| Professor refuses to wear transmitter for hearing impaired student A Memorial University student with a hearing impairment will pursue a human rights complaint after one of his professors refused to wear a sound-transmitting device during her lectures. William Sears, 20, said he approached his history professor Ranee Panjabi on the first day of class to give her the device that would allow him to hear her voice. According to the St. John's, N.L., student, Panjabi told him she wouldn't use it because of her religious beliefs. Sears was in class Friday and unavailable for comment but his father, Bill Sears, said the incident left his son feeling humiliated. He said they have since outlined their case for the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission and they are waiting for the next step in the process. They have also formally complained to the university. "This has happened to … other hard-of-hearing students besides my son. It's got to stop," Bill Sears told The Canadian Press. According to Panjabi, however, this controversy could have been avoided. In an interview with NTV, Panjabi said her classes, for the most part, are not lecture-based and involve a lot of class discussion and videos. "Had I alone had worn the (device) in a discussion course, the student would have been at a great disadvantage," she said. Panjabi also pointed to a "legally-binding" agreement made with the university in 1996, which states she doesn't have to wear a transmitter for students who are hard of hearing. Instead, she would be provided with an adjustable stand to hold the device and Panjabi could lecture near it. Panjabi said this option would have allowed Sears to hear her voice along with the other students and multimedia presentations. The school's deputy provost of students, Cecilia Reynolds, also told The Canadian Press that an agreement made approximately 20 years ago after a similar case was brought to their attention meant that Panjabi does not have to wear the device. Panjabi's refusal to wear a transmitter doesn't appear to stem from any religious traditions. In a 1996 letter provided by former student Nancy McDonald to local radio station VOCM, Panjabi is quoted telling the dean of arts her religious reasons were part of her "personal spirituality and commitments." The letter was sent to McDonald from the university's vice-president academic at the time. Memorial University said in a written statement Friday it has policies that support inclusive education. In this case, the answer was to have Sears take a different history course. "In the rare circumstance such as this, where a student’s request for an accommodation engages a competing legal right, the university must determine the validity of the legal rights and seek a balance that fully respects the important of both sets of rights," the statement said. | 
發表於 2015-9-20 21:51
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