INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / June 11, 1991 Accessibility Good, But Not Perfect he new Adaptive Equipment Research Lab is a definite asset but more work is needed to help students with disabilities at Douglas College deal with emergency situations. Those observations came from Student Society Vice-President (External) Richard Marion, himself a visually impaired student, as Canada observed National Access Awareness Week from May 26 to June 1. The College participated in the event with information booths operated by several support groups for the disabled, including the Western Institute for the Hard of Hearing, the Canadian Paraplegic Association, and the B.C. Educational Association of Disabled Students. “In general, access for disabled students here is good, but not per- fect,” said Marion, 22, a Computer Information Systems student. “Right now, considering when the campus was built, we are con- sidered as the most accessible college, but it won’t remain so over time.” Marion has pushed for ade- quate ramps, parking, and support services at Douglas College’s soon- to-be-built Coquitlam campus, but what about the New Westminster campus? Better guidelines to aid students with disabilities during emergencies are needed, Marion says. “T've seen it during fire drills, with wheelchair students taking the elevators,” said Marion. “On the third floor there is no acces- sible outside exit and people don’t know how to get out. We’ve asked for a disabled refuge where the security staff could find students and help them out of the building.” Calvin Vaudreuil and Connie Green represented the B.C. Educational Association of Disabled Students at the recent Access Awareness Fair held in the concourse. "Bridging the Gap" is the B.C.E.A.D.S. motto written on the T-shirt. Marion said the Adaptive Equip- ment Research Lab, which opened earlier this year and is located in the library, will benefit all visually impaired students, especially those in Computer Science or Computer Information Programs. The lab fea- tures a Visual Tek which enlarges entire pages on a screen; three com- puters which enlarge the active line of text on a screen; and an optical scanner which converts text into a computer disc format, which may then be inserted into a speech synthesizer. Banned and Ballyhooed Images of War [meee of the Gulf War that the Pentagon did not want you to see and im- ages of the American Civil War which captivated TV viewers are now available from the video collection at the Douglas College library. NOWHERE TO HIDE. A sobering “home movie” by Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney-General under President Johnson, never aired by the networks. Clark and a small group of aides piled into his Mercedes and drove from Jordan into Iraq to video tape the effects on civilians of the Allied air offensive during the Gulf War. What Clark recorded destroys the myth of “ pinpoint bombing” presented on television newscasts which used footage cleared and supplied by the military. Clark’s images reveal civilian dead, overburdened and under-supplied hospitals, and decimated markets and neighbourhoods. Approximately 20 min. WAR IN THE GULF. Documentary reviews the politics, fighting and devastation of the Gulf War. Produced by Newsbrief International of the United Kingdom. 90 min. THE CIVIL WAR. Just to clear things up, we’re not talking Spanish or English Civil Wars; this nine-parter chronicles the 1861-65 version in America. The documentary, which landed filmmaker Ken Burns on the Tonight Show and turned soft-voiced historian Shelby Foote into some- thing of a folk hero, also lured a record 14 million viewers to watch 11 hours of Public Television when aired last fall. a.