[NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation

[Ronza Othman]

I can appreciate this response, but I firmly disagree with much of it. I am a civil rights lawyer, and in my line of work, we are often grappling with outdated expectations about line of site supervision which implicate camera use. Prior to 2020, nobody looked at anybody visually when they participated remotely, and yes, there were remote And computer based classes that existed even before 2020, just as there were millions of meetings a day. We used these things called telephones. In addition, the notion that somebody has to be on camera to reflect whether or not they are engaged precisely does what we as an organization stand against, it centers the use of site. More, those with intersectional disabilities, including ADHD or others, are further shut out if we let this myth about visual line of site engagement and supervision persist. Finally, requiring camera use in my opinion is discriminatory for those who are sitting in their homes who practice certain religious Beliefs, particularly those who are Muslim, Jewish, and seek who have to wear religious head coverings in front of others whereas those of other faiths do not. Adding a burden on them because the religion they practice requires those out in public to do so is the exact opposite of equity. So I personally urge everyone to decline to turn on their camera, whether they are blind or not, whether they have ADHD or not, whether they practice a religion requiring a head covering or not, in order to practice good Ally ship.
Ronza Othman, President
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
443-426-4110
Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 11, 2024, at 12:56 AM, Noah Carver via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Kelsey,
> 
> Thanks for writing to the list.
> 
> Because of the myriads of excellent technologies now at our disposal, we can independently determine how we look on camera, what is in frame, etc. ON PC, I personally love JAWS' "Face in View" function for this purpose. Additionally, iOS devices now report whether your face is in the frame as well as where in the frame it is if you open the camera app while using VoiceOver. Also, I'm sure Be My AI, AIRA's Access AI, or another such Large Language Model AI can provide great results and input as you refine your camera placement. Other techniques for getting good framing also exist, and I am sure that many savvy students can provide better input than I can. Armed with these alternative techniques, you should be able to independently set up a camera view which is perfectly reasonable.
> 
> Given this, my belief is that if a professor expects students to be using their cameras, all students, including Blind students, should be doing so. I know from experience that I, a Blind person, have the same reasons for wanting to turn off my camera as the sighted students around me. Perhaps I'm in a messy room or a busy café. Perhaps I'm having a bad hair day. Perhaps I can't get my camera aimed perfectly. However, if the professor's expectation is that cameras should be on, a sighted person is not likely to be successful in using these reasons to justify a request to turn their camera off. I should therefore not expect different treatment simply by virtue of my Blindness. Further, I feel it is inappropriate to use an accommodation to exempt oneself from camera requirements. Accommodations are meant to ensure equity with our nondisabled peers, not to provide an advantage. In this case, I argue that requesting an exemption from camera requirements does just that.
> 
> I hope this helps. Best of luck in your college search.
> 
> Warmly,
> 
> Noah
> 
> --
> Noah Carver (He/Him)
> Candidate, B.M. '27, Applied Music (Performance) -- Voice
> Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
> Board Member, National Association of Blind Students
> Chair, Content Creation Committee, National Association of Blind Students
> Chair, Students Committee, National Federation of the Blind of New York
> +1 (207) 557-9143
> noah.t.carver at outlook.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kelsey Nicolay via NABS-L
> Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 17:21
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kelsey Nicolay <piano.girl0299 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation
> 
> Hello,
> One of the colleges I am looking at offers courses in real time online format as professors want student$ to be eng at g during discussion. When I attended  their inform at tion session, one of the things they told us is that having your camera on during class is a requirement from most professors. Being totally blind, accurately positioning the camer@ for good video quality is difficult, so I was curious whether asking for an ex€mption from the camer@ on requirement would be a reasonable accommodation if I can demonstrate in other ways that I am actively participating.
> Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> NABS-L mailing list
> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NABS-L:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/noah.t.carver%40outlook.com
> _______________________________________________
> NABS-L mailing list
> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NABS-L:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/rothmanjd%40gmail.com