So I am not a big person, but I am not a small or athletic person either. And I have noticed that I am weaker than the average person. Every day I come to campus, I am faced with the reality that I need to work out because going from the Commons parking garage to the Fine Arts building is a struggle. I am always out of breath and have to force myself to not take a break while going up the stairs to save myself from embarassment. And I thought I was the only one because everyone else was speeding past me up the stairs, but I realized I was not the only one in a couple of my classes.
Last week, I had a couple classes talking about accessibility and mobility, and it was then that I realized that UMBC is just not an accessible school. Many people with mobility disabilities are not able to walk in this campus because of how many stairs there are. Many have to take the elevator in the University Center to get anywhere. Now I am not a disabled person in any way, and I do not want to equate my lack of working out to their inability to walk through campus, but learning about this in my classes brought a new perspective for me because I never had or knew someone with a disability. My relationship with disability is one where I am constantly learning and seeking to learn these new perspectives.
Unruly Bodies 
Your greater awareness of accessibility and mobility in your classes highlighted a part of the problem that goes beyond issues of personal fitness. Your recognition that there are areas on campus that are not fully accessible for those with mobility limitations shows that you are becoming more empathetic and conscious of the experiences of others. The fact that you see the differences between the real challenges encountered by people with disabilities and your own fitness issues. Even if you don’t personally identify as handicapped, your openness to learning and accepting new ideas is admirable. This continuous process of education and reflection helps to create an atmosphere that is more welcoming and compassionate for everybody.
This is a great example of how disability justice and accommodations for folks with disabilities (physical or otherwise) will help everyone, not just those who are disabled. Society, and UMBC campus, disables lots and lots of people. Making campus more accessible with more elevators, longer time periods between classes so that those who take longer won’t miss parts of class, more accessible parking, etc can help more than just those who are disabled.
Another example of how accommodations have helped disabled and abled folks is the curb cut. Sidewalks have an incorporated curb cut for folks in wheelchairs, however this also helps parents with children in strollers, workers who are wheeling around heavy machinery or furniture, and a lot of other people whose needs aren’t super visible.
This is a great example compared to the school I graduated from, Anne Arundel Community College, which is currently under construction to improve its layout. That school also had a lot of stairs but also had direct ramps and elevators for people with disabilities. This college has many stairs and some ramps that have extra curvy paths that are very long and are more out of the way. Using the ramps adds more time to their day from going up the ramp versus using the direct steps. I am disappointed that a more significant university like this school lacks the inclusivity aspect in the campus layouts. I can walk up the several staircases. However, it should not be required, but it is the case. When I go up many staircases, my muscles lock up due to my health issues. I cannot imagine people who have severe physical disabilities who feel like they need to “toughen up” and work through the pain to get where they need to go. More ramps should be added for the people who need them; not all the stairs on campus are required
Hello. Nope, you are not the only one! Hell, I thought I was the only one. I’m not physically disabled and I still feel that UMBC is not as accessible as it could be for the students and staff. I am no used to the walk, but others are not. For example, the handicap parking spots aren’t really helpful because the walk can still be pretty lengthy. I also see more steps and broken elevators instead of lifts or ramps. It’s almost as if the campus is saying, “get to class and we don’t care how”. In one of my classes, she talks about how the Walker building is extremely far and is uphill. She said that the walk is like 4 miles! That’s just to get to campus and not including the walks and steps throughout the campus. What if she depended on a wheelchair? That is unsafe. Think about the different weather situations such as rain, sleet, snow, cold, hot and during the fall when it gets dark early? So, now, not only is there an accessibility issue, tie safety into that as well. I understand that there are monetary reasons and infrastructures for designing things, but where is the compromise? Just because attending UMBC, individuals are outside of the 6-21 years of age for FAPE, which is a federally mandated law so that disabled students can have the same educational access as their peers, doesn’t mean that their voice and impairments don’t matter. We as a campus, need to better.
I definitely agree with you. Everytime I come to our class, I get to the fine arts building at the ground level and there is usually a group of students waiting for the elevator so I decide to take the stairs. As someone who does not run but does do cardio, I am winded by the time I reach our class room. I cannot begin to imagine how the experience is for someone who is not able-bodied. I also agree with you that UMBC is not accessible and there are too many stairs on campus. This reminds me of the conversation we had in class about what can be done to build a more accessible world. Having facilities and resources to accommodate those individuals who are disabled would definitely create a more accessible campus.
UMBC Definity needs to do a better job at accommodating mobility disabilities, heck then need to find a way that is easier for students to get across campus faster and more efficiently. Me personally, am a pretty mobile person because of the work I do at my job but even so still somewhat struggle to go uphill with what seems to be every single day across campus to go to my classes. Sometimes i have to go from ilsb all the way to performing arts and am gassed when i finally get there. I’ve been saying they should get golf carts and have them pick up students that struggle, have mobility issues or anyone really because its a up hill battle for anyone in that campus by the way its constructed, literally. Cant imagine how someone with a disability feels going up ten flight of stairs when I myself hate the idea of walking that distance every single day.
This is so real because a lot of people who don’t go to UMBC know that it has a fairly small campus BUT they don’t know that the campus is literally situated on a hill and you have to use stairs to get everywhere. Its so unfortunate that you would think it would be more accessible to others and not just for people with disabilities. UMBC definitely needs to do a better job and take everyone into consideration.
I definitely agree! I find myself coming to school earlier just to give myself time to walk from lot 1 to the Fine Arts building. I also find it crazy just how inaccessible the parking lots on campus are. For example, I swear they need to add more parking spaces for the amount of students/commuters and provide more handicap parking as well.
UMBC is lowkey a really ableist school when you really analyze it. The handicap bathroom door swing the wrong way and there is not enough space in the stall. Or the ADA doors no not work and elevators do not open level to the floor so it is higher or lower than it is supposed to be. The desks do not have enough space and classes are held in tiny rooms. I am sure there are many other schools just like us and it is sad that this is the norm. There should be people in admin who should be listening to students concerns and actually doing something about it, not sending out emails and not doing any actions.