Katelyn Wilburn, Campus Carrier opinions editor
Berry College is a large, lively and lovable campus for its students. Unfortunately, the cultivation of this nature-oriented, historical campus has led to inaccessibility issues for the Berry community. Although Berry has many resources for academic accommodations, when researching accommodations for housing, it can be frustrating and difficult to find any information. The necessity of an accessible campus should be further addressed not only on a case-by-case basis, but for the student body as a whole.
The most obvious difficulty for students with disabilities is the sheer size of the campus. Not only do some of these walks tire fully able students, but the campus transportation at Berry isn’t what you would call reliable. Campus transportation is often unpredictable on what times they can pick students up. Just scheduling a time for the campus bus to pick someone up can take multiple calls, with some going unanswered. Along with this struggle, the process of using the Berry bus and getting transport to classes can take over half an hour to accomplish, making the already difficult process feel like a burden to students. Furthermore, campus transportation at Berry should implement a new way of requesting rides along with arranging specific time frames the students request them to arrive. This will help students make it to class on time and add structure to the system.
So, what happens after the student finally makes it to their class building? Well, many buildings are mostly staircases, only having a few doors with wheelchair accessibility and few elevators available. Having limited entrances with easy accessibility causes difficulty for students to navigate the campus. Even if the student is capable of walking, the sheer number of stairs are intimidating and grueling for people suffering from chronic pain or even a sudden injury.
Even after entering a specific building at Berry, the fight never really ends. Green only has one elevator in the entire building, which further complicates navigation through the narrow halls. Imagine how difficult it could be for someone with mobility issues to navigate these student-packed floors to find the one working elevator in the building. And even though Green’s elevator just got replaced, it has had a horrible history of breaking down constantly, and so does the elevator in Krannert and other older facilities at Berry. Is the backup plan for the only elevator in Green being broken down to just not go to class? There is a possibility of reassembling the class outside or in a different room, but the clear difficulty for students with mobility issues or cases of chronic pain is apparent inside and outside of the classroom.
Not only are students hindered when it comes to transport to their everyday classes, but Berry has many dorms that aren’t accessible for students with disabilities. Ford is one of the main concerns, as Berry has still not installed an elevator within the walls of the dormitories, making the first floor the only somewhat accessible area in the entire location. Even though the first floor could be seemingly accessible, the terrain surrounding Berry’s beloved castle is another battle to be fought. The parking lot closest to East Mary has little acessible parking, and the first floor isn’t even on the entrance level; there is instead a staircase leading up to the actual first floor.
There are clear areas within Berry’s campus that do not adhere to the accessibility needs of students on the main campus and the dormitory areas. Overall, the issues with accessibility on campus need to be reviewed and resolved.
One of the ways Berry can compensate for its problems with accessibility is to revamp the transportation system around campus. Although mostly run by student workers, there should always be a campus bus available for someone who needs it, whether it is due to sudden injury, chronic pain or simply in need of assistance. Along with this, Berry can delegate more of their funds to installing and maintaining more elevators, accessible entrances and pathways. Berry is a community and therefore Berry must assist all community members.