Written by: Eva Resz
Southern Adventist University has created a five-year accessibility plan that began this school year. The plan aims to address equal accessibility for all students on campus. There will be several installations throughout campus, such as handicap push buttons, tactile signs for those who are visually impaired and an elevator in Thatcher Hall.
There will be several installations throughout campus, such as handicap push buttons, tactile signs for those who are visually impaired and an elevator in Thatcher Hall.
Southern’s Student Development committee, Disability Support Services office and Student Development department began discussing the five-year accessibility plan in 2023 according to Dennis Negrón, vice president for Student Development.
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that was established to ensure that those with disabilities are allowed equal opportunities as everyone else. Negrón said that Southern’s decision to improve its campus “is an expectation of the federal government and our goal is to make things easier for those students with disabilities.”
Over the next five years, 15 changes will occur in order to reach the benchmark of making campus more accessible, according to the 5-year plan provided by Negron. Southern’s five-year plan. The plan will be updated annually as time goes on and aims to make the campus fully ADA compliant by 2028-2029 according to Negrón.
Southern’s campus can expect several changes which include an accessibility map that will be updated each school year, elevators with auditory capabilities to announce floors and handicap buttons throughout Southern’s campus. Outstanding impediments to accessibility such as heavy doors, steep inclines of ramps and walkways will be addressed.
“We recognize that our campus is growing, and as it grows, it also grows among students who are in some way disabled. Because of that, we recognize there is a need to make our campus fully accessible to all students,” said Negrón.
The Student Development Committee reached out to Heidi Burke, sophomore history major, and Kyla Robbins, Southern alumni, before the 5-year plan was established to assess where Southern’s campus could improve. The committee asked both participants questions on their challenges as students with disabilities navigating campus and what accessibility project they would prioritize.
The two suggested the addition of ramps throughout campus, smoother walkways and easier access within buildings. The information Burke and Robbins shared was an important part of developing the 5-year plan according to Negrón.
Burke shared with the Student Development Committee that although the campus is “accessible” she must leave much earlier for class, and the lack of a strong program for students with disabilities was discouraging. Robbins explained to the Student Development Committee that signs on campus do not have braille and are not labeled tactically in buildings.
