[metaslider id=3846]
AMANDA DEDIE
News Editor
The increase in the number of students in wheelchairs this past Monday was not a trick of the imagination. The Students with Disabilities Union and Student Association (SA) partnered to hold the first Stand Up by Sitting Down event.
Burgandi Rakoska, a senior early childhood education major with a concentration in history and president of the Students with Disabilities Union, said, “[This is] an awareness event for disabilities … specifically people in wheelchairs. The executive board of the Fredonia Student Association is going to spend all day going around in wheelchairs and just experiencing it, seeing what it’s like, seeing the setbacks that they might face and hopefully raising awareness.”
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the executive board of SA went about their daily routine but in wheelchairs. Some of the obstacles they could face are broken automatic door buttons, handicap accessible bathrooms that don’t fit wheelchairs, lack of upper arm strength to make it up ramps, being unable to reach the tops of counters in the on-campus food places and more.
“I just want them to go through their everyday lives and see what natural setbacks they might face, instead of sending them to specific parts of campus,” said Rakoska.
The creation of the Students with Disabilities Union was set in motion in the Fall ‘14 semester by Rakoska and some friends.
“A few friends and I, we got together in the Fall semester and we looked around and realized there’s a club for just about every other minority student group on campus, but there’s not really any for any students with disabilities,” said Rakoska. “So we went to the SA, and we asked what we need to do. Right now it’s just getting started, and it’s just a provisional club, so we’re just a little baby club. We’re just there to serve both as a club that raises awareness and also as a support group.”
Members of SA got to experience the daily struggles of students in wheelchairs first hand. However, this is not the first time the issues have been brought to their attention.
Courtney Hout, a senior double-majoring in political science and criminal justice and Chief Justice of SA, said, “I am participating in this event because of an experience I had with Burgandi Rakoska and Victoria Hendrix during Pink the Rink 2015. Due to inability to use the wheelchair accessible bathroom stalls in Steele, we started to discuss an event with the purpose of bringing awareness to the challenges this particular campus presents … As leaders on the Fredonia campus, we feel it is our duty to speak on behalf of all students.”
A consensus occurred amongst the SA executive board, who all had similar experiences throughout the day as they wheeled around campus going about their usual routines.
Kyle Stolt, a senior majoring in business management and minoring in leadership studies and comptroller for SA, described the difficulties he had throughout the day while being wheelchair-bound.
“It’s been pretty challenging … You don’t really notice how uneven the sidewalks are until you actually have to wheel over them. We tried to use the ramps around campus, and some of them were uneven,” said Stolt. “We also went on the grass to see what [it would would be like] to wheel through snow, and me and Jefferson both got stuck at least once. If that’s pretty similar to snow, then it’s definitely a challenge.”
Stolt continued to talk about some of the lessons he learned, and also about the helpfulness — and sometimes obstacles — brought on by able-bodied students.
“Don’t take things for granted! When we’re all walking in Fenton and we all used the handicapped door button, yeah it’s a nice convenience, but it’s there for a reason — people actually use it. I had someone actually hold the door for me for once, and it made it a lot easier. So the fact that I’ve used that when I’m walking … it kind of opened my eyes as to why it’s actually where.
“… People were standing in the middle of the hallway in crowds, and it was hard to get around, because people would just stand in the way,” continued Stolt. “Some of them would move, but some of them would almost walk into me because they’re staring at their phones, so they’re looking down and not outward. So [now] when I’m walking, I’ll be more attentive.”
Rakoska has big hopes for the outcome of this event.
“I hope [people] can get awareness. That they can spread awareness about certain things around campus that might not be as accessible, or things that they didn’t necessarily think about that aren’t as obvious. The other one is to get representation out for the other people on the campus to see that, ‘Oh, okay, there’s people in campus in wheelchairs, they’re having fun, they’re doing their own thing,’ and to maybe make it seem less weird.”