We here at the
Though UMass is a respected college and a premier research institution, perfect it is not. Like any other school in this country, our school has its flaws. However, these flaws can be corrected if given the adequate attention.
One flaw that could be corrected ‘- given the proper resources ‘- is the lack of accessibility on campus.
While some measures have been taken to make the campus more accessible, such as updating elevator systems in some buildings, there is still plenty of room for improvements.
You may ask why I think accessibility is an issue that needs to resolved. Let me answer that in two parts.
First of all, as a country, we seem to work along a formula for success that goes somewhere along the lines of speed plus efficiency equals productivity. In this case, accessibility for everyone would lead to great productivity within the university environment.
Students look at college as a place where they can have fun and get a good education. These factors are the leading attributes in making the college decision. However, when looking at colleges, appearance and function also have a large impact.
Now if you were a student visiting UMass and you were in a wheelchair, you may look at things differently than a common student. You wouldn’t have the option of taking the stairs, so elevators are your best friend.
Say you wanted to go the intramural office in Boyden Gymnasium. How do you get to that second floor? The only way to access the building is by going up the stairs. Once you make it into the building, the only way from floor to floor via elevator is by way of the freight elevator.
I’d be slightly miffed at that. This applies not only for the gym but classrooms as well. Some classrooms are nearly impossible to get into due to lack of accessibility. For a student, that could be a deciding factor of whether they want to come to school here or not.
It’s one of the main problems at UMass: the elevators. We have all read horror stories of the elevators in the library going haywire, but that is only the surface of the problem.
While UMass has learned to maintain its elevators to an extent, as most new buildings have good elevators, the old buildings are left in the dark. Boyden has a freight elevator but not a convenient regular elevator. The Morrill Science buildings and Bartlett Hall have elevators that look like they have been around since Bob Dylan was in his prime.
That is not acceptable.
What I propose is, once the University budget is able to allow it, that elevators in old buildings be updated. Let the money go to something that is needed. While the addition of bigger signs on campus was neat, it wasn’t direly necessary. Updating modes of transportation to make others’ lives easier and the University more efficient is.
Yet another proposal that I have is to make walkways more wheelchair accessible. I have one incident in mind in particular that struck me on this matter.
When I was at orientation in the summer of 2006, I was standing in front of
They had to have a counselor show them a roundabout route that involved either going to the south side of Hampden where there was a ramp present or going around the bike path to make it to the DC.
That is also not acceptable. It is my belief that a ramp should be built there, in some manner, to make it more accessible.
At UMass, it is time to change some of these small things. By making accessibility harder for people, we are discouraging the education that we are trying to encourage for everyone.
We are encouraging kids to come to UMass for a great education but denying them that chance by making it so that classrooms are not fully accessible. Thus, the process becomes counter-productive.
Let’s stop defeating ourselves and make the campus what
it should be: an efficient and productive engine for the nation in all aspects.
Matt Kushi is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].
