E-readers can satisfy needs of all students

In our culture, “tolerance” is a buzzword. Society has developed a hypersensitivity toward anything that could potentially be construed as discriminatory. The reasoning behind such a mind-set is sound; the American melting pot requires careful stirring to avoid boiling over. But implementing this anti-discrimination crusade is sometimes messy, and all too often misapplied.

The latest public display of this neuroticism is particularly relevant to students.

Every semester, we spend our first week recovering from the sticker shock of the textbooks we purchase for our classes. In an effort to curb costs, many universities have considered using electronic versions of textbooks that can be read either from a laptop or an e-reader. This upgrade has many benefits, not least of which is a price that won’t break the bank. Electronic books save hundreds of pages of paper and ink, do not require shipping,  and are portable — and thus more convenient.

Some, however, are not as eager to embrace e-books. In a recent letter to Case Western Reserve University, Pace University, Princeton University and Reed College, the U.S. Department of Justice said that the schools must “take steps to ensure that [they refrain] from requiring the use of any electronic book reader, or other similar technology, in a teaching or classroom environment as long as the device remains inaccessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.”

The needs of blind people are important and universities must provide equivalent solutions, products and services to meet those needs, and if a university sees fit to provide e-readers to its students, it should accommodate the disabled by providing an equivalent product or service.

No government action should mandate that the unique needs of blind persons be met by the same devices that are optimized for use by those with normal vision, however. Printed textbooks do not have universal access features; nevertheless, they are a classroom staple. Blind and visually impaired students are provided with readers or other means of comprehending the textbook material, and these means can surely continue to be used, even with the introduction of e-readers.

Yet Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, maintains that “it is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students.” But most companies in the e-reader business have released or are in the process of releasing blind-compatible devices — the iPad among the first to do so.

A distinction must then be made between devices. Given that the iPad was already blind-accessible at the time of Perez’s letter, it could have been offered as a ready alternative.

On Aug. 5, the National Federation of the Blind released a statement commending Amazon on its recent announcement that the Kindle 3 will come equipped with a voice guide that reads all menu options aloud so blind and visually impaired people can navigate the device menus.

Recent technological advances will surely enhance the educational experiences for all students — but only if we take advantage of them.

Reid Roman is a sophomore majoring in industrial and systems engineering and communication.