Little Big Prannet.

Regular readers may have seen the post from a few weeks back regarding the removal of the seating used primarily by disabled students and their support staff at City of Glasgow College and how it'd been replaced by a large,self-congratulatory poster.

Looking into the issue I became aware that the college principal (and Chief Executive Officer) Paul Little was behind the decision so decided to email him about it.

Alas I received  no reply.

As luck would have it I bumped into him in college today and actually got a chance to discuss it with him.

Well if being shouted at like an errant child for a mere nobody like me daring to question his decision whilst he shook his fist and turned an ever brighter shade of red is a discussion i mean. 

 

Anger is an energy.

So what I came away with (apart from a deep feeling of concern that someone in a position of authority and care in a place that has a high volume of disabled young adults could be so aggressive to a complete stranger) was that:

1. The change was his decision and not to be questioned.

2. The two tiny chairs in the corner are adequate.

3. Disabled students can sit on the floor by the wall instead.

 Which was nice.

Yes the last one is a wee bit odd but that's what I took from the reply to mentioning that there was no space for wheelchair users to sit with their friends, he angrily pointed at the wall and shouted "They can go there!"  

At this point I did say that I felt what I hoped would be a meaningful discussion was going nowhere to which he replied "Well it was you who came over to waste my precious time!" before stomping off in that way that only self-obsessed bullies that have never heard the word 'no'  can.

Joking aside I was pretty taken aback by the sheer anger and lack of professionalism on show. 

And if that's how he talks to a concerned parent of students attending the college how the hell does he talk to the staff?

Or are they there to be seen, obey and not heard.

I actually know the answer to this but I'm not telling.

Maybe I'm being a wee bit too harsh tho' as a staff member who witnessed the whole sorry event explained that he was maybe a little stressed seeing as members of the Scottish Government were attending an event at the college tonight to discuss higher education and the like.

This is quite interesting as I myself have been invited to an event at the Scottish Parliament in a few weeks to discuss disability provision and inclusion so I'll be sure to mention my interaction with Mr Little there.

I'm sure he wont mind/care. 

There was one good thing to come out of the meeting tho' as the multi-faceted Mr Little, in a rare moment of levity, confessed that "I know more about inclusion and disability than anyone!"

So with that in mind I feel it's only fair that we harness his skills and knowledge, so henceforth any issues, problems you have pertaining to disability and inclusion, whether it be school, college, benefits, social work or just finding out which venues are disability friendly should be forwarded to his email address.

I mean we can't have all that expertise go to waste can we?