Letter to the Editor:
ADA Comments Missing
by Tim Gochenour ‘09··································
I wish to express some frustration due to the omission of a very important issue brought up during the Open Forum. During the forum an issue came up about handicap accessibility on campus. That is something I believe is a noteworthy issue to write about at best. I asked the President what he was doing to get the campus more ADA accessible. ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act that states that accessibility to buildings MUST be provided for those having handicaps such as: being wheelchair bound, arthritis, physical injuries that confine people to crutches or other forms of artificial support.
I think that this omission brings to light another issue even behind the building accessibility. I have seen many viewpoints that express "ableism". Ableism is discrimination against anyone that has a physical handicap. I find that it is unacceptable that a student who is wheelchair bound must be stigmatized by entire classrooms having to be moved from the building in which they originally are held due to the fact that the building itself is not accessible. To solve this problem, I resolve that we make the buildings accessible so that ALL students can be independent and successful.
The buildings that are not entirely up to the code of the ADA are as follows:Mary Branch Hall (needs automatic doors, ramps into the facility, elevator)
Moreland Hall (needs elevator, handicap bathrooms)
Conrad Hall (needs elevator, handicap bathrooms)
Washington-Franklin Hall (needs automatic doors, ramps into the facility, handicap bathrooms)
Haley Hall (needs handicap bathrooms)
Peele Hall (needs 2nd floor access)
Campus Center (needs 2nd floor access)
Fox Hall (needs 2nd floor access)
Special interest houses (need ramps to entrances, automatic doors, 2nd floor access)
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