Every day I go about my life not thinking about how to get from place to place. I just do it. I go to class, I go to Walmart, I go to Zaxby’s, and I go home to my apartment. Accessing these places is never a problem for me, but if I had a physical disability, they would be. Going about my life on campus this week, I took notice of the places I go to see how I would get there if I was disabled. It was interesting to see what was possible and what wasn't. All of the buildings on campus are accessible with wheel chair ramps and buttons to automatically open the door. We have elevators in all the buildings and even our one way circle helps those who are hearing impaired or seeing impaired because it’s helpful to only have to look one way. Our cross walks are even accessible for people with disabilities. I never knew that cross walks at one point weren't accessible for these people. According to Sensoy and DiAngelo, “Prior to 1990, curb cuts (the place where the sidewalk slopes to the street), or tactile paving (textured surface to assist the visually impaired) did not exist.” (pg 61). These are things that I took for granted, not realizing that people had to fight for these to be installed so they had access to the same things that I have access to.
Fixing
these problems can be both simple and hard. It’s very easy to say ‘oh let’s just
put in a ramp’ or ‘let’s just pave this instead of grass’, but it’s more
complicated than that. The reality is that a lot of things that are a necessity
for some people are second tier because of a lack of funding. The funding
committee, being the dominant group, will say that it’s not a necessity and that
these people are fine or could live with it or deal with it. The dominant group
is never going to fund something that doesn't benefit them. That’s a sad
reality, but it’s, unfortunately, the way the world works.
Sensoy, Özlem, and Robin J. DiAngelo. Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education. New York: Teachers College, 2012. Print.
I find it interesting that your apartment on Walker Drive is not wheelchair accessible. Considering it is a part of on-campus housing provided by the university, it is really shocking that they would not even construct these buildings for all students. In this situation, students with physical disabilities are given a lack of opportunity compared to other students on campus. Even making my way around campus observing how accessible certain areas were for those with disabilities, I did not realize that the drill field, one of the most important and most used aspects for our university, is not accessible to everyone. You made some great points here, and I agree that although it may be difficult and costly, it is worth it in the end to give equal opportunities to all of our students.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that many places on campus are accessible for people with disabilities. It is important that all of the places on campus are accessible to everyone so that all students can share the same opportunities and experiences. It is shocking that the drill field is only accessible from one end. It is the center of campus and something that everyone should be able to access quickly and easily. It is unfortunate that sometimes lack of funding creates inequality in society simply because people have disabilities. There is always room to improve accessibility, and I believe it is a worthwhile cause for everyone's benefit.
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