Purdue works to make campus accessible to all

By Sarah Szczepanski
Assistant Features Editor

Brad Duerstock got stuck in the lower level of Stewart Center when the power went out in Purdue's campus. The elevator that Duerstock, a post-doctorate research associate, used to get to the upper level did not work.

Duerstock, who has been paralyzed since a diving accident, was thankful that students nearby carried him and his wheelchair up the stairs and out of the building to freedom.

There are 759 students on Purdue's West Lafayette campus who have disabilities. Sometimes their needs get met, sometimes they don't.

Besides funds granted by the state, the University gives physical facilities, the office responsible for making campus accessible for disabled students, a recurring $100,000 a year for small projects.

The office does things such as installing tactile signage, which shows the classroom number in academic buildings. Ally Matt, who is diagnosed with Lebers, a disease that limits her eyesight, said the Braille plates and raised room numbers are useful.

Previously, Matt, a sophomore in the School of Liberal Arts, wandered around buildings to find her classrooms.

"I would ask someone in the hall if they knew where the room was," she said.

With the tactile signs up, Matt said it is easier to find her way.

Duerstock experienced problems that were solved by similar small projects.

"A lot of doors did not have door openers," he said. "I would have to wait until someone walked by to get in. It was especially bad when it was raining."

According to Duerstock, the problem was not limited to the outside doors. He would also have to wait until someone walked by the entrance of the Veterinary Medicine Library to enter.

Duerstock contacted Owen Cooks, the Americans with Disabilities Act facility coordinator, and both problems were solved.

More automatic openers were added for the outside doors, and a small doorbell was installed outside the Veterinary Medicine Library doors so someone from the inside could open the door.

It works great, Duerstock said.

Not all of the projects that the University does are small projects.

The state allots a variable amount of money to the repair and rehabilitation budget every two years for larger projects. During the 1999-2000 cycle, $850,000 of this money was used in the Recitation Building, where an elevator was added.

Although the University has done much to make campus more accessible, Duerstock said that there is still more to rehabilitate.

"Housing is a problem," he said.

Duerstock, who lives in Young Graduate house, said he spends over $1,000 a month on housing because he needs two adjoining rooms and a special shower.

There really could be more rooms available, he said.

Among some of the residence halls with special rooms for disabled students are Hawkins Graduate House, McCutcheon , Hillenbrand, Shreve and Earhart.

The renovations in Cary Quadrangle have plans to add more rooms for the disabled, according to Cooks.

According to Duerstock, renovation of some of the old buildings may not be such a bad idea.

"Sometimes the accessible entrance is not the closest," he said. "The entrance in Lily (Hall of Life Sciences) is way in the back. If I am running late, it adds an extra five to 10 minutes travel time."

Although Cooks said projects such as adding a new entrance to Lily can get expensive; he also said his next large project is building an outside ramp and an elevator and renovating some restrooms in University Hall.

University is the only academic building at Purdue that does not have a wheelchair entrance.

But while accessibility issues remain, the dean of students office works with students to solve them.

"The students are supposed to contact us if they have a mobility impairment, whether it is crutches or a wheelchair," said Dean Brusnighan, the dean of students.

He said sometimes there is a problem if one of these students can't enter a building or if there is not enough time for them to get to their next class.

"This is usually around 70 students every semester," said Brusnighan.

The office of the dean of students, space management, the students and academic scheduling work together to come up with solutions.

Sometimes the entire class is moved.

Once Duerstock had a biology class changed to the Physics Building. "Everyone in the class kept asking why we were there," he said.

But sometimes there are instances when the classes' lectures are too large to be moved, said Brusnighan.

"At this point, I tell the students, 'We've tried; here is the situation,' and then we give them choices and leave it up to them," he said.

Brusnighan said that working with the students in all accessibility cases is important.

"Purdue is pretty good," said Duerstock. "They are getting better and better.

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