It’s nice that Berkeley has an access services page that I can use to request accommodations. But it’s not perfect, and there are several things that really should be fundamental components of any service request system. Here are some of my “fundamental components,” which are not currently part of Berkeley’s recently-overhauled system:

  • Any time I submit a request form, I need to get a “receipt” email that confirms I sent the request, along with the details. This gives me proof of submission and protects me in case Berkeley’s DSP loses it somehow. It also lets me double check that I filled in the boxes with correct information – it’s easy to mess up on these things.

  • Any time the requests are satisfied, I need to get an email telling me that information. In my case, this means a sign language interpreter (or two) got assigned to wherever I am going, and I should know their names and contact information. Last year, for instance, I made a request for interpreting services for the Berkeley EECS town hall, but I ended up getting captioning instead, and I didn’t know until the last minute (well, five minutes). The town hall ended up being a disaster, though to be fair, it would have been difficult for an interpreter to be effective there given the noisy atmosphere.

  • In the request form, there needs to be a generic “describe any miscellaneous information” box that I can type in to describe such information. For instance, some events may last for hours, but are low-key and don’t involve much discussion. If DSP were to just look at a request for a two-hour event, they would automatically hire two interpreters, but sometimes I might have to make it clear that only one is needed (thus saving money and man/woman-power). I’ve had to resort to describing this information to the person managing the requests by email, and that’s cumbersome.

I might be stretching here, but it would also be nice if my requests could get processed over the weekends. Like many graduate students, who are young and consumed with work, I don’t make much of a distinction between weekdays and weekends. But DSP will not operate over the weekends since they are staffed by “real world workers.” (Just to be clear, that’s a jab at graduate students, not real world workers.) Consequently, I have to be careful to submit requests before Friday evening; otherwise, DSP doesn’t get to look at them until Monday morning. I’ve been burned on this at least once. The lesson? Plan way ahead. I don’t have the luxury of going to an event on short notice.

My weekend idea is probably a bit too much to ask. I would be satisfied if DSP could implement my three other suggestions.

I would have thought that these things I mention are obvious, but I guess DSP didn’t have anyone complain, or they’re having technical difficulties. At the very least, this situation serves as yet another reminder to me that I need to educate intelligent people who have never considered the various issues that arise for deaf people.