PETITION CALLS FOR BC'S COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS SET BY ADA/504" BC NEWS, NEWS JANUARY 26, 2016 BC Gavel BY KATE ROGERS http://bcgavel.com
A petition calling for Boston College to comply with standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 504 Rehabilitation Act (504) has amassed over 21,000 signatures, gaining support from the coordinator of the act, the former Commissioner of Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and BC’s own (and Ice Bucket Challenge famous) Pete Frates. Among the petition’s demands are the removal of architectural barriers (such as placing a wheelchair ramp by the recently completed stairs by McGuinn Hall), the hiring of an ADA/504 coordinator (as opposed to the temporary one in position now), and the appointment of an ADA/504 student representative with disabilities. The group behind the petition is the Disabilities Awareness Committee of Boston College (DAC-BC), which was founded in 2013 by an undergraduate student and Maryan Amaral, LGSOE ’18, and is in the application process of becoming a registered graduate organization. Amaral, who uses a wheelchair, points out various areas around campus that which students with disabilities cannot access without taking meandering routes, such as the roundabout path to McElroy and the recently removed O’Neill Atrium lift that necessitates students using the parking garage elevators. Construction has further restricted the areas easily accessible to those with disabilities, leading to the removal of wheelchair access across the quad and the installation of stairs in the O’Neill Atrium. Professor Susan Michalcyzk was using a walker to get around campus soon after the 2011 completion of Stokes Hall when she discovered the door closest to McElroy did not have a knob, requiring her to go around the building using her walker. After she complained about the incident, it took “about three months” for the door to be fixed. Michalcyzk now serves as the advisor to the group, citing several instances such as the one above that motivated her to get involved. Following an accident, Michalcyzk was left with back problems that compelled her to get a parking pass for the handicapped-only parking spots at BC. The process took much longer than she had expected and necessitated getting letters from doctors each year, which she called a yearly reminder that “you can’t do things other people can do.” The long wait time experienced by Michalcyzk was one she observed to be a trend, remembering that a request for Braille lettering to be put on all the doors on Lower Campus took four months to be addressed. “I think our willingness to devalue people, our willingness to judge, takes priority over responses to humans being all in this together,” said Michalcyzk. “And I think the reason it gets in the way is money.” Requests for BC to make more allowances for those with disabilities are not new, with the school being the subject of a federal investigation after complaints were filed in 2014. Findings by the review board revealed the locking of the handicapped-accessible entrance to Bapst during operating hours, an event documented by DAC-BC in a video on their website. Both Amaral and Michalcyzk cited lack of communication and student advisory boards as major problems that contribute to the administration’s slow response to calls to action, Michalcyzk calling for the creation of a committee of faculty members and students to open communication channels for the discussion of issues on campus. They also each stressed the importance of inclusion, alluding to BC’s Jesuit roots and the sense of community of which they feel those with both visible and invisible disabilities have been shut out. “Students who are excluded from participation, who have no one in administration to address access issues, are not benefiting from social justice and equity,” said Amaral. “If it works, it will bring action and response," said Michalcyzk about the petition. “Ideally, also a change of heart.” |