Story by Alyssa Crutcher

On a campus where diversity, equity and inclusion are emphasized, it is important to understand there are still areas of concern where growth is necessary. 

Gray Russel, a sophomore international and global studies major who uses they/them pronouns, said they suffer from chronic pain in their legs and use a cane to get around. 

One major problem Russel runs into is when walking to their class is the agriculture building, they said. The only elevator available is in the plant science building. Because of this, Russell has to walk to the plant science building to use the elevator and then walk back over to their class in the agriculture building, which tacks on about three to five minutes, they said.

“This campus is horrible if you have some kind of disability in your legs,” Russel said. “I’m lucky enough that I only have to use a cane. If I had to use a wheelchair, it would be terrible to get around.”

Additionally, most of Russel’s classes are located in Old Main. Because they live on campus in Yocum Hall, it takes longer for them to get there, they said.

“It’s hard just in general to get around, to (not) have different accessible spots,” Russel said. “I have to go through buildings to get to class because they have elevators. I’ve found shortcuts to get around easier.”

Adele May, a senior journalism major, suffers from PTSD, depression, severe anxiety and likely has autism, she said. 

Because she is so anxious, May takes longer to complete schoolwork, she said. She aims for perfection, which manifests as procrastination.

As a college student, May finds it harder to stick to a routine, she said. When she was in high school, she had a support system pushing her to complete work.

“I get a lot of points docked and my professors just don’t know that mentally I’m not the same as everyone else in their classroom,” May said. “I do wish diagnosing (autism) was more accessible because that’s the first step toward mental assistance. I’ve always been good with academics but it’s been hard in college.”

May also tends to get distracted easily by noises in class, she said. There is one classroom in Kimpel Hall, specifically, that has a low rumbling while her professor is teaching. The distraction messes with her head, she said. 

Russel is also easily distracted during class, they said. Because they don’t have accommodations for ADHD, they do small crafts in class to keep their hands busy, but also helps them focus. 

Russel has a  wheelchair accessible room and is right across from the accessible bathroom, they said. The CEA has been communicative about what they can and can’t do based on their diagnoses. 

Additionally, Russel has noticed people parking right in front of the wheelchair ramp behind Yocum, they said.

“There’s a lot of curbs everywhere that are really tall too,” Russel said. “And this is a really big one that I’ve seen recently — they are cracking down a little bit more, but people park in disabled parking spots a lot here. Parking enforcement does very little about that.”

Tyler Pace, a freshman finance major, said he thinks the campus could implement more accessibility for wheelchair users.

Pace’s younger brother, Trent, suffered from a rare genetic disorder, he said. He was never able to walk, talk, eat, or do anything on his own. Before Trent was born, Pace’s family wasn’t used to having to push someone around in a wheelchair — it was never something they considered, he said.

Pace’s brother passed away two years ago from pneumonia, he said.

“He was always in a wheelchair and we’d have to push him around pretty much anywhere we went,” Pace said. “So that really opened my eyes to how inaccessible some buildings are for people who are in wheelchairs.”

Since being on campus, Pace has noticed many of the handicapped entrances are located further away from the main entrances, he said. 

The biggest one is at Old Main, Pace said. To get up, students have to use stairs and the other entrances are secluded from the main entrance.

“I feel like that takes away from anyone who is unable to walk up those flights of stairs,” Pace said. “It takes away from their experience of entering the building.”

For the most part, Pace, May and Russel all agree the Center for Educational Access has done a good job at making campus accessible for all students, they said. But there is still room for improvement. 

Pace said adding more ramps, especially down by Hillside Auditorium, and elevators in buildings would be the final steps of improvement. 

Russel said campus officials could also do a better job spreading awareness about the shuttle buses meant to help students get around campus. Knowing who to contact, how to contact them and where the bus stops are could be helpful, they said. 

“I think if professors had some sort of training about different mental states, that would help them understand their students better and have a better learning environment,” May said.