Such a device would include universal design for accessibility, higher-quality graphics, and improved navigation and note-taking.”

Did you catch that one as well? That’s right, Syracuse University believes that in order to replace their regular hardback books with electronic books, they must first be more accessible to the blind… by featuring “higher-quality graphics!”

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, praised the universities’ decisions since the Kindle “cannot be used by blind students and therefore denies the blind equal access to electronic textbooks.”

So what happens when the Kindle does have a full audio navigation system that allows blind students to easily select books and have the books read to them through the Kindle’s text-to-speech feature; will these universities then begin using the Kindles? I think not. After all, the disabled students who are paralyzed and cannot use their hands also deserve equal access to ebook readers, do they not? Yes, so Amazon also needs to include a microphone jack so quadriplegics can navigate Kindle’s interface using their voice; or perhaps it will include a camera to follow the student’s eye movements.

As you can see, there will never be a truly “universal” device that can be accessed by everyone, and why should there be? After all, the universities aren’t requiring that all of their textbooks include braille alongside the written text, are they? Of course not; that would be an absurd waste of money. So why is it that while many schools and universities are under pressure to tighten their budgets, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University are ignoring a way to reduce their textbooks costs across the board? Here’s a shocking plan: purchase the Kindles for your students with vision, and continue to purchase the braille books for your blind students, just like you always have been. Or would it be wrong for some people to use cool technology if everyone can’t use it?

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the image featured here is from a protest staged by the National Federation of the Blind against the Author’s Guild. The text-to-speech feature of the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX has been criticised by the Author’s Guild because they say the feature cuts into the profits of audiobook sales. What is so odd about this protest, is that according to the National Fderation of the Blind’s own President Marc Maurer, the Kindle is not supposed to be accessible to blind people, remember? That’s why he was in favor of two universities’ decisions not to use Kindles for textbooks.

Also, it should be noted that while many of those protesters were blind, none of the signs they were holding were accessible to the blind. There is no word yet if the NFB is planning a protest of their own protest.

Last week State Senator Majority Leader Dean Florez convinced the Board of Central Valley Regional Center to take back $500,000 in one-time salary adjustments given to employees and instead turn the money over to Senator Florez and the State general fund. While it has only been a week since these events first transpired, Senator Florez has not yet made any statements about his progress in actually getting the money back, nor on his promise to try and get the secured funds earmarked for services to the disabled community. Meanwhile, a more concerning issue has surfaced regarding four millions dollars that was given to employees of Clovis Unified School District for the same reason CVRC employees were given their salary adjustments.

On May 25, Marc Benjamin of the Fresno Bee reported that nearly $4,000,000 was given to employees of Clovis Unified School District, almost 8 times as much money as CVRC’s $500,000. The reason for the bonuses, according to the Fresno Bee, was “frugality.” CUSD was able to cut their self-funded insurance costs and therefore issued a one-time, 2% reward. Essentially, CUSD was able to use their money responsibly, had money left over, and decided to give the extra money to employees rather than return the funds to the State, just like Central Valley Regional Center did.

Strangely, two months later, Senator Florez has yet to make any public statement regarding this discrepancy, but he needs to decide soon. Either all leftover money originating from tax paid services should be sent back to the general fund, and Senator Florez needs to demand four million dollars from Clovis Unified, or private organizations and school districts that are responsible with their money should be allowed to use the excess funds the way they see fit, and Senator Florez owes the Board of CVRC and director Robert Riddick an apology. If Senator Florez hopes to win the Lieutenant Governor position next year, he will need to be consistent in his positions, and now is a good time to straighten out his views on excess funds in private and State organizations.

As a thank you for interviewing me the other day, I offered this information to Barbara Anderson of the Fresno Bee on July 11th, but I have yet to receive a response from her or find any follow up stories in the Bee.

(Matthew Varpness is a local educator and committed volunteer in this community.)

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After you listen to day one, listen to this letter from the day after.

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