It's not as hard as it used to be to negotiate campus in a wheelchair

By Robin Leach

Assistant dean of students and director Student Disability Resource Center

To most of us, the changes are small -- ramps where before there were only steps, signs pointing the way to the "accessible" entrance, wider doors on bathroom stalls and automatic door openers.

But for students with disabilities, it can mean the difference between going to college and not going.

FSU, like universities all over the country, has begun to make the changes that allow students with disabilities -- primarily mobility, visual, and hearing impairments -- to have the kind of college experience that is taken for granted by the majority (called "temporarily able-bodied," or "TABS," by people with disabilities).

A federal law passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, requires many changes to make campuses more accessible. And FSU is making other improvements, such as automatic door openers, that are not required by law.

FSU has a national reputation for services to students with disabilities. More than 800 students are registered with the Student Disability Resource Center, which offers academic support tailored to their needs.

While we at FSU are very accommodating, we still have many old buildings that pose accessibility problems for students and faculty with physical disabilities.

We have adopted a three-pronged, practical approach.

First, we are concentrating on entrance accessibility. If a person can't get into a building, it doesn't really matter if restrooms and water fountains are usable.

The goal, according to Steve Adamick, coordinator of facilities planning, is to have an automatic door opener at the main entrance of every building.

Just as important is the ability to find the entrance that's easy to get into. ADA, the 1990 law, requires signs at all inaccessible entrances showing where the accessible entrances are. Signs have appeared on many buildings on campus and are being printed for the rest.

The third element of the plan is to make restrooms easy for everybody to use. Some require minor modifications, but others, in older buildings, must have major renovations.

You can already see the improvements at Westcott, the main administration building. After Westcott, buildings are scheduled for improvements according to how much students use them.