Student helps resolve accessibility problems

Jason Gulley/Exponent Photographer UNLIMITED ACCESS: Scott Kempf, a senior in the School of Technology, and James McGlothlin, an associate professor of health sciences, are using video technology to make campus more accessible for students with disabilities.

By Jenny Jones
Features Editor

On the way to class one day, Scott Kempf, a senior in the School of Technology, found himself stuck in a pile of snow.

Kempf, who developed brain stem cancer during his sophomore year and lost full function of his lower body, was riding his motorized scooter across the street when he noticed that the curb cut, an opening on the sidewalk that allows people with wheelchairs, bikes and scooters to reach the sidewalk with ease, had not been properly cleared of snow.

With no other way to get around, Kempf attempted to ride over the snow-covered curb cut but found himself trapped as his tires began to spin.

Luckily, said Kempf, that day a passing student volunteered to push his scooter out of the snow; however, there are many times when Kempf and others with disabilities face accessibility obstacles without the assistance of others.

That is why Kempf, along with James McGlothlin, an associate professor of health sciences, is working on a project to make Purdue more accessible for students with disabilities. The project uses a video recorder to capture every obstacle Kempf faces while traveling on campus.

Although the video recorder is able to see everywhere Kempf goes, no one is able to see the camera, which is kept hidden away in a black bag and wire basket attached to the front of Kempf's scooter.

"We didn't want him to be a spectacle," said McGlothlin.

The camera, which is connected to a small video lens located on the front of Kempf's scooter, takes in the images and records them on a tape in the video camera whenever Kempf's scooter is in motion. The camera is triggered to record by a motion sensor located on the front wheel of Kempf's scooter; after 30 seconds without moving, the video recorder stops recording.

"We had to find a way to tape only what we wanted to tape," said Ryan Traylor, a graduate student in the Schools of Engineering and creator of the electrical workings of the project. "(So by recording only when Kempf is in motion) we can get most of the day's activities right there on one tape."

Kempf and McGlothlin then look at those tapes and report the problems to Owen Cooks, the Americans with Disabilities Act facilities coordinator.

"(This project allows us) to get some more feedback from a user with a disability," said Cooks. "(It) identifies priorities for us that we might not have known existed."

Since the project began approximately a month ago, Kempf has effectively gotten many policies and accessibility problems fixed.

One problem that Kempf helped resolve concerned a locked door.

After one of his classes, Kempf had to exit through the class's demonstration room in order to reach the elevator. But, because the door to the room was kept locked, he wasn't able to pass through without someone opening the door for him. Considering the inconvenience, Kempf told the Cooks about the problem.

Then, one day, when he was exiting the classroom, Kempf sat at the door and knocked for someone to open it, but no one answered. Kempf continued to sit at the door for more than 30 seconds, causing the camera to shut off; then, he decided to try opening the door himself and to his surprise it was unlocked.

"It makes me feel better (that things are getting fixed)," Kempf said. "(But) I also wish they'd let me know that they changed it."

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