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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1978)
Page 8 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1978 Handicapped students at A&M. Life travels on campus easier with special help By KAREN ROGERS Battalion Staff Steve looked at his watch. Only three minutes to make his 10 o’clock. He rolled his wheelchair past the seal on the Academic Build ing floor toward the elevator marked "For Handicapped Students Only. He reached for the button and waited while the elevator slowly creaked down to the first floor. Un expectedly, the doors flew open when the elevator reached its desti nation. Steve wheeled his chair into the elevator, but as swiftly as the doors had opened, they closed again, catching him in the middle. Fortunately, another student saw him and helped Steve untangle himself from the persistent doors. Although this particular situation is hypothetical, it happens each day across the Texas A&M University campus as handicapped students at tempt to get to classes. About 17 students attending the University this fall are in wheel chairs, says Ted Elliott, campus counselor for the Texas Rehabilita tion Commission. For those students living on cam pus who require special living facilities, eight rooms in the Com mons area have been specially de signed to allow students in wheel chairs better access. The rooms, six in Aston-Dunn and two in Krueger, are designed to put everything within easy reach of the student. Ron Sasse, assistant director of student affairs, says the rooms are built with wider doors, low light switches and thermostats, tilted mirrors, sinks that allow a wheel chair under them and a shower with low faucets that is wide enough for a wheelchair. Roddy Dunnell, a sophomore en gineering technology major who lives in one such room in Dunn, says there are still some problems. "The thermostats are way up high, he says, "and you can t see how hot or cold it is. The wall plugs are real low and they’re usually be hind the beds. "Also, the two highest priced men’s dorms are the only two mod ified.’’ YV. G. Ferris, area coordinator for the Commons dorms, explains this is because the needs of the hand icapped students were just being realized at the time the Commons complex was being built. Sasse says, “Were looking at other resident halls to expand the options. Legett will base some spe cial rooms when it’s finished. The Legett renovation is scheduled for Fall 1979 completion. Gary Gray, a sophomore political science major, also lives in a special room in Dunn. "I feel ANM has done a more than adequate job in providing facilities for handicapped students, he said. “It’s really quite nice," Gray says of his room. "It’s kind of small for a wheelchair inside. To make the bat hroom larger, they had to squash the rest of the room together. Roth men agree there are some places on campus they wish were more accessible. "A lot of the ramps and curb cuts are too steep. Dunnell says. ‘They’re there, but they’re not too convenient to use. Dunnell has a manually operated wheelchair. Gray, who uses an electric wheel chair, says, "If the ramps aren t just right, then the wheelchair won t pull it. He adds that most of the ramps on campus are "designed all right." Elevators, a nocess ity to the handicapped student who has a class on an upper floor, also are a source of discontent. "A lot of tin' elevators are out dated, Dunnell said, "like the one in the Halhouty (geology) building, It’s an olil freight elevator and to close the door, you have to set a big iron gate.’’ Gray is quick to point out (be worst elevator on campus for hand icapped students is in the Academic Building. "The reaction of the door is very swift and if you’re not as swift, tbe door closes on you. ’ Tlie elevator in the animal science building, which he describes as "an old 1900 freight elevator, ’ nnb works half the time, he says, whicb makes it difliciilt to get tolmdass on tlu 1 second floor. Some of the elevator controls art just out of reach for students in wheelchairs. Gray said. I le adds he h as "more praise than any thing for Texas A&M s hand icapped facilities. The University'o( Texas is the only campus he saysht thinks might be better equipped, but that campus is hig, which doesn t lend itself to easy travelina wheelchair. Here, he says, he leaves only5to 10 minutes before his class to mala it on time. "Tlie main reason I came to Tens AiscM, Cray said "is because it’s the best university in Texas that had what I needed — easy accessibility and understanding profs.” State agency assists students Oscar Cardenas, a freshman accounting major from McAllen, moves up the ramp pro vided for the handicapped at the library. Cardenas says that there are still a few minor problems in attending classes and getting around campus, but for the most part, facilities for the handicapped are good. Handicapped students, who need financial or physical aid, can find it at the Texas Rehabilitation Commis sion (TRC) branch on the Texas A&M University campus. TRC, a state and federally funded organization, assists students by giv ing scholarships, job placement in formation and medical help. “YVe pay for the tuition and non- A<b-M modifies buildings, curbs ahead of 1980 HEW deadline refundable fees and then depending on the student s .situation, we take it from there, says Ted Elliot, the TRC campus counselor. Elliot explained this could mean paying for the student's books, room and board and medical assistance. Only students who have a perma nent disability that would serve as a vocational handicap are eligible for aid from TRC, be said. TRC also provides such study aids to students as interpreters for the deaf and tape recorders for those not able to take notes. Attendants for para- and quadrap- legics are also available. These al- tendants live with the student and tend to all of his personal needs. There is no charge for TRC ser vices. Elliot estimates there are about 212 handicapped students attending the University on some type of TEC scholarship this fall. “Of these, about 41.4 percentarf severely disabled, Elliott says.Us is a handicap involving twooiwe limbs or organs. Students desiring an assistant may make an application in the TRC office. Room 146, in the Memorial Student Center. — Karen Rogen By MICHELLE SCUDDER Battalion Staff Building improvement projects, though seldom noticed, are con stantly under way on campus. But a drive to improve buildings will be particularly noticed by 212 hand icapped students on tbe Texas A&M University campus. An HEYY ; regulation, published in June 1977, requires that all in- stitututions of higher learning make all programs accessible to qualified handicapped students and person nel. They have until June 3, 1980 to comply with the regulation. Texas A&M Chancellor Jack YVil- liams appointed an ad hoe commit tee in January 1978 to identify build ings with architectural barriers and to see what needs to be done on campus to make all programs acces sible. The committee conducted a survey among academic depart ments to establish priorities for the requirement. Gen. Ormond Simpson, assistant vice president for student services, says that hundreds of curb cuts have been put in sidewalks and that tre mendous progress is being made. Simpson was a member of the ad hoc committee that studied the im provement project. Simpson said Texas A&M did a lot of work bef ore the regulation was is sued because it recognized there was a problem. “All we’ve done is speed up a program that was already in mo tion,’ Simpson said. “We don’t ever anticipate that every building on campus will be accessible to handicapped students, just every program,” he added. He said $35,000 has been spent for work done so far, but there are no specific funds for this purpose yet. Bob Cherry, assistant to the chancellor, said the legislature doesn’t make appropriations for construction or repairs on university campuses. He said the improve ment project will probably be funded by the permanent university fund or local funds. “We will ask the Board of Regents for appropriations from whatever sources may be legal, and approp riated to the particular building being planned,” Cherry said. Tony Helger, of University Sys tem Facilities, said work done so far has been funded in conjunciton witli various construction projects. In order for a building to be ac cessible to handicapped students, tbe student must be able to get into the building, the elevator buttons must be at a height which can be reached from a wheelchair, the re strooms must be modified to ac commodate a person in a wheel chair, and the classroom must have enough space for a wheelchair. Simpson said all new buildings and construction on campus comply witli the regulation. "It is economical and easy to make a new building comply be cause it is designed that way, but it is very expensive to do afterwards,” V Simpson said. “It is $100,(KM) to put an elevator in an old building,” he said. Simpson said that previously when a handicapped student was enrolled in a class in an inaccessible building, the class would be moved to a building that was accessible. “This moving classes worked until a student received a graduate assis- tantship in finance,” Simpson said. The finance department is located in Francis Hall, a building inaccessible to wheelchair students. "At this time it became a requirement for this student to actually get into this building, so a concrete ramp was built to meet his needs,” Simpson said. Simpson explained that Texas A&M can build a dormitory on campus that is inaccessible to hand icapped students as long as there are some dormitories that are accessi ble. All state universities are required to comply with the HEW regulation ^ Pill —— * -a - . M " Tfcl — The Alternative . . .The choice is clear for most students, but universities must comply with an HEW regulation requiring for those who don’t have a choice, the University has pro- all programs to be accessible to qualified handicapped stu- vided ramps to facilitate mobility. By June, 1980, all state dents and personnel. by June 3, 1980, also. Norris Kurio, director of the physical plant at the University of Texas, said they also are well into an improvement program. “We’ve completed over half of our sidewalk curb cuts, and outside ramps, but we still have a lot to do inside the buildings, Kurio said. He said they expect to complete the project in June 1980. Kurio said the UT Board of Re gents appropriated $1.5 million from university Rinds for the pro- gram for the next two years. Bob Carter, staff architect in charge of remodeling at the Univer sity of Houston, said they have done quite a bit. “We’ve added control panels in elevators, modified many restrooms, and added dozens of ramps at curbs and buildings. Car ter said. Although no official ap propriation has been made for the project Carter estimates that it will problably cost the university $2 million to meet the requirement. Battalion photos by Steve Lee Parking areas, such as the area here outside the Biological Sciences building, are provided for disabled or handicapped students. A serious problem arises when unauthorized vehi cles take up these areas. Handicapped students get more P.E. variety Handicapped students who want more physical activity than is of fered by their adaptive P.E. classes should try archery, swimming or rif le ry. Dr. C. YY ; . Landiss, P.E. depart ment head, said that the student may take any activity he or she can get into so long as their participation does not create undue danger to themselves or another student. He added however, that G. Rollie White Coliseum “is not built for handicapped students; there are no ramps or elevators. An elevator in the new addition of the coliseum which is scheduled to begin construction in November will make all of G. Rollie White ac cessible to handicapped students, he said. Completion is scheduled for fall 1980. Patrick Patterson, who specialize in working with people who haw physical handicaps, has been hire® by Texas A&M University this tl and will interview handicapped shi- dents during spring preregis(ration to determine what kinds of P.E. courses they would like to have. Disabled students, like all Aggies, are required by state law to take four hours of P.E. before gradan- h° n • —Karen Rogers