Invisible Burdens: Students Talk Accessibility Challenges
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VOLUME 104, ISSUE NO. 13 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 ILLUSTRATION BY yifeI zhANg Invisible burdens: students talk accessibility challenges RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN & AJAY KUMAR co-chair of the Student Association’s That was my whole life plan ever since I was “It was 100 percent not their fault,” NEWS EDITOR & FOR THE THRESHER Students with Disabilities Council, said. a child.” DiGiovanna said. “It was just the infrastructure Alan Russell, director of the Disability that was the issue [which] couldn’t be fixed by Each semester a Rice student will spend Resource Center, said that Herzstein Hall has them. And honestly, they were some of the hours carefully crafting a course schedule several complications in terms of accessibility, best professors I’ve had at Rice.” that fills their major requirements, impresses but they are working to improve those issues. Vidisha Ganesh, a Baker College junior, future employers and avoids that dreaded 8 I had to change my entire “This office worked with [Facilities found herself in a similar situation during a.m. section. But students with disabilities major due to severe Engineering and Planning] to improve access her first semester at Rice when she took often have to worry about another factor: into the building, which resulted in a ramped differential equations in Herzstein Hall. accessing their classrooms. A pending case accessibility issues... entrance instead of the old mechanical “The stairs leading to the second floor of against Rice by the Department of Education That unfortunately platform lift,” Russell said. Herzstein are treacherous on their own, but for disability discrimination motivated a drastically changed the DiGiovanna said the lack of proper with my additional lack of balancing abilities, deeper investigation into the experience of direction of my life. infrastructure was the sole reason he had to I felt endangered every time I had to go up or students with disabilities on campus. change his major. down,” Ganesh said. “It got to the point where Shane DiGiovanna “Twenty-nine years after the Americans I literally asked the professor to accompany ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES with Disability Act was passed, students me down the stairs every day after class.” Shane DiGiovanna, a Martel College junior, MARTEL COLLEGE JUNIOR still have to factor in their disability when Felix Wu, a graduate student, also said he had to change his major from physics choosing what to major in, which I believe experienced poor accessibility during his time to economics due to the inaccessibility of the “That unfortunately drastically changed the is not good and kind of unacceptable,” at Rice as an undergraduate. second-floor Herzstein Hall physics labs. direction of my life, because I was planning DiGiovanna said. “Once when I was going to class, I couldn’t “I had to change my entire major due to on being an aerospace engineer working in However, DiGiovanna said he does not physically get in the building because the severe accessibility issues,” DiGiovanna, the space industry at NASA, JPL, SpaceX ... blame the physics department. SEE ACCESSIBILITY PAGE 7 NEWS More than 2,000 signatures demand Entrance 23 crosswalk NICOLE LHUILLIER students of Rice University. However, the Marshall said he discovered the petition “We have been told that the city now FOR THE THRESHER potential crosswalk does not fall under the as a post in a Rice alumni group on feels they can only build the roundabout authority of Rice, Richard Johnson, Rice Facebook. He said the administration at the corner of Sunset and Rice Boulevard A student’s petition for a crosswalk professor and chair of the Rice Mobility believes a roundabout, rather than (which they themselves originally near the university’s entrance 23 on Rice Safety Committee, said. a crossing, would provide the ideal proposed) if the church is willing to Boulevard has gained more than 2,000 “Rice Boulevard is a city street, so any situation for pedestrians and bikers on donate this property rather than having signatures — 2,052 at the time of print. decision about installing a crosswalk would Rice Boulevard According to Marshall, the city pay to acquire it as it would for Posted on change.org on November have to come from the City of Houston,” a traffic signal on the Rice-Sunset any other city construction project that 11, the petition is addressed to the city Johnson said. “Rice University cannot [Boulevard] intersection would be involves private land,” Marshall said. council, the city of Houston and the make physical changes to Rice Boulevard.” ineffective due to the intersection’s As an alternative to the roundabout, a administration, faculty, parents and Director of University Affairs Greg triangular configuration. SEE CROSSWALK PAGE 3 2 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 THE RICE THRESHER NEWS RYD, Baker Institute discuss event exclusivity SA in KELLY LIAO THRESHER STAFF review The Rice Young Democrats met with the Baker Institute on Friday, Nov. 22 to discuss making Baker Institute-hosted Senate bills events more accessible to students, according to Rice Young Democrats passed this semester president Maddy Scannell. Since last year, high-profile speaker events including the visits of former Nov. 4 To Charter the President Barack Obama and current Vice President Mike Pence have been Off-Campus Students exclusive to students who are involved in Resources and Concerns high leadership positions of on-campus political organizations and those who are Task Force affiliated with the Baker Institute. Last month, the Baker Institute initially gave 12 tickets to the Baker Nov. 11 To Charter the SA Institute Student Forum for Secretary Audit Task Force of State Mike Pompeo’s speech. After Channing Wang / ThREShER Rice Young Democrats requested the Members of the Rice Young Democrats met with Baker Institute leadership in late November to event be opened to more students, the discuss potential reforms for increasing student accessibility to high-profile speaker events. Nov. 11 To Charter a Baker Institute added members of some politically engaged campus groups and main event space, Doré Commons, can Institute advertised the event through Culture of Care Baker Institute interns to the invite list, hold a maximum of 300 guests. Therefore, ALLDEPTS mailing list. Scannell said a lot Task Force according to Scannell. According to invitations to the Rice community are of people aren’t on the ALLDEPTS mailing Stevenson, over 60 students ended up limited. list because it often gets spammed. She attending the event. Decisions about the event location also thinks that was the only attempt that Nov. 18 To Create a Student On the Friday meeting with Stevenson, and audience capacity are determined by they made to inform students of the event. Rice Young Democrats proposed several anticipated interest, venue availability Students who are not on the leadership Legal Services Working reforms. According to Scannell, the Baker and logistical costs, according to positions of political clubs expressed Group Institute rejected the idea of a campus- Stevenson. frustration of having difficulty accessing wide lottery to distribute event tickets According to Scannell, in the meeting the Pompeo event. because they want to prioritize tickets between Rice Young Democrats andthe Although he was informed through Senate resolutions/ to those who are connected to the Baker Baker Institute leadership, Stevenson said the listserv, Josue Alvarenga, a member of Institute, according to Scannell. most speakers normally choose to hold the general board of BISF, said he did not Bylaw changes this Rice Young Democrats also suggested the talk in Doré Commons since they want have a chance to attend the talk. semester that the Baker Institute send invitations a small venue to make the room look full. “You had to apply to be part of the to a listserv for students with an “[Stevenson] told us that Biden’s team BISF general board to even have access interest in politics and open up a link to wanted to speak at the Baker Institute, to one of the very few spots offered and Sept. 9 To Create the undergraduates to submit questions. but the events team convinced them they those spots were taken within minutes,” “They [Baker Institute] expressed could fill Tudor [Fieldhouse],” Scannell Alvarenga, a Baker freshman, said. “It Association of Rice Alumni interest in this proposal,” Scannell said. “Since the Baker Institute commons doesn’t seem right that only a dozen Liaison through a Bylaw said. “But they said this could operate can hold a little over 300 people, they students out of thousands had access to as a lottery for those students who start looking at other spaces like Stude this event.” Ammendment demonstrate interest in policy, and they [Concert Hall] and Tudor [Fieldhouse] Anthony Saliba, the president of Rice think it should be managed by BISF.” when there are more than 400 event University College Republicans, said he The Baker Institute rejected the RSVPs.” individually received an official invitation Sept. 30 To Comment Rice suggestion of a mandate quote or According to Stevenson, on-campus from the Baker Institute Nov. 1, but he did Undergraduate Student percentage of seats reserved for students political organizations are prioritized not think many of his club members had at every event, according to Scannell. when there is not much space. received an invitation. Support for the Houston “They went back and forth talking “For space-limited events, the institute “I imagine many members would Climate Action Plan about how setting a number was really prioritizes invitations to members of be eager to attend if invited,” Saliba, a hard for them, and that they were worried the Baker Institute Student Forum, the Duncan College junior, said. that students wouldn’t RSVP,” Scannell institute-affiliated, student-run, non- Scannell said Rice Young Democrats said.