enough. They have broken the handle off their powered wheelchair in the past.
There can’t ever be an “end goal” to accommodation. It has to be like an ongoing thing.
Dawn Coty
Coty explains: “In my eight years here, I’ve dealt with some extreme issues of inaccessibility, but not having elevators is probably one of the worst.”
While there have been accommodations made for Coty, it’s often hard for people with disabilities to thrive in academic environments, whether from stigmas around disabilities of all kinds or from the normalization of overworking yourself.
“I think academia, in general, is really ableist. I think for us, for disabled people in general, there’s a reason why a lot of us […] take a couple of years and then fail out because it’s very hard for us.” says Coty, “There can’t ever be an “end goal” to accommodation. It has to be like an ongoing thing.”
“It should be this thing that you’re constantly adapting to because there’s always going to be new things coming.”
Photo by Ahanavi Habib-Mohammed
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