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Elevating accessibility

Fairbanks, STAG Halls have limited access to upper floors for students with disabilities

Rebecca Johnson

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: News
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Some areas of campus, such as the fourth floor of Strand Agriculture Hall, are inaccessible to students in wheelchairs or who are unable to climb stairs. The upper floors of Fairbanks Hall are also inaccessible. The New Media Communications department and gaming lab are located on the fourth floor of STAG Hall.
Media Credit: Cory Reed
Some areas of campus, such as the fourth floor of Strand Agriculture Hall, are inaccessible to students in wheelchairs or who are unable to climb stairs. The upper floors of Fairbanks Hall are also inaccessible. The New Media Communications department and gaming lab are located on the fourth floor of STAG Hall.

The upper floors of Fairbanks Hall have been off-limits to students with access disabilities for years, and it leaves some wondering if there is anything to be done about it.

There is no elevator in the building, so disabled students' access is limited to the first floor only.

"I have been here 18 years, and almost every year Fairbanks' accessibility comes up," said Tracy Bentley-Townlin, director of Disability Access Services.

Bentley-Townlin would like to see something done, but said that it may just not be a possibility with that particular building. She added that accommodations have been made so that programs are accessible, even if the building is not.

If a student with access disabilities registers for a class that is held in the upper floors of Fairbanks Hall, the class is relocated to another area on campus that allows access to those with disabilities.

Advisors and professors located in the upper floors of Fairbanks must schedule appointments at different locations in order to meet with students.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, says that a small provider is not required to make "significant structural alterations to their existing facilities for the purpose of assuring program accessibility, if alternative means of providing the services are available."

Many admit that even with the accommodations this has still been an ongoing problem, but it does not look as if anything can be done about it any time soon.

Fairbanks is considered a historical building and has been a part of the historical registry since 1985. This limits the work that can be done on the building.
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