A question of accessibility
Students with disabilities finding campus tough to get around; cite poor facilities
Brian Reisinger
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Campus News
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Time between classes is a precious commodity as she heaves doors and lugs her books, all while plodding along on crutches - the temporary results of a summer mishap in which she broke four bones in her foot.
"It never crossed my mind," she said of her first four years in college. "I can't even imagine how people who have to deal with this on a daily basis for the rest of their lives operate."
That's the sort of perspective students with disabilities and the officials that address their needs say is critical to understand the deficiencies in UW-Eau Claire's level of accessibility, in spite of its continual efforts to meet or even surpass legal standards.
Last year the Services for Students with Disabilities Office served 240 students, whose challenges range from ADD and learning disabilities to physical issues like impaired mobility or hearing.
That number is low for a campus the size of Eau Claire, said Kathy Hurley, director of Services for Students with Disabilities, which means there are probably more disabled students not receiving service.
Students with various disabilities expressed frustration over university facilities - even pointing out the ironically inaccessible SSD office, which sits on the second floor of the Old Library.
Senior non-traditional student Doug Black, 66, uses a power chair to get around since cancer and back trouble made it difficult for him to walk.
He has had to reroute his path on campus to ensure that he can find inclines, chairlifts and automatic door openers, and even then many doorways leave him with inadequate clearance for his power chair. He also has problems in classrooms and computer labs and is rarely near an accessible bathroom.
"It's completely changed the way I get around campus," he said.
Other mobility-impaired students agreed with Black on many of the concerns and also cited problems with parking.
Students with less obvious disabilities agreed that most people don't consider their difficulties and that the university could do more.
Sophomore Becca Le Koshak, who has ADD and a learning disability in math, said simple improvements like better signage for classroom locations would help, since her disabilities make remaining oriented difficult.
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