Many of MUN's 'tragic' desks aren't usable, says student group, and they won't sit for it any longer

A group of Memorial University students say many classroom desks at theSt. John's campus are unusableand pose problems for students with mobility issues.

Ben Leblanc, an education student at Memorial University and an organizer of MUN Size Matters a group of education studentsdrawing attention toinaccessible seating oncampus says many desks on campus just aren't suitable for students.

"We came together and decided that the seating wasn't appropriate for adults, it wasn't appropriate for adult learning, it wasn't equitable," he said.

"Whether you're five foot one or six foot nine, you can't sit in these chairs."

Leblanc said the chairs in many of the classrooms are from the 1960s. Some of the desks and chairs are attached fixed pieces of furniture that don't move and can't be adjusted. He said it can be hard to fit in the desks and they're not designed to have laptops and notebooks.

"You cannot sit in these chairs for an hour and a half and expect to have good learning outcomes," he said.

"So it's a pretty awful experience. It feels like you're closed in and for somebody writing an exam, it's just an add-on to the anxiety that they're already having."

The desks could also be difficult for students with mobility or accessibility issues to use, he said.

"They might not be able to literally fit in the seats," he said. And though there are desks designated for people who need accessible space, they are singled out, he said.

"Those desks are at the front of the class, they don't move. So it's really beyond the desks, it's really a matter of equity and inclusivity."

'Adult' furniture needed

Rich Hitchens, a student in the education faculty's teacher training program, says the campus has "a real infrastructure deficit."

"We are adults," he said. "There should be appropriate, adult, inclusive, and accessible furniture. These desks are something more suitable for my teenage daughter than they are for adults adults of various, diverse body types."

The university should be able to see that the desks aren't suitable, said Hitchens. He said another student recently made a complaint about seating to the university's vice-provost of equity, diversity and inclusion, which resulted in two classes being relocated. But since then, he said, nothing else has been done no plan to deal with the broader problem.

When the university moved classrooms after a complaint, he said,that took care of the issue only for the complainant.

"The problem persists not only in the building where the faculty of education is located but actually across the university," he said.

"So MUN has to get really serious because students can't optimize their learning," he said. "If they want us to actually learn, they have to provide us with the very basic thing which is somewhere proper to sit."

WATCH | These MUN students have nothing good to say about these decades-old desks:

Awful. Outdated. Inaccessible. Some MUN students are taking on the desks

11 months ago

Duration 1:54

MUN Size Matters is a student group whose mission is to draw attention to problems with the desks in many classrooms on the St. Johns campus. Organizer Ben Leblanc says it isnt just taller or bigger people who have problems fitting in the seat, but people getting around with mobility aids, or those even trying to use laptops or notebooks on the small desk surfaces.

Hitchens has struggled with seating himself, he said,but only at Memorial. He hasn'thad any problems in any other post-secondary institution he's been in.

"As someone who is older than most students in this program, certainly who is rounder than most students in this program,I definitely have a problem sitting in these desks. But there are also students who are much smaller than me in terms of size that clearly also look uncomfortable."

These desks would be funny if they weren't so tragic. They're beyond ridicule.- Rich Hitchens

Hitchens said one student told him that he has not attended any tutorials all year and even dropped a class last semester because of the furniture.

"These desks would be funny if they weren't so tragic," he said. "They're beyond ridicule."

Changes are made when 'funding allows': MUN

CBC News requested an interview with Delores Mullings,vice-provost of equity, diversity, and inclusion, but was told she wasn't.

In a statement, MUN spokespersonChad Pelley, said the universityoffers alternative classroom seating, but only five students currently avail of the service. Students mightnot be aware they can access the accommodation through the registrar's office or accessibility services at the Blundon Centre, said Pelley.

"The university renovates and remodels its classrooms as funding allows. Where possible, these classroom remodels can include seating options to pre-emptively accommodate all body types"andall learners should feel comfortable, says the statement.

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