By Claudia Balthazar
Despite the University’s recognition as a leading school for students with disabilities, SGA addressed more proposals to help these members of the student population last week.
“[We decided to take on this issue] because SGA is here to be an advocate for the student body,” said SGA Senator Yeri Lee. “We’re supposed to not only deal with student clubs but also everything else [concerning students] since we do represent the student body.”
Beginning last semester, members of the Academic Affairs Committee surveyed the campus to find out which buildings needed improvements beneficial to students with disabilities. The committee will meet with Amy Catalano from Library Services and Deborah Hancock, the Assistant Director of Services for Students with Disabilities on Monday, March 19 to discuss the next steps necessary for making improvements. Students with disabilities are invited to come to the meeting to express their concerns.
“This is an opportunity for people with disabilities to speak up,” said Julie Yindra, director of Services for Students with Disabilities. “We never had the support or the time to look at the issues in a broader spectrum because we have a lot of everyday responsibilities so we depend on students to give us that feedback.”
Cheyenne Phillips, a freshman student with disabilities, likes that SGA and the administration are meeting to discuss proposed improvements.
“I think the meeting is a great idea because if they’re [administrators] not using the handicap entrance, they won’t know what’s wrong with it,” said Phillips. “So it’s great to bring problems to their attention and it’s up to them to try to fix it.”
One of Phillips’ first concerns is how the automatic door in Adams Hall sometimes does not work.
“The door is very heavy to open so if my friend decides to not come to class one day, and no one else is by the door to help me, then I won’t be able to get into the building,” she said.