TAYLOR TRIMBLE, Staff Writer—
Recently, a close friend of mine fractured both his feet; he broke his fifth metatarsal in each foot, rendering his ability to navigate campus, or anywhere, limited.
Initially, the only feelings I felt toward the situation had been sympathy and a willingness to help. However, I began to feel quite concerned for not only him, but the greater campus of Denison as I quickly realized how difficult it is to navigate campus with any type of physical disability.
After conversing with my friend, Denison’s shortcomings were evident. Particularly, Denison’s location on a hill, the severe lack of campus safety officers, and the absence of properly functioning elevators or elevators in general, makes it extremely challenging for anyone with physical disabilities to live comfortably on campus.
Despite its limitations, it must be noted that Denison’s location on a hill cannot be changed as it would be impractical for several reasons. That being said, there are many ways that Denison can work around its physical location to make themselves more accommodating to both current and prospective students with physical disabilities.
First, Denison should prioritize hiring more campus safety officers. Campus safety officers are an integral part of campus as they respond to altercations, assist with housing hazards, and give rides to those in need.
Their job is of utmost importance and necessity, and they do it effectively. We just need more.
Students with physical disabilities often must call campus safety to get rides to class as they may not have a car, or their disability prevents them from driving.
The severe lack of employees results in longer wait times resulting in these students being late for class, affecting their overall learning experience and grades depending on their teacher’s policy.
By no means is the tardiness of students with physical disabilities the fault of campus safety officers as they try their absolute best to accommodate everyone. It isn’t easy having to decide which situation to address first, considering they handle many different problems with varying levels of severity.
However, we can ensure that most situations and altercations are handled promptly in the future with the mass hiring of qualified, trained campus safety officers.
Along with increasing the number of campus safety offers, it would be immensely beneficial if all residential halls at Denison University had functioning elevators in accessible locations.
For example, the biggest resident hall, Crawford Hall, does not have any elevators despite housing around 279 freshmen, which is close to half of the entire freshman class.
If one or a few of these students were to get injured, restricting their ability to walk, it would be detrimental; along with being unable to navigate the outside campus fully, they wouldn’t even be able to get to their rooms easily.
As it stands right now, Denison is not accommodating to those with disabilities. Not only does this negatively impact current students who may have injuries or other physical disabilities, but it makes Denison virtually impossible for prospective students with physical disabilities to even consider them for their higher education.
Denison can and should do better. As a leading liberal arts college who consistently attempts to prioritize their students first through amazing faculty, rigorous curriculum, and top-notch career preparation, making Denison more physically accessible shouldn’t be a problem.
Why limit the types of students who can apply and later attend when there are such simple fixes?