Meeting the Needs of Disabled Students

Before each concert last semester, members of the Harvard Glee Club carried Guy Wallace '88, one of its members, onto the stage at Paine Hall. The routine was not unlike the antics of some of the a capella groups on campus which devise bizarre ways of opening their performances.

But Wallace made his unusual entrance because he had no other way of getting on stage. A rugby accident in high school left him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a wheelchair to get around. Without a special elevator, Wallace needed his friends to hoist him onto the stage. At his request, the University began plans to install a lift, but Wallace was "fed up" waiting for it and quit the group before it was built.

"I got a little tired of being carried on and off stage every time we sang," says Wallace, who has since founded Advocacy for a Better Learning Environment (ABLE). The group of 30 Harvard students, half of whom are handicapped, examines special social and academic problems facing disabled students at Harvard.

Members of ABLE say that, while the University has made some accommodations, it has been slow to offer equal access to disabled students. According to an ABLE report, Harvard has not even followed through with its own plans to make all buildings handicapped-accessible by 1983.

But Harvard officials, as well as some handicapped students, do not agree. University officials argue that creating easy access to every building is impossible because of the prohibitive cost and feasibility of such projects. Some disabled students believe that Harvard has already done a great deal by rearranging class schedules, adding ramps and offering free laundry service.

Access to Harvard

A 16-page report released last week prepared by ABLE and endorsed by the Undergraduate Council criticizes the University for not offering greater assistance to the 50 mobility-impaired Harvard students, including three confined to wheelchairs. The report says that among the problems the University should address dealing with the disabled is the accessibility of buildings and the availability of reserve reading to the visually-impaired in usable form.

Joel Downer '89, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair, has had difficulty just being a philosophy concentrator. The department's offices and library are located on the upper floors of Emerson, which does not have an elevator or special lift.

"It has been a big hassle not being able to get up there," Downer says.

Advocates believe that Downer is merely a victim of Harvard's insensitivity to the problems of the disabled. A large empty shaft exists in Emerson, remnants of renovations from approximately 25 years ago. R. Thomas Quinn, assistant dean of the College for facilities, says that the University ran out of money and could not finish the project. He added that he did not realize that a handicapped student needed access to the upper floors of the building.

According to the council's report, the college wrote a transition plan in 1978 that aimed to make all "essential" College buildings accessible in five years. However, the college has failed to follow through with the plan. "The transition plan is a dead letter," the report says.

Wallace feels that poor access restricts disabled students from using shopping period effectively. In order to attend courses in those 10 days, disabled must notify the University ahead of time in order to have those classes moved to accessible buildings. In addition, non-handicapped bathrooms in many buildings further restrict the movement of disabled students.

Help for Disabled

Although some buildings may exclude the handicapped from entering, some disabled students applaud the University's accommodation of the handicapped. Classes are often moved to structures with ramps and elevators, and special transportation is provided between classes.

"We get a lot of cooperation from the faculty when it comes to moving classes. We always find a way to let the student take what he wants," says Thomas E. Crooks, special assistant to the dean of the College.

"[The University] has been anxious to help with just about anything," Downer says. Downer says that at the beginning of each term he can give a list of courses he is considering taking and the school will move all of them to accessible classrooms.

"I have trouble writing, and the University has been really helpful in giving me extra time for final exams," Downer says. The University also offers free laundry service because most washing machines are located in inaccessible basements.

University officials contend that many of the buildings still not accessible to all students simply cannot be converted. According to Crooks, Harvard Hall would have to be completely gutted in order to make it practically accessible. "Even once you get in, there's stairs in every direction."

Housing

According to both the ABLE report and Crooks, the most severe problems faced by the handicapped involve access to housing. There are 16 freshman dorms with only one accessible to the handicapped. There are 13 upperclass houses, and just two are equipped to house disabled students.

The University has modified two suites in the Yard, both on the ground floor of Canaday B for handicapped use. But with no other accessible dorm in the Yard, handicapped students say their social life is limited. "I can't go to visit any of my friends," said Downer, who lives in Canaday B. "I can't even see anyone upstairs in my own entry."

Although he has found moving around the Yard difficult, Downer is pleased with the tours the University gave him of all the available rooms in the upperclass houses. He says he was allowed to choose the room that best accommodated his need to use a wheelchair. All handicapped freshmen discuss options with College officials prior to the spring lottery to determine their house for the following year.

But most houses and all but two freshman rooms remain unavailable to those severely mobility impaired. Crooks remarks that the reason more houses aren't accessible is that in most cases it would be impossbile.

"Look at Kirkland or Winthrop or any of the Georgian houses. You might be able to ramp it in, but where could you go from there?" Crooks says. Every little hallway and entryway has steps."

Most University officials claim that because of the need for so many bypasses, major renovations to make more rooms accessible is impractible. "Accessibility begins with a ramp, but it doesn't end there," says Quinn. Once inside, sufficiently large elevators with buttons reachable by people in wheelchairs are needed, as well as restrooms and low drinking fountains.

"If someone comes up with a reasonable project, we will follow through with it," says Quinn.

"There's a limit to what you can do realistically."

One proposal drafted by Wallace and Crooks is to make Hurlbut Hall totally accessible. Such a plan would give a handicapped student access to many rooms, not just his room on his floor. Wallace has received estimates that the project would cost about $30,000.

The situation in the houses is almost as bad. Only Leverett, Quincy, and Cabot are even partially accessible. In order to reach the Quincy dining room, disabled students must take a freight elevator in the kitchen. Leverett Towers have elevators but these only go to the even floors. "I have to choose my friends on the even floors only," quipped Wallace, a Leverett resident. "Other people can visit their friends, but you can't."

According to Quinn, the renovations of Cabot House will make that house completely equipped for the handicapped. But no plans are set to modify the other houses, mostly because of the age of the buildings. "They weren't thinking about accessibility 200 years ago when they built buildings like Harvard and University Halls," Quinn says.

Forced to Hurlbut

Harvard began stepping up its programs for the handicapped in 1977 after the Congress passed tighter regulations forcing greater access for the handicapped to facilities financed in part by federal funds. The legislation stated that no individual, "solely by reason of his handicap, shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of" any activity receiving federal funds.

That law required the University to embark on a three-year transition plan that would bring it into compliance. Following the government order, each building was surveyed by a specially appointed planning committee. Surveyors examined each building with architectural plans in hand, accompanied by a student in a wheelchair.

A bill is being considered by the Massachusetts State Senate, calling for even more stringent regulations. According to the law, newly constructed buildings and those that undergo extensive renovations are required to be accessible to the handicapped. Mather House, to a large extent inaccessible, was built 12 years ago, two years prior to the government ruling. The newly renovated Sever Hall is completely accessible, as is Cabot House, which is now being redesigned.

According to recent estimates, the College has spent $612,000 on access modications in the last four years. This figure includes access projects at the football stadium, the Malkin Athletic Center, the Disabled Student Center in Lamont Library, Sever Hall, Briggs Hall, two suites in Canaday, and one suite in Leverett House.

The following is a partial list of those dormitories and University buildings that have full or partial accessibility to handicapped students.

Fully accessible buildings

(with special elevator and bathrooms)

. Classrooms--Sever, Boylston, Littauer, Pierce, Fairchild Biochem Labs, Coolidge, William James, and Sanders Theatre.

. Memorial Hall;

. Libraries-Lamont, Widener (not stacks), Pusey, Hilles, Gutmann, Langdell, Baker;

Partially accessible buildings

. No bathrooms--Cruft, Carpenter Center, Conant Lab, Converse, Jefferson Labs, and Robinson;

. No elevator--Emerson and Robinson.

Accessible dormitories

. Canaday-B entry and Weld North (ground floors);

. Houses--none completely accessible Quincy, Leverett and Currier, partially accessible. (Cabot will become completely accessible after renovations);

. Dining halls--Freshman Union, Leverett, Mather;

. Laundry Facilities--all freshman and upperclass houses except Currier, Mather, Quincy.