[Cagdu] FW: [nagdu] Access Limited for Stanford's Handicapped Students

[tina thomas]

Subject: [nagdu] Access Limited for Stanford's Handicapped Students

    November 06, 2009 05:23 PM ET | Jeff Greer | Handicapped students at
Stanford University aren't exactly happy-and for good reason.
 
Disabled students at Stanford University don't have easy access to every
classroom and building on campus, the Stanford Daily reports. Dorm access
and double doors on campus have caused particular difficulty for some.
 
"Only one door can be opened from the outside sometimes, and sometimes it is
the left door rather than the right door," Nicole Torcolini, a sophomore who
is blind, tells the Daily. "This is problematic for two main reasons: First,
it encourages . . . not following the usual pattern of traffic of traveling
on the right, causing more confusion. Second, doors opening on the left do
not work well for my guide dog."
 
According to the Daily, it's not just moving around buildings and classrooms
that's difficult. The campus isn't easily navigable, either.
 
"Sometimes the only way to get somewhere requires walking in or across a
bike lane, which can be rather dangerous, particularly for my guide dog,"
Torcolini tells the Daily. "Furthermore, I have found that most bikers do
not take precautions to watch for pedestrians."
 
Resident Fellow Clyde Moneyhun says it's easy to understand Torcolini's
frustration.
 
"The trouble is that it takes only one thoughtless act-one bike left in
front of the stairs, one big, empty box left in a hallway, one couch left in
the walkway in the lounge-to create accessibility problems," Moneyhun says.
"What we need is more diligence on the part of all the residents in making
sure that everybody who lives here has equal access to all parts of the
building."
 
The university created a group to help disabled students deal with issues
like these on campus: the Disabilities and Accessible Education Committee.
The panel is meant to provide a way for disabled students to voice their
concerns.
 
"We are trying to make disability resources more cohesive for students so
that campus is easier to access," says committee Cochair Julia Feinberg, who
has spinal muscular atrophy. "We are also trying for more contact with
housing and admission."
 
Source: 
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/11/06/access-limited
-for-stanfords-handicapped-students.html
 
Ginger Bennett Kutsch
Morristown, NJ

 
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