Accessibility for Blindness on Campus

The only way to reach a floor in Lewis Hall that is not the first is by taking the stairs. Additionally, the two accessible doors to the building can only be reached by additional staircases. Essentially, Lewis Hall is a non-compliant residence hall. While there are dorms that are compliant on campus, Lewis is home to the Asian/Asian American Student Community. If there was a student with a physical disability who wanted to be in this community, there would be no option to do so provided by Lewis Hall.

On UMass’ Disability Accommodations website for Living on Campus, the site reads, “Not every student who requests an accommodation such as a private room will be granted an accommodation. Some students may find that Residential Life cannot adequately meet their housing needs and may pursue appropriate accommodations through the housing exemption process.” What this means to me is that any student with a potential physical disability or who wants to be a part of inclusive organizations and environments on campus could be denied the same housing on UMass as anyone else.

One potential remedy to this problem could be the addition of ramps leading up to the building or the enabling of an alternative entrance to the hall for students with physical disabilities. Additionally, while I am no expert in engineering or architecture, I do know that other residence halls have elevators and Lewis Hall could use one to help accommodate students with disabilities.

Upon my visit to the Falcetti Music Lobby outside of Bezanson, there were no performances ongoing. However, all of the theaters at the fine arts center on the UMass campus have ushers who are able to help people with blindness navigate to their seats in the auditorium when taking in a performance. It could be dangerous for people with blindness to find their seats on their own, but with ushers, it is not something to worry about, thankfully!