home news sports culture ideas up-to-date

You are viewing
Volume 38 Issue 11
March 27, 2001

To return to the current issue please click here.

Despite ADA compliance, MCC problems still exist

BY TAMMY JARVIS
MESA LEGEND
Submitted March 27, 2001

Sara Code/MESA LEGEND

MCC student Doug Allen attempts to navigate his way through a narrow hall in the Paul A. Elsner library.

In 1990, President Bush passed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), legislation standardizing the design and construction of new buildings as well as the renovation, where possible, of existing buildings in order to create accommodations for disabled people.

The ADA affects the 800 to 900 disabled students who attend MCC, according to Travis Stevenson, an employee who works in the Disabilities Office.

Ron Etter, dean of Administrative Services, said that MCC has spent more than $800,000 since the enactment of the law to ensure that existing buildings are compliant with ADA standards.

Despite this, some students with disabilities still have complaints about getting around campus.

One difficulty is the narrow entryway to the restrooms in the Kirk Center which students have said are particularly difficult to get through in a wheelchair.

"Individual problems vary with individual disabilities," Etter said. "So when MCC is actually in legal compliance, with say a restroom, difficulty getting around it is confused for non-compliance."

"In 1995, we took every restroom on campus and attempted to bring them up to the minimum ADA standard," said MCC President Dr. Larry Christiansen. "The restrooms in the Kirk Center technically meet the minimum ADA standards."

According to Debra Spadafore, an instructor in the technology department who specializes in building codes, the winding, narrow walls in the entryway of the restrooms are necessary because they prohibit those passing by from being able to see into the bathrooms.

"If I accommodate one law, I may violate another one," Christiansen explained.

"The law doesn’t say that I have to go into every building and tear out every door; what it says is that I have to accommodate where I can in the existing structure, and when I build new or remodel, I have to go to a higher standard than I have in the past," he added.

Students who have complaints or special needs are urged to alert Dean Etter’s office or Disability Resources and Services on campus as these offices work together to handle situations as they arise.

Students With A Cause (SWAC), a student advocacy group on campus dedicated to the pursuit of equality for all MCC students, including the disabled population, as well as the Associated Students of Mesa Community College (ASMCC), are concerned that these problems be addressed quickly.

ASMCC Treasurer, Will Stanley, is hoping they can work closely with Dean Etter to be certain that students have a voice in these matters and that they are being heard.

"The two things ASMCC is pursuing are a liason directly from ASMCC to Dean Etter in regards to SWAC concerns, and the other objective we need to accomplish is the development of a timeline to address the needed changes in the bathrooms and braille signs on the restrooms and other points of entry," he said.

Stanley agrees that the administration is quick to respond to issues that are brought to their attention, but feels that they need to be more aggressive in looking for the changes that need to be made.

Arlen Solochek, manager of Facilities Planning for the district, said that the reason they have not done a district-wide re-evaluation of the campuses is the high cost of a project of that magnitude.

In 1994, the district was allocated money to inspect each campus and the costs reached close to $5 million.

Solochek believes that it is more affordable to handle each situation on an item to item basis using resources on campus.

Justin Lambright contributed to this story.

Back to Top | Previous Page | Home