On Thursday, as a part of Civility Week and the Festival of Ideas, ETSU’s Disability Services facilitated an Accessibility Walk around campus.
In another installment for Civility Week and the Festival of Ideas, staff from the Disability Services office lead students and faculty on a walk around campus to discuss accessibility. This Accessibility Walk was led by Matthew Gilbert, accessibility coordinator; Laurel Singleton, the assistant director of Disability Services; Millie Newport and Pamela Crisp.
According to Singleton, the goal of this walk was to “highlight accessible features on campus and raise awareness of some things that could be improved.”
While there are numerous disabilities, both visible and invisible, that many students and faculty struggle with, the focus of this experience was the perspective of individuals with visual and mobility impairments. While on this walk, participants were only allowed to take routes which were accessible to those with these impairments. That means no grassy shortcuts and no stairs.
Some specific things that participants were encouraged to pay attention to include: clear signage indicating accessible entrances, closed construction gates that help keep pedestrians out of harm’s way, truncated domes and brick borders on crosswalks, automatic doors, yellow paint on curbs to assist with low vision and accessible benches and game stations.
In addition to these positive elements, participants were encouraged to pay attention to any things that could hinder mobility and accessibility. This includes but is not limited to: crosswalks with cracks and potholes, crosswalks without indicators, inaccessible entrances to buildings, parked cars that are up on the sidewalk and gravel or other uneven walking surfaces.
One thing that participants mentioned is that oftentimes the accessible paths add extra time to the route. Participants also found that many of the older buildings on campus are not as accessible as some of the newly renovated ones. This is due to the fact that many of our campus’ buildings predate the Americans with Disabilities Act which was put into effect in 1990.
It is always important to consider perspectives and experiences that are different from our own. This is the only way that we can make our world more welcoming and inclusive to all.
“Change starts with one person, but the more people that get on, the more change happens,” said Singleton.
Anyone who has concerns about accessibility on campus is encouraged to reach out to Disability Services directly, contact representatives of the Student Government Association or fill out an online accessibility form which can be found here: https://www.etsu.edu/students/ds/forms/forms.php.
For more information on Disability Services, visit their ETSU website or call their office at (423) 439-8346.
