{"id":482815,"date":"2022-02-06T10:03:44","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T18:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/?p=482815"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:19:10","slug":"hybrid-access-now-statement-by-ucla-student-coalitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/2022\/02\/06\/hybrid-access-now-statement-by-ucla-student-coalitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid Access Now: Statement by UCLA Student Coalitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\u201cHybrid
\u201cHybrid Access Now!\u201d in all-caps, black lettering. Below, there is the DSU logo (consists of a circular design with multiple disability markers, with \u201cUCLA Disabled Student Union\u201d surrounding the circle), the Undergraduate Students Association Council logo (consists of a seal that depicts Royce Hall, a sunset, and the California state surrounded by a banner that reads \u201cSeal of the associated students, University of California, Los Angeles\u201d. Above the seal is a book with the lettering \u201cLet There Be Light), and the Mother Organizations logo (consists of an illustration of a top view of 6 individuals all putting their hands together in a circle with the lettering \u201cMother Org Coalition\u201d surrounding it).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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February 17, 2022 update: press release by Disabled Student\u00a0Union and UCLA Student Body President Breeze Velasquez.<\/a><\/p>\n

We, the Disabled Student Union, the Mother Organizations Coalition, and Undergraduate Students Association Council at UCLA, urge UCLA to immediately and permanently implement remote learning options that allow students to access their education both in person and remotely.<\/b><\/p>\n

Black students and other students of color have been silenced by administration for decades, and have had their demands for equitable education ignored. Since August, the <\/span>Disabled Student Union<\/span><\/a> has openly advocated for remote learning options to be made available to any student who may need it. Even after remote learning last year, UCLA administration continued to tell student advocates that these options would be too difficult and expensive to implement. Even if this were true \u2014 and the temporary <\/span>current plans for remote access<\/span><\/a> indicate otherwise \u2014 such factors do not excuse an inaccessible education that violates our civil rights. <\/span>Time and financial constraints disappear only when our non-disabled peers are impacted. <\/b>As of this publication, our <\/span>petition<\/span><\/a> has garnered nearly 30,000 signatures \u2013 three-quarters of the student body \u2013 in support of access to remote education. We have received hundreds of testimonies and comments of support from the Bruin community. Despite this staggering display of support, UCLA refuses to implement remote learning options, thereby continuing to harm and ignore the University community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are not asking for remote-only instruction. <\/b>It is important to note that some students, especially those in performance-based academic programs, benefit from in-person learning. Thus, <\/span>hybrid learning is the only way to truly meet the needs of as many students, staff, and faculty as possible.<\/b> We are advocating for giving students and employees the <\/span>agency<\/b> and <\/span>choice<\/b> in their education (which students pay for) to attend classes remotely if they deem it unsafe to attend in person. <\/span>Forcing in-person instruction also vastly increases the likelihood of a campus services worker coming into contact with an infected person. Whether due to personal circumstances or in order to maintain the health and safety of their loved ones, UCLA students and workers deserve to have a choice in the fate of their health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hybrid learning would allow high-risk people to learn or teach without endangering themselves and others. The administration may argue that the accommodations system addresses this need. In reality, many students and faculty cannot access accommodations due to medical discrimination, prohibitive costs, or administrative burden. Additionally, students and workers are often undiagnosed or have conditions that are not recognized as high-risk by the CDC. Others are caretakers of high-risk family, but UCLA explicitly disallows accommodations for caretakers; this prevents parenting students and instructors from making the best decisions for their health. Commuter students without access to a car can learn from home if they feel unsafe taking public transit. No one should have to choose between their safety and their education or career. Remote access is the only way to ensure we can learn and work in safe conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Public health experts and disability rights advocates have repeatedly warned that<\/span> the pandemic has worsened in part due to a premature \u201creturn to normal.\u201d<\/b> Studies<\/span><\/a> show that non-pharmacological measures \u2014 like remote learning options \u2014 are most effective at containment. Vaccines are useful for <\/span>reducing<\/span><\/i> spread and keeping people out of hospitals and morgues; they <\/span>are not<\/b> to be used as a main intervention, especially in congregate settings like universities. This is especially true in light of decreased effectiveness of vaccine and antibody treatment against the omicron variant, the wide variation in vaccination dates among Bruins, and a lack of plans for vaccinated people who test positive. <\/span>Good public health decisions are made to be proactive, not retroactive.<\/span><\/p>\n

How many people will UCLA maim or kill to maintain a false sense of normalcy?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mother Organizations Coalition signed onto this campaign and co-organized this event both in solidarity and shared struggle. <\/span>Black students with disabilities, and other students of color with disabilities, doubly face barriers in securing accommodations due to medical bias and prohibitive costs. This creates an inherent racial disparity in access to education and staying healthy: Medical racism means that students, workers, and instructors of color are much <\/b>likelier than their white peers<\/b><\/a> to die or face serious complications from Covid-19. Denying remote access has a significant cost; we want remote options. <\/b>If we are not able to attend a class in-person as an immunocompromised person, if we test positive, or we are taking care of at-risk family members, we don\u2019t want to \u2013 nor should we have to \u2013 drop a class, take a leave of absence, or drop out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But this news is not new; UCLA administration has consistently ignored the demands and needs of students of color over the years. Specifically, the Mother Organizations Coalition is\u00a0 advocating for widespread institutional change concerning the Community Programs Office, an office under the department of Student Affairs that houses student-initiated educational programs for marginalized students. Over the years, the Mother Organizations Coalition has raised concerns including the deliberate mismanagement of over $2 million in student fees as well as the creation of a hostile and toxic work environment through <\/span>gaslighting, emotional and mental manipulation, and obstruction of transparency of university policy and budgets. <\/span>Together, the Disabled Student Union and the Mother Organizations Coalition are demonstrating in solidarity to call attention to UCLA\u2019s blatant disregard for marginalized students on multiple fronts.<\/b><\/p>\n

In order to prevent future outbreaks, protect marginalized students and workers, and provide a more sustainable model for our education, <\/span>UCLA must immediately and permanently implement remote access options.<\/b><\/p>\n

We ask UCLA: what is the point of being #1 if you won\u2019t keep us safe?<\/b><\/p>\n

How you can support us from outside UCLA<\/b><\/h4>\n

Make a stink on social media and via email \u2013 let these institutions know that the public sees their negligence, and that they will be held accountable. Tweet, email, comment, use telepathy to let UCLA and other University administrators know that we are not alone.<\/span><\/p>\n