By DAISY ESCATEL/ Staff Writer
Steep hills and overcrowded elevators have become major roadblocks for many students with disabilities as they navigate the University of Texas at Tyler.
The institution is taking steps to alleviate some of these concerns through the Student Accessibility and Resources program, which provides equal access to all aspects of campus.
Students like LaKyndra Larkin have noticed the challenges that disabled students face while on campus.
“At the end of the semester, I notice that the automatic doors don’t open, and students have to use all their force to get the door open or wait for someone to open it,” Larkin said. “It’s not right, and the university should keep up with that.”
Navigating the 250-acre campus can be particularly challenging for wheelchair users, who must navigate the varied terrain. Those without electric wheelchairs also struggle with the hills, using up a lot of energy to go up and maintain stability while going down.
Soryada Rivera, a current student at UT Tyler, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of 3 and has been using an electric wheelchair ever since.
She says that while the campus has been accommodating overall, some areas still need improvement. For instance, the College of Arts and Sciences offers only one emergency stair chair for wheelchair users for the entire floor.
Rivera believes better solutions could be explored.
“Someone would actually have to carry me and put me on the chair,” she explained. “It looks like it would be just for me, and my power chair would be stuck upstairs. My chair weighs over 400 pounds so there’s no way someone can carry that down by themselves.”
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