Inaccessible College Campuses

[Traveling_Home]

Inaccessible College Campuses

Dear Readers,

The following opinions column appeared today in The Daily Texan,
the student newspaper at the University of Texas at Austin.
Although the column speaks to accessibility concerns specific to
the UT campus, the inaccessibility of college campuses represents
a formidable barrier across the entire country.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UT Must Prioritize Accessibility

By Justin Burniske
April 5, 2007

As you walk across campus today, take a minute to notice every
step you go down, every sidewalk crack you maneuver over. Then
imagine if you couldn't.

Imagine if you could not simply step over these obstacles, but
instead had to carefully plan around them, so you could get
between classes in time.

The issue of wheelchair accessibility is often forgotten, as most
people are ambulatory. However, any of us could become part of
this population at any moment. While issues of diversity are
constantly being discussed, it seems that people with disabilities
related to accessibility are often overlooked, since they are not
traditionally viewed as a type of minority. They should be a part
of any diversity conversation.

Manasi Deshpande, a Plan II senior, recently presented to the
Student Activity Center Ad-Hoc Committee findings on accessibility
issues on campus and how important it was to truly make the new
building accessible. The information she shared came as somewhat
of a shock. While it should come as no surprise that not every
building complies with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act,
to hear that only 19 of the 150 campus buildings are compliant is
astounding.

When addressing the ad-hoc committee, Deshpande also presented her
findings from a study she conducted involving 25 graduate students
in the College of Education. The subjects were taking a special
population course that provides training on a variety of different
populations, including people with disabilities. The course is
very similar to the training administrators might receive
concerning students with disabilities. Twelve members were placed
in a control group engaged in academic discussion of disability,
while the other 13 volunteers engaged in discussion after having
simulated the experience of being confined to a battery-powered
wheelchair.

The results showed that the control group's willingness to pay a
student fee for accessibility improvement increased by 1 percent
from pre-discussion to post-discussion, while the experimental
group's willingness to pay increased 89 percent. The experimental
group also noted issues with restrooms, including those located in
the Sanchez Building, where recent renovations have made the
restrooms ADA compliant.

Without automated doors, however, they remained nearly
inaccessible. Additionally, group members noted a lack of
directional wayfinding signs, campus doors that were difficult to
open and a shortage of curb cuts. Finally, the experimental group
noticed a change in the treatment they received from the people
around them, including people they knew, during the time they were
in the wheelchairs.

In her presentation, Deshpande informed the committee that there
are two conflicting modern disability theories: the medical and
the social models. The medical model says the problem is with the
individual and that the individual must adapt. The social model
says that the problem is with society, that the world created by
society often excludes the individual and that society needs to
work harder to support the abilities of individuals with
disabilities.

As a society, we need to adapt the social model. We learn to
design our world to accommodate everyone. We don't discriminate
against individuals.

The first step is to become aware. As you go about your day, I
challenge you to take an accessible route. That means you can't
just take the steps, you must instead find a ramp. You can't jump
over curbs, you have to find the curb cuts. Anywhere you find
yourself stepping down or up or over means you are going somewhere
a student in a wheelchair cannot go.

If you have trouble, look for wayfinding signs to help you find
the accessible path. This might help you notice areas where they
are lacking. Consider also where the wheelchair seating is in the
classroom. What about accessible restrooms? Are they well-marked
and easy to find, or are you left wandering around with a full
bladder?

The Campus Master Plan, created in 1999, looks at the long-term
vision of campus architecture. It mentions seven major goals,
including making campus more pedestrian-friendly. It also talks
about better wayfinding and signage, but only in the context of
"Strengthened Identity of the Campus." It does not explicitly
include making campus physically more accessible.

Deshpande also shared her findings with a variety of campus
administrators, including President William Powers. She
recommended they partake in a similar simulation - none have taken
the ride yet.

As we look to the future of this campus, we need to be inclusive.
We need to not simply meet ADA standards, but instead meet the
needs of all community members. The Student Activity Center has
made accessibility a priority in its design, a priority that will
hopefully reach the rest of the University community.

So today, go out of your way to take the ramps or walk down the
curb cuts instead of up the steps and over the curb. And maybe
tomorrow we'll see President Powers roving campus in an electric
wheelchair.

Burniske is a Plan II and UTeach-math senior.

Source: Copyright 2007 The Daily Texan
________________________________________________________________

For more news issues, see:
http://www.aapd.com/docs/news.php

# # #

MODERATOR, Anne Sommers, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). To
contact Anne, please email her at [e-mail]. To
respond to a JFA alert or to submit an article, please see
http://www.aapd.com/JFA/JFAcontent.html.

DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue
in the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan.

JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are
available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/

JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at
http://www.aapd.com.

Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions
To subscribe or unsubscribe,
send an email to [e-mail]
with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice
in the body of your email message.

[Bjornsdotter]

1. K & R n/t

[KamaAina]

2. The University of North Carolina system has a project to address this

involving a quite attractive female who has presented on the topic at our annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities. :loveya:

http://access.unc.edu/

The UNC ACCESS (Accessible College Campuses for Everyone Site Surveys) Project is an ongoing assessment of functional wheelchair accessibility at the main entrances, elevators, and restrooms in core campus buildings throughout the University of North Carolina sixteen-campus system.