While many buildings on campus are accessible to people with physical disabilities, some aging buildings still present problems.

“A lot of these buildings were constructed before there was really any kind of a code,” said Roberta Juarez, assistant education director of Disability Services.

According to state law, public buildings don’t need to be remodeled simply to provide accessibility for people with mobility impairments.

Buildings across campus are classified as accessible, inaccessible and partially accessible to accommodate people with disabilities.

“Some buildings on this campus are not yet physically accessible on all levels,” said Bobbi Cordano, director of Disability Services.

Older buildings such as Peik gym and the Armory don’t have elevators and can only be accessed from the first floor.

“Some of the older buildings don’t have much room,” said Salim Karim, a senior individualized education student.

The office of the Inter-College Program, located on the second floor of the Armory, can’t be accessed by people with mobility impairments.

“If students have disability issues, we always just meet them wherever the student wants to meet … so we’ll accommodate students that way,” said Josh Borowicz, departmental director of the Inter-College Program.

Although Fraser Hall has an elevator, the building still causes
problems for people with disabilities.

“Fraser’s elevator has been difficult to open for many years,” said Peggy McCalla, an academic adviser in the College of Liberal Arts who uses a wheelchair.

“It’s a manual door, and it’s too heavy for me to open,” McCalla said.

When people are faced with inaccessible classrooms, disability services tries to work with
professors to make arrangements to accommodate students with disabilities, Cordano said.

While most buildings are classified as accessible, sometimes people have to enter buildings from the tunnel system or an adjacent building.

In Murphy Hall, people with mobility impairments access the building through Vincent Hall or the Tate Lab of Physics.

“I’ve learned from Day One that life isn’t always fair, so I’m used to it,” said CLA senior Daniel Fischer, who was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

Every year funds are requested for disability issues, Cordano said.

In the University’s 2002 capital request, approximately $1 million was requested for Americans with Disabilities Act improvements on campus, said Tim Busse, departmental director of University Services.

“Whenever we renovate or build a building, we renovate it to ADA codes,” Busse said.

Still, some challenges remain after construction.

Power doors or ramps can sometimes cause difficulties.

“Even though the door may be wide enough for a wheelchair to get through, the door may be too heavy to open,” McCalla said.

“It may be accessible but it’s not practical,” she said.

In the winter, adverse conditions exist for people with disabilities.

Unshoveled sidewalks, ramps and curb cuts can cause problems.

“Sometimes by the time they get curb cuts done, they’re iced over and they’re not usable anymore,” McCalla said.

“This campus is becoming more and more accessible,” Juarez said.

Brad Ellingson covers construction and facilities and welcomes comments at [email protected]