Students with disabilities who wish to live on campus have the opportunity to sign up for accessible dorm rooms that are reserved for them.
“The residence halls offer different features to different students with disabilities,” said Mike Hudson, director of the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
The halls offer proximity to classes and academic and social interactions, Hudson said. Living on campus gives students bus transportation.
He said students have not had problems getting rooms.
“We have not run out of accessible rooms,” Hudson said. “In fact the only problem they have faced has been students not getting the rooms they want.”
Matt Weingarden said he agrees.
“As long as they work through the RCPD, they can get a room,” said the member of the Council of Students with Disabilities and biology junior.
Most of the accessible rooms are available, he said. If a student without a disability moves into a room that is designed for someone with a disability, he or she must sign a contract first.
The contract works as a precaution because a hall may need the room later.
“We hold those rooms until we find out how many people are actually disabled,” Holmes Hall Manager Paul Manson said.
Once they are notified by their housing office that there will be no more freshmen or transfer students coming in with disabilities, the hall turns the rooms over to other students. There are 16 rooms available in Holmes Hall for students with disabilities. The hall only guarantees the room for nine months to a student without a disability.
“We will hold those forever,” Manson said.
Students who request the accessible rooms are limited to the newest buildings.
“It would be nice to see some of the West Circle dorms for students with disabilities,” history senior Molly Conely said. “The older buildings do not have rooms for those students who are disabled.”
Conely does feel MSU does an excellent job with students.
“They are working on it being a supportive environment for students with disabilities,” she said.
“I feel that we will do our very, very best to meet their needs,” Manson said of Holmes Hall.
Four years ago, hall managers met with students with disabilities and asked them what furniture they needed. Once they had an idea of what the students needed, the hall bought $500,000 worth of furniture.
Their concern when buying the furniture was making sure it met the needs of the students. The beds can be raised or lowered and stacking drawer units make it easier for students with disabilities. The rooms also have larger bathrooms.
“When you put just that central package in a room I think I can meet the needs of anyone who is disabled,” Manson said. “We are able to get all of the equipment there ahead of time. We have a lot of the disabled students who stay with us for three, four years because they like it here.”
