University of Maine - Prism Yearbook (Orono, ME)

Page 26 text:

The Physically Challenged 17 '•Sts Jk W I I: I f Z : mJf A '■ . y • k m |u ftl MEf mkmk M’Adwl M ilLa 24 Breaking Down by Tammy Hartford Staff Writer Have you ever thought about what it would be like to try to get around the University of Maine if you were in a wheelchair, or had to use crutches or wear a leg brace to help you walk? How would you get to class or work? Where would you park? What if you couldn’t get into the building? What if you couldn’t climb the stairs? What if you couldn’t get into the bathroom, or drink from a water fountain? Nobody thinks about having a disability until it happens to them.” said Claire Thibodeau, a senior com- munications disorders major. Thibodeau wears a leg brace, and her mobility is quite limited. Stairways arc especially difficult for her. she said, because it was because of a fall on a staircase that she shattered her femur, or thighbone. “Stairs arc very painful and uncom- fortable for me.” she said. Getting to the communications disorders department office on the third floor of Stevens Hall is very difficult, she said, because there arc no elevators in the building. The lack of elevators in some buildings poses an even greater problem for Chris Adams, a freshman majoring in English. Adams has muscular dystrophy, a condition which destroys the muscles. He has limited mobility in his arms and uses a wheelchair. This campus is surprisingly accessi- ble compared to other places, ” he said. It is one of the most accessible in the University of Maine system, but there arc things that could be done to make it more accessible. ” Besides stairs, Adams faces another barrier when he tries to get into some buildings. Usually if 1 can’t open a door, I have to ask somebody to do it for me,” he said. Most people are very polite about it. but it bothers me. It aggravates me. but I have to accept it.” Adams lives in Hancock Hall, which has a ramp and an electric door that makes it very accessible, he said. I just have to press a button to open the door,” he said. We need more doors like that on campus. ” Some facilities merely need to be up- dated, Adams said. Some places have the old fashioned lifts for wheelchairs,” he said. They’re getting out dated, and they’re difficult to use.” More handicapped parking spaces arc also needed, Thibodeau said, and peo- ple need to be more understanding about why people with disabilities need special parking places. “It’s awful when you’re getting out of your car and you have an obvious disability and you hear somebody say, It must be nice. Wouldn’t like a custom place to park my car,’” Thibodeau said. I would trade places with them any day. I’d trade my park- ing place any day for two good legs. “Maybe they aren’t aware of what they're saying, but it’s very in- furiating.” she said. Some people think that just because I have some mobility and I’m not in a wheelchair, I shouldn’t have anything to gripe about, but it’s difficult and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” There are people at UMainc who are trying to make things easier for students like Adams and Thibodeau. One of them is O.J. Loguc. Logue is the counselor coordinator of services for students with disabilities at UMainc. I am legally deaf myself, so I understand many of the issues people with disabilities face,” he said. Part of Logue’s job is to try to make the university more accessible to all students, he said. “For the most part, the university’s reaction has been very positive as far as t. .

Page 25 text:

The Campus Operator Operator keeps people in touch by Linda Rivers For the Campus “This is an information center, not just a switchboard,” Dennis Sands said with a smile in his office at Alumni Hall. Sands has been the University of Maine’s telephone operator for 5’ i years, handling all telephone calls com- ing in on the university’s main informa- tion listing. When he took the position, the university was just changing to its new telephone system. Sands was replacing two people who had been using a large, old-fashioned switchboard. “When I started here I was green, ” Sands said. “I had only been on cam- pus once or twice in my entire life, so sitting here was a crash course. ” Now a seasoned veteran of the switchboard. Sands said nothing sur- prises him anymore. I’ve gotten all kinds of questions asked to me over the years,” Sands said. “I just try to keep up on the con- tinual changes and steer people in the right direction. ” Sands said he enjoys working for the university despite the stress that comes with the job. Most people don’t realize what it’s like to take calls one right after another,” Sands said. “It never stops. But it makes me feel good that peo- ple do appreciate what I do, ” Sands concluded. A lot of people remember to say thank you, and that means a lot.”

Page 27 text:

the Barriers 1 tor|s, « •st l' «t making changes to make the campus more accessible to persons with disabilities, ” Logue said. Both Adams and Thibodeau agreed, but said more needs to be done. I think the campus is considerate of some things, but not everything,” Thibodeau said. “Something needs to be done about Stevens Hall. “What if a bright young person with a disability comes along and wants to major in history or something else with the department offices in Stevens Hall?” she asked. “Are they going to turn that person away just because the building is inaccessible? Everything should be ac- cessible to anyone who wants it. ”