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Grand View University’s diverse student body encompasses a wide variety of individual experiences and has the resources to support them. However, as always, certain experiences tend to garner more visibility than others. One that can come as an afterthought for many, if it is a thought at all, is that of those with a disability. 

Having a disability can mean countless different things. Though the common stick-figure shorthand for handicapped is a person in a wheelchair, disability is much more complicated in reality. It can pertain to physical ability, mental ability, or social ability and be instantly identifiable or externally invisible. This plurality is very complex and often has the effect of abled people unintentionally simplifying or erasing the disabled experience. 

Crystal Fierro, Grand View’s Director of Accessibility Services works with managing accessibility concerns and requests from students. On disability’s visibility, she stressed that it is important to be mindful of others. 

“Not all disabilities are visible. Your friend sitting next to you who you see in class every week could have a disability, and you’d never know,” Fierro said. 

Even when it is visible, disability can still be overlooked on campus. Ciara Perry, a student who uses a powerchair and a walker, relayed a frustrating experience with the handicap button next to the door on the outside of her dorm. 

“We did recently have the handicap button on the door break, and that’s because people kick the button. You wouldn’t think you need to tell college kids not to kick the button, but you have to,” Perry said. 

At the time of the interview, the button had been out of order for a week. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that if you are not gentle with those things, they break and they have repercussions for those of us that absolutely need that service to be functional,” Perry said. 

In the absence of a working button, Perry had to accelerate into the door and push it open with her foot, which she described as difficult and risky. If the door needed to be pulled, she had to maneuver close enough to grab the handle and open it, then move through quickly enough to avoid it hitting her as it swung back closed. 

“I mean, I’ve just managed. I’ve got to keep going with my life. I can’t just stay in my room all day and not go to class,” Perry said. 

On what she wished physically abled people could be more conscious of, Perry had a few different thoughts. 

“Hold the door for people. I don’t feel like I should have to tell you that. One, it does really help those of us with disabilities but two, it’s also just a respectful thing to do for someone. Regardless if they are able-bodied or not,” Perry said. 

She also asked for people to practice being more aware of their surroundings. 

“Watching where you’re walking. I’ve taken out a couple of people or gotten close. Stay off your phone and watch where you’re walking because I don’t want to run you over. I’d really rather not,” Perry said. 

Certain areas of campus tend to be better about physical accessibility than others. While newer buildings like the Rasmussen Center and the Henning Student Center are fairly up to date on accessible features, older ones like Jensen Hall and Elings Hall are not.  

This is because of the ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, which was passed in 1991 and holds buildings to a set of standards intended to maximize accessibility. Buildings constructed after 1991 are required to meet these standards, and while buildings built before 1991 are not exempt, they are not required to overhaul their designs for the purpose of accessibility. 

Philip Nestler, another student who uses a powerchair and has classes in Elings Hall, had issues with the bathrooms there. 

“The bathrooms that they have in there are small. My chair probably couldn’t even fit through the door in Elings. There’s not even any buttons on it,” Nestler said. 

Nestler said that the first change he would make to Grand View’s campus would be to add more buttons on bathroom doors. Right now, they are clustered mainly in the middle of campus. This can present a serious problem for someone who may need them to use the bathroom and go across campus to get to an accessible restroom. 

“Elings just stresses me out so much. I have to figure out when I’m going to use the restroom because I have to use the restroom over here [in the Student Center] first and then go over there, or I have to wait,” Nestler said. 

Nestler is also a member of the e-sports team and was frustrated as he was unable to access the main room for e-sports activities in Nielsen Hall.  

“I was kind of sad that I couldn’t actually go down to the main one to see what goes on down there, because there isn’t a ramp in that building. They have stairs going down there, but that’s it,” Nestler said. 

As Director of Accessibility Services, Fierro manages issues like these. She stated that the problem with the lack of handicapped buttons on bathroom doors has been brought to the university’s attention and is being worked on. 

“It is underway. We’ve had somebody come out and assess and provide a quote,” Fierro said. 

However, considering GVU’s size and the number of accessibility issues that land on Fierro’s desk, it is difficult for her to deal with everything. Money is an obvious concern, but so is the fact that she is currently a department of one. 

“The more we could support this department and let it grow, the more we could potentially put more awareness out there. Because being by myself I can’t do all that, and I wish I could do more,” Fierro said. 

Awareness is a key part of the uphill battle to make campus accessible for all. Issues with physical spaces are one aspect of this, but so are digital spaces. Font, ALT text, color choices, and text size can all impact the accessibility of digital documents, something many are not aware of until they are told. While these things may seem trivial to some, they can seriously impact how well people with impaired vision are able to understand digital documents. 

Fierro urged everyone, regardless of their levels of ability, to access the guides she has made available under the resources tab of the Accessibility Services page on myGVU. There are checklists for physical and digital accessibility, as well as pointers for planning accessible events. 

The most common accessibility requests that Fierro receives relate to testing, either in asking for extra time or a more controlled environment to take tests in. When designing a more accessible GVU, she noted the need for a facility to address this. 

“An area specifically designed for testing where students could come in and there would be proctors employed. They could come in at different times and we could have a more fluid schedule and have plenty of space to have tests. We wouldn’t be fighting for spaces and it could be quiet and be an area that we could control more of those outside factors,” Fierro said. 

A good deal of the accessibility issues on campus, like this testing facility or the bathroom door buttons, are not overnight fixes. This can lead to daily frustrations for the disabled that become routine, ones that the abled walk past without noticing. 

Fierro is aware of this and has floated the idea of a disability and allies club as a place to come together over those shared experiences and make others more aware of them. 

“Having somebody where you can say ‘are you having that problem too?’ And they’re like ‘yes’, I mean it’s almost this comradery of ‘we’re both in this together, how are you trying to cope?’” Fierro said. 

The club has not currently taken off due to a lack of students willing to join. 

“I think what makes it really hard and why I didn’t have many takers is that you may have to disclose ‘I’m disabled and that’s why I’m here’. I think that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. And unfortunately, I don’t know that we’re quite there,” Fierro said. 

Though a dedicated group for those with disabilities does not exist to promote awareness, Fierro urged students, staff, and faculty to try and make themselves more aware every day. 

“It’s a practice of mindfulness, if you will, if you haven’t lived that experience or known somebody close to you who has. If you look for it, you find it,” Fierro said.  

Some of the barriers that those with disabilities face, especially the physical infrastructure of campus buildings, are not fixable by the average individual. Despite this, even the effort to be aware of those with disabilities and their struggles can make a difference. 

“If it was something that people would go, today I’m going to see if there’s somebody around me who is disabled, and maybe I can help them or strive to talk to them, get to know them. Whatever that is, I think you’ll find it more,” Fierro said. 

Disability is not an easy topic with an easy solution. Still, if GVU’s community members work towards more of these small, well-intentioned gestures, it could create a better campus climate for all.