DEI Articles

One of the core tenants of digital accessibility is that all meaningful visual information (photos, artwork, videos, etc.) should have equivalent text. Most often, this comes in the form of alt tags—a hidden field that contains information about the image being displayed on the page—or in the form of a written transcript that describes both audio and visual information from a multimedia presentation or video. Alt tags and transcripts are readable by screen readers, allowing people without sight to hear the information read aloud.

According to the CDC, more than 4 million people in the US alone have an uncorrectable vision impairment, so these tools are vital for many people, but the benefits of text equivalency extend far beyond the blind community in some surprising ways. Drivers often benefit from the power of audiobooks or hands-free voice-activated calling. Children who can’t yet read can look at the pictures while an electronic narrator reads the story in a picture book. Students who are learning a second language get a more comprehensive understanding when they see a picture of an object, can read its name, and hear the word spoken aloud.

But the biggest benefit of alternate text may be searchability. Videos and images, until relatively recently, were completely unsearchable. If you wanted to share a funny line from your favorite sitcom with a friend, you would have to fast forward and rewind the video until you found the right spot. With text equivalency, you gain the ability to search for a keyword or phrase and be instantly taken to that precise moment in the video.

Google Image Search was introduced twenty years ago in 2001 after search queries for a dress worn by Jennifer Lopez overtook the Internet. Developers soon realized that not all web searches could be answered with text content and so the value of image captions and alt tags grew. Now, through the power of artificial intelligence, computers can even begin to understand what might be in a photograph. People, trees, and other common objects are recognizable to AI after averaging millions of images and their associated text. The alternative text that we write manually now helps to inform tomorrow’s technology.

Learn more about how to write good alternative text for searchability and accessibility with the following resources:

Moz.com – Alt Text

Accessible Images in Microsoft Word

Official Kwanzaa Website

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African American culture. Kwanzaa is observed from December 26 to January 1 and culminates in gift giving and a big feast.

Kwanzaa has seven core principles, or Nguzo Saba, as follows:

Learn more about Kwanzaa – HISTORY.

One of my favorite groups is TLC.  Their song, “Waterfalls,” was released in 1995.  I remember hearing the song and listening to the lyrics.  And in 1996, I recall listening to an interview during which the performers discussed the lyrics to the song and its relevance in bringing attention to the issues of illegal drug sales, promiscuity, and HIV/AIDS.  The video was a poignant visual statement to help bring awareness to an illness initially considered the disease of those living alternative lifestyles. 

HIV/AIDS, or human immunodeficiency virus, is considered by some to be a global pandemic. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently describes HIV as a global epidemic. As of 2018, approximately 37.9 million people world-wide have been infected with HIV and approximately 770,000 individuals died from AIDS.

Today, celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, Jonathan Van Ness, Magic Johnson, Billie Porter, Javier Munoz, and Danny Pintauro, are open about being HIV positive, which has significantly increased awareness and improved education surrounding the virus. Unfortunately, we’ve also lost celebrities to this disease: Rock Hudson, Freddie Mercury, and Eazy-E, to name a few.

“I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading. I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS.”

Eazy-E

To learn more about HIV prevention and general education:  Prevention | HIV Basics | HIV/AIDS | CDC

PTC’s student ambassador program has been refreshed. Under the guidance of Marsha N. Lindsay, Crystal Wamalwa, Sloan Spinks, and Mercedes Major, PTC Ambassadors will serve in a variety of capacities including assisting with open houses, orientations, and private campus tours, as well as serving as greeters for special events, and more. They are trained leaders who represent the unique student experience at PTC.  Additionally, they serve as student liaisons representing the PTC student body when speaking with our professional staff. We expect to empower them more in the future. 

Current PTC Ambassadors:

Robert Booker, Electronics Engineering Technology
Ryenn Brady, Welding Technology
Kacie Brooks, Business Administration
Katheryn Coates, Culinary Arts
Tia Egli, Electronics Engineering Technology
Madison Forry, Surgical Technology
Harleigh List, Surgical Technology
Abram Mellott, Welding Technology
Kolton Orendi, Welding Technology
Ryan Shields, Welding Technology

November is Pancreatic Cancer and Gastric Cancer Awareness month: I wear purple and periwinkle in November but carry hope for the cause every day.

The world is in chaos as people continue to struggle to make sense of the global pandemic. However, the pandemic is not the only illness that is taking people’s lives. Since the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic, thousands of people lost their battle with various other diseases, including cancer.  

While most of us associate November with our Thanksgiving festivities, it is also the awareness month for Pancreatic and Gastric cancer. So, for me, November is the month I associate with the two most profound losses in my life. On November 19th, 2012, my grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer. It was unexpected, and for my family, it was a loss we struggled to reconcile for years.   

We were fortunate to all be with my grandmother when she took her last breath. Five years later, on November 17th, 2017, my father was diagnosed with gastric cancer. His arms comforted me, and his words encouraged me when my grandmother passed away, and the thought of losing my father was inexplicable. There was no one to console me when he passed away. 

I believe that losing these two people helped shape me into the woman I am today. Before their cancer diagnoses, neither of them was ever sick and they both ate well, exercised regularly, did not smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs of any kind. They took care of themselves, yet cancer still took their lives. I grieve losing them every day, but especially in November, and even more so around the holidays. And so, as I strive to serve PTC in the role of Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, I hope the biggest impact I have is to encourage people to love genuinely and authentically, regardless of differences.  

We divide ourselves by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, abilities, disabilities, socioeconomic status, and many other things. But cancer does not discriminate. It does not care if you are young, old, rich, poor, black, white, mean, or kind. It ravishes your body, and no amount of money, chemotherapy, radiation, or prayer can save you from the inevitable if it is your time.  

If you are fortunate to survive cancer, it continues to live with you in the mental, emotional, physical, and financial scars. You and your loved ones live every day with the fear that, at any time, cancer could rear its ugly head and once again render you helpless. This fear and helplessness should motivate and inspire us to do good, to treat others with kindness and compassion, and most of all, to remember that we are all susceptible to becoming a victim of a life-altering diagnosis, no matter who we are.

I want to believe that we have more in common with our perceived enemies than the inevitability of death. Just as cancer and other life events render us vulnerable, I want each of us to love without limits and see people as people rather than a color or cause. We should do more than mourn the loss of our loved ones or donate to causes during a particular time of the year. We should strive to learn as much as we can about things that not only affect others, but at some point, directly or indirectly, could affect us, too.  

I never knew about pancreatic cancer or gastric cancer until they robbed my family of its matriarch and elder. My Grandmother and Father exist today because of the life they lived and the legacy my family honors. There is not a day that goes by when I do not think about them, hear their voice, of feel their gentle touch when the air kisses my cheeks. I strive every day to be a better person than I was yesterday and to honor them with my actions by demonstrating kindness, compassion, empathy, patience, humility, and love.  

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and gather with family and friends, please share the gift of knowledge. Please take time to learn more about pancreatic and gastric cancer. Choose a cause and support it. Remember, cancer does not discriminate.

Pancreatic Cancer – Purple Ribbon

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month – Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Gastric Cancer – Periwinkle blue Ribbon

Stomach Cancer Awareness Month — No stomach for Cancer

The City of Asylum is a unique place in the North Side, their mission is as follows:

“City of Asylum @ Alphabet City is a hub for Pittsburgh’s readers and writers, jazz and small-scale music and performance, and artistic experimentation. It is a home for diverse voices from around the globe—a place where Pittsburgh meets the world, and the world meets Pittsburgh. And it is also a home for many partnering artists and organizations in our own community.

By establishing a haven for writers and artists who voice ideas that are new, different, or provocative in a diverse urban community, we encourage new lines of communication, cultural exchange, and collaboration. Sharing one another’s narratives can transform the lives of both residents and artists and combat intolerance and exclusion.”

Visit alphabetcity.org for more information.

Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare is arguably one of the greatest romance stories in history. It is the story of two star-crossed lovers destined for heartbreak because they were not supposed to fall in love. One of the most famous scenes in the play is on the balcony when Juliet says, ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’ (Act 2, scene 2).

The Montagues and Capulet’s were enemies, so the forbidden romance of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet added to the complexity of young love and to what the perceived meaning of the quote meant at that time. As we think about names today, we recognize an emotional attachment to our names for one reason or another. So, would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

Well, if we never knew the name of the flower emitting such a lovely fragrance, chances are, we might not care what the name of the flower was in that context because the scent remains the same. However, today, words matter more than anything. And people are more sensitive about how their names identify them.

Conversations around gender pronouns are gaining momentum. And whether you agree with using them, you cannot ignore the gravity of one’s self-identification as it relates to a person’s name. I have what some might say are three first names. Marsha Natalie Lindsay, but it is my name, and I love it! My parents explained my name, and it is forever a part of who I am. So, I respect the fact that many people in the LGBTQ+ community want to feel respected and accepted by whatever they choose as their identifier. 

As an advocate for self-expression, I find myself wondering when and if I have inadvertently made someone uncomfortable by not addressing that person correctly. So, to help put not only my mind at ease, I identify as she/her/hers and reflect my gender pronouns on my social media profile and now on my professional email.  

I know who I am and feel comfortable with my gender pronouns. Many may perceive it as not necessary, but if I can in any way break down perceived barriers and be more approachable, I am happy to share my gender pronouns.  

I encourage everyone to learn more about gender pronouns and consider sharing yours. And if you choose not to, do not discourage someone else from sharing theirs. 

To learn more about gender pronouns, here are some resources:

Glossary of Terms – HRC

Microsoft Word – gender neutral pronouns.doc (forge-forward.org)

I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.
– Stephen Hawking

Change, especially when it comes to technology, is inevitable. Software updates occur daily. We expect yearly new releases for our favorite phones and laptops. Gaming systems become more immersive and interactive with each new iteration. So how can we possibly keep up when we don’t know what will come down the road next?

I believe that the answer lies in digital accessibility—the inclusive practice of creating content without barriers so that it is usable for people with all types of abilities. We sometimes refer to this kind of design as universal design or inclusive design. I like to think of it as the process of creating liquid content that can be poured into hundreds of different kinds of containers.

The process of futureproofing our content is surprisingly simple. We can use a company’s website as an example. On the homepage of the site are a collection of images, text, and interactive elements. The web developer is responsible for labeling each element accordingly. Ideally, the page will be organized in an outline format with clear headings that can be labeled H1, H2, H3, etc. Paragraphs of text will be labeled as body copy, and important sections may be noted with bold or italics. Images and interactive elements (forms, videos, links, etc.) are labeled, too.

These distinctions may be obvious to some. Our eyes may tell us that pictures are different from text. Our ears may hear background music or error alert notifications. And we may be able to use our mouse or touch screen to interact with these elements as we encounter them. But, for those of us who may not have sight, hearing, or touch, this digital labeling system is invaluable. When labeled properly, blind users can rely on hearing to get a description of the image. Deaf users can rely on printed captions. And those with limited motor skills can rely on voice activation or headset technology for navigation.

Currently, a website with proper labels is accessible from a variety of devices: computers, laptops, tablets, and cell phones. But what about a braille book, virtual reality headset, or smart refrigerator; or, even more futuristic, what about the smart flying car, prosthetic limb, or health device that hasn’t been invented yet? Will those devices also be able to use our content?

Just as users with a range of abilities rely on these digital labels to help them understand and interpret content, so will future technologies. Because we have standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) that teach us to label things effectively, we’re giving the future inventors of the world access to futureproofed content. Books that were once static on printed pages can now be heard through speakers, translated into reusable braille, or even interpreted as a painting. A printed poster can be autogenerated from a website with no human interaction. Liquid content, like a properly labeled lesson plan, can even be inserted into a game so that children can do their homework between quests.

So how can you start futureproofing your work? Simple things like using proper heading styles and adding alternative text for images can ensure that your content is navigable for all types of devices, present and future. To get started, see the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for some wonderful resources on making accessible Microsoft Word Documents, presentations, and PDF’s. Through these digital accessibility principles, we can keep pace with the ever-changing information highway.