By PAULINA MATA/Social Media Editor
Climbing up a flight of stairs, opening door after door, and rushing across campus to make it to class are daily, mindless occurrences for the average college student. For UT Tyler junior Karleigh Yancy, however, these tasks are not so easily accomplished.
In August, Yancy began having knee problems due to an undiagnosed mass, greatly affecting her mobility.
“Just last semester, I was walking around completely fine and had nothing wrong with me,” Yancy said. “Going upstairs is really, really difficult for me right now. Going up them, and sometimes going down them too.”
Yancy’s knee disease makes her reliant on the push door buttons and elevators for moving around campus and getting to class. However, she finds that these on-campus accommodations are not always in great working conditions.
Outside the side doors of the College of Arts and Sciences, Yancy presses the door push buttons three times, forcefully.
“Just the fact that I have to hit the button that hard for it to open is crazy, because part of the reason why you have these in the first place is because some people don’t have enough strength in their arms to open the door,” Yancy said.
Yancy is only one of hundreds of students on campus with disabilities, including physical and learning disabilities. According to the SARs office, there are about 900 students with disabilities on campus.
Yancy’s new and temporary disability made her more aware of accessibility and its faults on campus.
For 2018 alum Olivia LeVoy, however, UT Tyler is better than most college campuses in terms of accessibility and accommodation.
“[UT Tyler] went above and beyond to make sure I could participate,” Levoy said. “And that’s not the case at all universities.”
Levoy was diagnosed with type three spinal muscular atrophy at 4 years old.
“In 2014,” Levoy said, “I had to start using my power wheelchair full time because with my disease it is a progressive muscle degeneration.”
“So, UT Tyler really did a lot. But, again, I’m not saying I didn’t struggle on campus. ‘Cause I did. Especially if the automatic push door buttons didn’t work. Sometimes I couldn’t go to class. For most people, they can just, you know, swing open that door and it’s no big deal, but a person in a wheelchair or that has a walker — it can be an invisible disability – like, those push door buttons are so important that they’re always working.”
When asked about the maintenance of the push door buttons and elevators, Executive Director of Facilities Management Andy Krouse said, “we have a good maintenance system in place.”
Due to their high demand and usage, problems regarding the conditions of push door buttons and elevators are more noticeable and highlighted.
Many of the issues students find with accessibility on campus are regular maintenance issues, not a lack on UT Tyler’s part for caring about accommodations. Krouse said where there is an opportunity for accessibility, they will use it.
“One thing we go above and beyond in is having push buttons for bathrooms,” Krouse said. “Those are not ADA required, unless that has changed recently.”
UT Tyler does its best to “stay up to date with ADA compliances,” according to Krouse. Automated requests for accessibility and maintenance are available on the UT Tyler website, or through the Director of Environmental Health and Safety Robby Underwood.
“We’re here for students,” Krouse said. “Where possible, we meet the needs of students with disabilities.”
But it is not always possible. The geography and age of UT Tyler makes it difficult for campus to be completely ADA compliant.
Behind the College of Arts and Sciences building, facing the biology lake, Yancy points out her concerns for outdoor accessibility.
“One of the things that I have a lot of issues with right now is just how uneven campus is. I mean even if you’re looking out right now, like the entire thing is uneven. It’s kind of a pit.”
A main concern for students with physical disabilities is being able to use pathways that are easily accessible. The pathway between Ratliff Building South and the College of Arts and Sciences has a large slope, which is difficult for students with mobility issues to use.
For the slope to be ADA compliant, “we would have to level the whole slope,” Krouse said, which would cause several other issues.
The geography and location of UT Tyler is the main factor for the steep hills and staircases. The reality is that students with disabilities have to take alternative paths to walk around campus.
“If I’m going to get from the College of Arts and Sciences to the University Center,” Yancy said, “I have to walk across the lake, which is what I typically do. It’s really inconvenient and really poorly thought out. And I think a lot of it has to do with that I think a lot of these buildings were built before ADA laws were put into effect. And so, they weren’t really built with accessibility in mind.”
DISABILITY RESOURCES
UT Tyler has the resources for students with disabilities to find routes around campus. On the UT Tyler website, under the Campus Maps and Directions tab, there is an online and downloadable map with ADA routes and access. Both accessible and non-ADA compliant routes are highlighted, so students can best discern a route to classes and events.
The Student Government Association at UT Tyler once had quarterly accessibility walks, and Krouse said he plans to talk with SGA President Allison Schwartz to reinstate those soon.
Other departments and faculty are eager to help students with disabilities, as well.
“Communication is key,” Associate Dean of Students Kim Livingston-Cobb said. “You know we also can help advocate for students and just listen to, you know, if they’re facing a particular challenge, we can kinda get pretty creative in how to help out with that. We also have our own network of professionals throughout the state and throughout the country if there is a specific challenge that we haven’t run across.”
The SARs office has services for more than just students with physical disabilities. There is a testing center, and faculty work closely with students with disabilities to make an accommodation plan.
“It really is very, very individualized as to what a student might need,” said Livingston-Cobb. “For example, if someone has ADHD and it’s related to some focusing or something like that, they might be getting accommodation of testing services in a quieter location or extended time on a test.”
Students can fill out an online application form with documentation stating their physical or learning disability to get the accommodations they need. After consulting with a professional in what is called “an interactive process,” faculty are made aware of the student’s accommodation plan, but not their specific disability.
“The student is able – for every single class that they have – they are able to choose which of the approved accommodations they would like to use in those classrooms,” Livingston-Cobb said. “So, the student is never required to use any of their accommodations, but they have that ability to use any of those.”
“SAR does a really great job of letting people know that they’re there and kind of getting their name out on campus,” Yancy said. “So, if you do need accessibility help, they’re there. Even if you have a learning disability or just need a little bit of extra help. They do a really great job of being there for students.”
Accessibility can refer to an array of accommodations, not just academically or mobility-wise. Along with service animals on campus, UT Tyler allows emotional support animals to live in on-campus housing.
“It’s been really nice,” junior and ESA owner Amelia Kines said, “at least for me.”
“The SARs office has specific guidelines, but if you meet them, I would highly suggest [having an ESA],” Kines said.
“The campus is really, really friendly towards people with service animals,” Yancy said. “I’ve seen several of them. I don’t know anybody personally with one, but I’ve had classes with a couple of people who have service animals. The professors always do a really great job of being like, ‘Hey guys, don’t freak out about the dog.’”
Accessibility on campus is not perfect. There are hills, there are buttons that sometimes do not work – but UT Tyler staff does not ignore these issues.
‘DON’T GIVE UP’
“The big thing is just don’t give up,” Livingston-Cobb said, for students who may feel frustration toward accessibility on campus. “Come talk to us. If we don’t know all the answers, we’re gonna research it and help you figure it out.”
Disabilities, whether they are visible or invisible, learning or physical, are all unique and finding a solution for everything is difficult. Students are encouraged to voice their concerns about accessibility to the right faculty, so a solution — temporary or permanent – can be found.
“For the students on campus who are disabled, speak up,” LeVoy said. “And don’t let anybody make you feel intimidated for stating that you’re having issues on campus. Because it’s just not you that’s going to be hurting or having to deal with having a hardship on campus. If you’re struggling, then there probably is somebody else that is too.”
“You know, at any time in your life you will become disabled,” LeVoy said. “Whether it’s now or 40, 50 years down the run. So just because it doesn’t affect you now, doesn’t mean it’s not affecting you sometime later.”
Yancy, in a tiered lecture room, takes slow, cautious steps down to her seat.
“Everybody can gain from accessibility. It doesn’t just apply to people who are permanently disabled or people who are in wheelchairs.
“But just last semester, I was walking around completely fine and had nothing wrong with me,” Yancy said. “And so, accessibility really does benefit everybody.”
Be the first to comment