Memorial Univ prof refuses to wear device for hearing disabled student, cites religious reasons

Hard to believe. And should her religion (unspecified) or religious beliefs not allow her to wear a transmitter, this has to be balanced against the right of the student to hear her lectures, which in my mind should prevail:

In 1996, CBC News reported that MUN sided with a student who filed a similar complaint against Panjabi for refusing to wear one based on religious reasons.

Panjabi was also reprimanded in 1985 for a similar complaint.

While in each of those cases Memorial University sided with the students, so far the Sears family has been given no clear solution.

Sears’s father, Bill Sears, told CBC Radio he is not satisfied with what he has heard from both MUN and the university’s centre for disabilities.

“All we know is that it’s going through the channels in there, but we have had no feedback,” he said.

“The Blundon Centre said they would work with the professor if William really wanted to stay in class, to come up with compromise — but to me, the compromise is that she wears the FM system. I don’t get the idea of her refusing.”

Bill Sears said he has been in touch with the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission, which are both looking into the matter.

He said knowing what his son has had to go through in his life with regards to his hearing problems, only to face this now in what is supposed to be a place of higher learning, is deeply disturbing.

“To see him denied education is an absolute travesty. At university, to run into this situation — it blows my mind,” he said.

“I’d love to see where it is written that you can’t wear a microphone because of religion.”