A suggestion for
Disability Services leads to solution
By Dylan Biles
Contributing Writer
Installation of doorbell helps with access
Each month, the News-Register will highlight one or two of the suggestions
which students and faculty put in the Listening Boxes, the suggestion
boxes placed around campus by North Lake.
This month: A suggestion by a student regarding the Disability Services
office has led to some quick action.
The suggestion, collected by North Lake’s administrators on Feb.
27, expressed concern about accessibility of the Disabilities office. “Disability
Services should be more student-friendly,” the anonymous comment
read. “The door should be open so students can get in and out easier.”
Leaving the door open is an option that most students, however, don’t
want. “We’ve surveyed our students because we actually prefer
the door open,” said Carole Gray, director of disability services.
What students prefer differs. “Students tell us that it’s
very hard to walk into an office that says, ‘Disability Services’,” continued
Gray. “It’s even harder now that we are in an open area
for other students to see them in here, so they’d prefer to have
the door closed.”
However, upon the request from the anonymous student, Disability Services
provided a quick, if temporary solution. Within 24 hours, the department
bought a doorbell for the door which will alert members of the Disability
Services staff that someone needs assistance. It was installed within
one week.
“That’s not exactly accessibility,” said Gray. “People
want to be able to come in by themselves.”
To help remedy the situation, Gray has submitted a proposal to install
an automatic door. The doors are expensive, around $5,000, according
to Gray. “The school has to weigh, “Do we want to put in
a whole lab and more classrooms or a door?”
While that option is considered,
Gray wants students
who need help from Disability Services to know that they want to do whatever
they can to help them. “We’re the advocates for students
with disabilities on this campus. Anything we can respond to, we want
to take care of because we’re their voice.” |
