The Rocket

Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News

Media Credit: MCT Campus [Click to enlarge]

Having a rolling campus filled with hills and valleys can make for beautiful sight, but it can also cause headaches, especially for those with physical disabilities.

In order to combat those headaches, Slippery Rock University is continuing to look for ways in which they can improve accessibility for students and visitors with disabilities.

Colleen Cooke, an associate professor for the department of parks and recreation and the chairperson for the Gender Issues and Social Justice Committee, said that the committee started a survey during the 2007 fall semester to find out if buildings on campus were adequately equipped and accessible for those with disabilities. They also wanted to find out which buildings needed improvements.

Cooke said that the interest in this survey started two years ago when the committee found that the Special Education Building was not accessible for people who use a wheelchair. The committee wrote a letter to President Smith and within six months, an automatic door was added to the building.

"During the survey, we went around to most buildings used by students and faculty," Cooke said. "We found some issues and presented them to the university administration."

Some of the issues the committee found dealt with the fact that some buildings didn't have automatic doors for people who used a wheelchair and that elevators in several buildings could only be operated with a key.

"When a visitor would come that needed to use the elevator, they had to go all the way to the library to get a key to use it," Cooke said. "It is difficult for people who are in a wheelchair to go from the building they are at all the way to the library."

Cooke said that several elevators had been locked for unknown reasons and the university is in the process of having them all unlocked for use again.

The buildings that did not have automatic doors are Vincent Science Hall, Strain Behavioral Science Building, Morrow Field House, Eisenberg Classroom Building and Spotts World Culture Building.

Since finding this lack of needed equipment, automatic doors have either been installed already or are in the planning process to become accessible.

Continued...

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