To Sit or Not to Sit

Campus facilities have taken much criticism in recent weeks. Unfortunately, I must add desks to the growing list of complaints- especially those tiny rigid desks filling many of the classrooms in many of the buildings all over campus. My gripe, frankly, is that some students, like me, just don’t fit! This only becomes an issue when, as in the case of many auditoriums, lecture halls and classrooms in older buildings, there are no alternate seating options. The result is that a larger student may have to painfully squeeze into an ill-fitting desk, hunt down a chair from another classroom and be yelled at by custodians, or sit on the floor or stand. When classes can last two and a half hours or more, these options become less than feasible, especially for students who may have health or mobility issues. So the question is, whose problem is it?

The easy way out is to blame overweight students for their condition, and insist they try diet and exercise-why should the university be responsible for finding larger seats because some students choose to maintain an unhealthy lifestyle? Well, this is a dangerous road full of assumptions. If losing weight and maintaining a trim body was so simple, people would have won the battle of the bulge decades ago. Instead, obesity in this country is growing at an alarming rate. According to the US Center for Disease Control in 2003/2004, obesity among adults aged 20–74 doubled from 15% to over 30% in the last thirty years. Despite mountains of research, doctors and experts in the field of obesity have not been able to pinpoint why so many people cannot permanently control weight by simply expending more energy than they consume.

It is now known that insufficient exercise and dietary behaviors are not the only causes of obesity. The non-profit organization called Obesity in America.org recognizes genetic, hormonal, environmental, and cultural factors attributing to loss of weight control as well. Genetic history, body type, slow metabolism, thyroid disorder, and medication side affects are just some of the mechanisms at work that can throw the balance of calories consumed and calories burned out of whack. So if we can admit that people’s loss of weight control is not entirely their fault, why don’t we give them the benefit of the doubt? And how can we possibly know where a person is on his/her weight management journey by mere appearance? My uncle has been faithful to a new health regimen and has lost 110 lbs, but you would never know it since he still weighs 280 lbs.

More important than why a student is overweight is the fact that overweight students at UNM pay tuition and fees for their education just like everyone else. Each student should be entitled to sit in a classroom as part of the learning experience. Alternative seating options like a bench or one set of table/ chairs in a classroom full of desks could easily be arranged without incurring high costs. A designated place to check out folding chairs or extendable desks could be another option. The point is that students don’t mind the extra effort to obtain alternate seating in a discreet and dignified manner.

How these changes can be implemented is another problem. The natural assumption is that UNM Accessibility Services (2021 Mesa Vista Hall) would be the department primarily responsible for these kinds of accommodations. Their mission statement claims: “Our commitment to quality and dedication to providing the best possible accommodations to our students is the hallmark of our department.” When I approached the office last year, however, they told me that alternative seating was not under their jurisdiction, nor could they direct me to any department that could help. When I complained to my instructors about insufficient seating, they told me their superiors had no answers. While obesity itself is not considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with obesity-related disabilities are protected by ADA. Therefore, Accessibility Services should champion this cause -the right to sit -for UNM students of all shapes and sizes. If you want to take a stand against weight-bias on campus, contact Accessibility Services and let them know that access to adequate seating should be ensured for all students.