Shel Silverstein once wrote, "Have you heard the story of tiny Melinda Mae, who ate a monstrous whale?" This line might come from a children's poem about a girl who took 89 years to eat a whale, but it easily could be correlated to the monstrous problem of disabled accessibility at MSU.
Despite $2 million being spent on accessibility during the past seven years, many students with disabilities still are facing challenges with everyday life on campus.
"We have to eat the whale one bite at a time," said Barry Latoszewski, manager of construction, maintenance and interior design for MSU's Division of Housing and Food Services. "Some day we'll have it all eaten."
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, long after most of MSU's buildings were constructed. Making the necessary changes to ensure complete accessibility is a long and costly process - about $35,000 was spent to add Braille and larger lettering to all MSU signs - but it should continue to be a goal for the university.
This year's budget woes have caused painful cutbacks in many programs and goals for higher education institutions, but accessibility for those with disabilities should be a priority.
University officials are trying their hardest with the money available, but maybe they should seek out more financial sources for this purpose, such as donations from the private sector or national foundations. This week, accessibility issues are being addressed campuswide. For some students, the routines of everyday life are made harder because most buildings, rooms and stairways were not designed with disabilities in mind.
Some programs so far this week have simulated what it's like to get around when paper towel rolls are too high, classrooms lack integrated seating and some dorms have stairs instead of ramps.
Other programs this week included a training session on the Americans with Disabilities Act held by the Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service.
Today, a resource fair and one-woman show featuring characters with disabilities will be held in the Union, and "Mr. Holland's Opus" will be shown all weekend in Wells Hall.
Programs such as these - free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible - are an excellent way of promoting understanding of how much a problem accessibility can be.
The first step in solving any problem is for people to put themselves in one another's shoes. We can't begin to take measures on issues until we understand.
But the attempt to gain equal access shouldn't just stop at raising awareness.
Understanding is only the first step on a long road to one day having access to all public buildings a reality to every student, staff and faculty member.
A quality education at MSU isn't possible unless it is made accessible to everyone, and it shouldn't take 89 years to do it.
