Following its cancellation for the fall semester, Carleton has announced its plans to reopen the Attendant Services Program (ASP) in January.
In an email sent to ASP clients, executive director Matthew Cole said students will be required to apply for service through an online portal to be opened next week. Cole also said more information will be sent out in the coming days.
The announcement comes one month after students walked out of their classes in September to protest the cancellation. Without the program, some Carleton students with disabilities could not return to campus and live in residence.
Kimberley Chiasson is a fourth-year journalism student, ASP client and one of the creators of @CUCare.Act, an Instagram account that provides information on why the cancellation matters. She said that while circumstances are different for everyone, she thinks the reopening will mean most clients will try to make the trip back to Ottawa.
Chiasson said ASP clients will be watching the terms of the new contract to see if it includes COVID-19 guidelines that may alter the program’s services.
“We just want to make sure that [Carleton] really used the time they’ve had off to reevaluate the standards and make it the best it can be,” she said.
Jay Baldwin, another ASP client in their third year of women and gender studies at Carleton, said they’re “cautiously optimistic” about the announcement.
“Honestly, I’ve been burned so many times by the society we live in. People can say all they want, but [change comes from] actions,” Baldwin said.
Chiasson said she wants ASP clients to be directly informed on the changes being made as more information is released.
“We are going to uphold the little groups that we established and make sure that Carleton is really held to a standard where disabled students are included in the conversation instead of just being told what to do through different policy changes,” Chiasson said.
The Charlatan will provide updates as this story develops.
Kimberley Chiasson has previously contributed to the Charlatan.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
