Projects

Accessibility

In Cambridge, disabled students are still massively disadvantaged by systematic inequality in the university which means they cannot achieve their full potential. Disabled students are amongst some of the most passionate activists fighting for change in our university, but they cannot do this when they are continually excluded from activism by disablism and ignorance. It is vital that disability is central to all activism. If our activism isn’t accommodating to disabled people, how can we expect our universities; our politicians; our society as a whole to take our demands seriously when we ourselves exclude a whole portion of society?

Accessibility pledge

The Cambridge SU Disabled Students’ Campaign Accessibility Pledge is a pledge for any and all groups in Cambridge, such as J/MCRs, University and College clubs & societies, campaigns and activist groups, social and discussion groups, etc., to sign and adhere to.

Sign the pledge

Submit via our form and email us at disabled@cambridgesu.co.uk to let us know you’ve filled out the form

List of Pledged Groups

Plain text

Accessibility Statement Generator

The DSC access statement generator is a simple way to create access statements for your in-person events. You can then copy-paste the statement into your event description, for example on Facebook, on Eventbrite or in an email.

Link to accessibility statement generator →

This is an accessibility statement generator designed to provide clear and concise access information for events held within the University or elsewhere. Just fill in the information you have, hit generate and then copy the text produced (which you can edit in place) to wherever you need it. Having clear information is very important for an event to be as accessible as possible - if you don't know you can get into an event then you may just not bother trying, no event is truely accessible without the information to say that it is!

Access-a-Ball

Cambridge SU Disabled Students’ Campaign and May Ball Presidents’ Committee have developed a programme that enables balls and large-scale events to be designed as accessibly as possible, so they can reach even more people and make all their guests feel welcome.

Text of the Pledge

“As President of my College’s May Week, or similar, Event (‘Event’), I pledge to integrate improving accessibility into all parts of the planning experience such that as many people are able to enjoy the event as possible. 

I pledge to provide for the access needs that we can anticipate, as guided by the Access-a-ball workbook. When an unanticipated access need or a specific request is raised, we will do everything we can to accommodate and make that person feel welcome, getting advice from DSC if unsure how to proceed. 

We will allocate a role on the committee that is fully or partially dedicated to the Accessibility of the Event, and the individual fulfilling this role will attend an ‘Introduction to Event Accessibility’ meeting held by ‘Access-a-Ball’. ”

Signing up for the scheme involves

• The president signing up to the Access-a-Ball pledge.
• Having a designated contact on the committee for accessibility & disability matters.
• The contact attending specially designed DSC training and bringing any queries to us (we’re happy to help!)
• Committee going through the Workbook, which has specific guidelines for different areas of event planning and which committee member this concerns.
• Publishing a preliminary access statement before ticket sales open.
• Publishing a full access statement before the end of ticket sales.
• Attending a meeting to check progress part way through the year.
• Submitting evidence after the event to show which guidelines were met.
• The events will be marked and awarded afterwards (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum).

Signing up to this scheme is a great opportunity to show that accessibility is being taken seriously in all aspects of event design, as well as providing great publicity in general. If you think your college ball or June Event should sign up, let them know!

Events that have signed up for 2024