College students are busy.
This is no surprise. After attending classes, studying, socializing and working they have no time to think about the world around them.
When one is completely focused on fulfilling her own needs, it becomes very hard to have empathy for others.
In other words, there is much we take for granted.
Everyone is aware of the federal laws that require public places to be accessible to the disabled, but how accessible is ETSU?
If you are a parent attending college at ETSU, you may have already noticed how difficult it is to get a baby stroller from one side of campus to another.
Imagine how difficult it would be if it were a wheelchair instead of a more-maneuverable stroller. At least with a stroller you can lift the front wheels over a step, this is not usually an option in a wheelchair.
I became familiar with this issue last semester as I would stroll my daughter around campus after picking her up from daycare.
Often on pretty days we would take a short walk around campus before going home for the day.
I quickly realized that the ramps leading from the road to the sidewalk always followed the longest route to wherever I was going.
I realize that there are disabled parking places on campus, but are there enough?
I know at least one person that has a disabled tag, yet still has trouble finding a place to park. I wonder if there are students taking advantage of their parents’ disabled permits or if there simply are not enough reserved spaces.
Disability Services has done excellent work assisting people with all kinds of disabilities, both mental and physical, in earning a degree, but I wonder if they have ever considered how hard it may be for some of the disabled people to make it from the parking lots to class?
The next time you can’t find a parking place close to your destination and have a few extra minutes to get to class, take the route that someone in a wheelchair would be forced to take.
You may not use stairs, step over curbs, and must use the entrances that have accessible doors (i.e. the ones that open with the push of a button).
Not only will you gain insight into what people with disablities endure just to get to class, but you will also remember how important your health is and how lucky you are to not be in their situation.

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