Much of campus remains handicap inaccessible
Kaylee Phillips, Josh Maker, Ben Ferree
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: News
How hard would it be to get to your classes if you couldn't walk there? Depending on the building, it could be close to impossible.
Many buildings on campus have inconvenient handicap access for those in wheelchairs or on crutches.
Specifically, Huber Spielman and Yochum Hall fail to provide adequate accessibility to handicapped students, faculty, and staff.
Huber Spielman has a handicapped lift, but is is very difficult to use and is normally locked.
A person temporarily on crutches or in a wheelchair may not know about the lift, which requires a key from the University, and therefore, could miss class.
Yochum Hall, which houses main offices of Capital's campus, has limited accessibility as well.
Those in need of a handicap entrance must travel down a ramp to the basement of the building.
This ramp can become slippery when wet, making navigation very difficult and possibly dangerous. Also, the ramp is hard to find and poses an additional obstacle for those already in need.
Housing on campus can also be a problem for handicapped students. Not all dorms are handicap accessible, leaving students with few options as to where there they can live.
Cotterman Hall, for example, is a residence hall set aside specifically for first-year honors students.
However, it offers no handicap access whatsoever.
If a handicapped first year student in the honors program wished to live there, they would be forced to live in a guest room on the first floor. This assumes they manage to open the front doors, which have no handicap buttons or automatic openers.
Cotterman Hall is scheduled for renovation this summer, and handicap accessibility is one area the University plans to improve.
Sam Shaffer, a sophomore on the soccer team, had an unfortunate injury this past fall soccer season and was on crutches for about a month.
"I can't imagine living in a wheelchair on this campus, because I had such a hard time getting in and out of buildings on campus on my crutches. I can't even begin to think of how difficult it would be in a wheelchair," Shaffer said.
Not all buildings on campus lack handicap access. The Conservatory of Music, the Campus Center, College Avenue Residence, the Capital Center, and the Blackmore Library are all easily accessible.
They host a multitude of ramps and entrances that make life easer for those in wheelchairs or on crutches.
While many of the buildings on campus may be hard to access, they all comply with the American Disabilities Act because the act only puts standards on buildings constructed during or after 2002.
kphilli2@capital.edu
jmaker@capital.edu
bferree@capital.edu
Many buildings on campus have inconvenient handicap access for those in wheelchairs or on crutches.
Specifically, Huber Spielman and Yochum Hall fail to provide adequate accessibility to handicapped students, faculty, and staff.
Huber Spielman has a handicapped lift, but is is very difficult to use and is normally locked.
A person temporarily on crutches or in a wheelchair may not know about the lift, which requires a key from the University, and therefore, could miss class.
Yochum Hall, which houses main offices of Capital's campus, has limited accessibility as well.
Those in need of a handicap entrance must travel down a ramp to the basement of the building.
This ramp can become slippery when wet, making navigation very difficult and possibly dangerous. Also, the ramp is hard to find and poses an additional obstacle for those already in need.
Housing on campus can also be a problem for handicapped students. Not all dorms are handicap accessible, leaving students with few options as to where there they can live.
Cotterman Hall, for example, is a residence hall set aside specifically for first-year honors students.
However, it offers no handicap access whatsoever.
If a handicapped first year student in the honors program wished to live there, they would be forced to live in a guest room on the first floor. This assumes they manage to open the front doors, which have no handicap buttons or automatic openers.
Cotterman Hall is scheduled for renovation this summer, and handicap accessibility is one area the University plans to improve.
Sam Shaffer, a sophomore on the soccer team, had an unfortunate injury this past fall soccer season and was on crutches for about a month.
"I can't imagine living in a wheelchair on this campus, because I had such a hard time getting in and out of buildings on campus on my crutches. I can't even begin to think of how difficult it would be in a wheelchair," Shaffer said.
Not all buildings on campus lack handicap access. The Conservatory of Music, the Campus Center, College Avenue Residence, the Capital Center, and the Blackmore Library are all easily accessible.
They host a multitude of ramps and entrances that make life easer for those in wheelchairs or on crutches.
While many of the buildings on campus may be hard to access, they all comply with the American Disabilities Act because the act only puts standards on buildings constructed during or after 2002.
kphilli2@capital.edu
jmaker@capital.edu
bferree@capital.edu
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