Mount Holyoke not ADA compliant

In recent months, the fact that Mount Holyoke is not completely compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has come to the forefront of the College’s attention. ADA, signed into law in 1990 guarantees that individuals with disabilities have “the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life.”  This attention has sparked a dialogue prompting efforts to disseminate information on steps that the College is taking to make Mount Holyoke ADA Compliant.

One of the key ways that the College violates the ADA is by maintaining inaccessible buildings. Several areas on campus, such as the observatory and the library stacks are currently inaccessible to many students with physical disabilities.  “Our facilities are over one hundred years old,” explained Rene Davis, dean of students and Section 504 Coordinator. “There is only so much space that we have to work with, in terms of our footprint.”

While economic constraints and other logistical realities may make it difficult to revamp Mount Holyoke’s facilities, continued noncompliance could result in the College losing government funding. “Even though we are not a state school, we do receive federal and state funding,” Davis explained. She further explained that a significant chunk of the money goes to student financial aid packages. “That could be pulled if the college is not compliant,” she explained.

In order to address this issue, Mount Holyoke has enacted a Relocation Policy. Through this policy, anyone hosting an event at an inaccessible location is responsible for relocating the event if an accessible accommodation is requested. “We’re asking different groups to put a tagline on their event that says: ‘if you have questions about participating in this event because of a disability, contact the event planner by this particular date and time, and if needed, we can add in accommodations or relocate if possible,’” said Davis.

Although the policy attempts to make events more accessible, Davis expressed concern that the policy places the burden of proactivity on the individual with a disability, instead of on the event planner and on the College as whole.  Davis also expressed that such a process may bring discomfort to students who feel that in making these requests, they have to relinquish their privacy and “out” their disability.

Further frustrations with the new Relocation Policy have reached an all-time high with the recent closing of the Frances Perkins (FP) house. A Mount Holyoke FP who graduated this past spring filed a lawsuit against the college due to the inaccessibility of the building.

“They knew last year, but they didn’t tell us until the beginning of this year that the FP house was going to close,” FP Q Hailey ’14 lamented. “For me, the FP house was one of the reasons I came here. I met five FPs in the house when I first came to visit the college. My first year, I spent a lot of time in the house.” Many Frances Perkins commuter students have utilized the house to make meals while on campus for classes, while others have simply taken advantage of the social atmosphere. “It’s a big inconvenience for the FP community. We don’t have a place to call our own. We don’t have a space,” Hailey said.

Facilities Management has made efforts, however, to make buildings on campus more ADA compliant.  Paul Breen, Director of Facilities Management and Planning, mentioned that Facilities Management hired Kessler McGuinness & Associates, an ADA compliancy company, to come in and evaluate Mount Holyoke’s environment. “We had [Kessler McGuinness] come in and look at our campus and help us identify the barriers to compliancy.  They’ve prepared a report for us.  Now there’s an awful lot in it, and so we’re going through the process right now of prioritizing and trying to figure out how to go about that work of doing the most good for the most people, as soon as we can.”

Breen mentioned that it will take several years for Facilities Management to work through the areas in need of attention.  “There are several components to it. [ADA] talks about pathways, roadways, curb cuts, signage and to a certain extent – policies.  An institution’s policies have to be in compliance with ADA too,” Breen explained.  “It also has to do with what you advertise for mapping, and parking and routes, and things like that.  So there are several moving parts to it.”

Facilities Management is currently strategizing how to best adhere to ADA rulings.  “Our priority first will be larger public venues like auditoriums: places like Gamble Auditorium, Hooker Auditorium [and]  … Cleveland,” Breen said.  He further explained that it is essential to ensure that “not only is the auditorium [building] compliant but [that] there’s a way to get there that’s compliant, that there’s bathrooms that you can use that are compliant [and] that there’s signage that indicates whether they’re compliant.” Breen disclosed that Facilities Management is currently estimating and budgeting the cost of these renovations.

Eventually, Facilities Management will turn their focus to other buildings that are not as public, such as residence halls.  Currently, there are several rooms on campus that have been identified as handicapped rooms.  They have several modifications such as wider doors, different hardware and different shelving.   “We’ll certainly focus on residence halls… to make sure that not only can you get between the floors, but that the floors are compliant and the bathrooms are compliant [in] those halls,” said Breen.

Although mobility is a key part of accessibility, for many students, accessibility entails more than simply having accessible buildings. ADA ensures individuals with all types of disabilities have access to “mainstream American life.” Deborah Cohen, director of AccessAbility Services, spoke at an admissions staff training panel in August. She explained, to the surprise of many in the room, that 95 percent of the students they service are registered with what she referred to as “invisible disabilities.” These invisible disabilities most frequently include psychological and mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, as well as learning disabilities like ADHD. “It’s important to be aware that disability expands across all different categories and all different identities,” Cohen advised.

Cohen recommended that community members take into account small, everyday actions that can help accommodate a person with mobility restrictions.  Cohen discussed refraining from borrowing others’ handicapped parking tags if the driver and passengers are able to walk.  Additionally, she reminded the attendees to avoid locating themselves in front of a curb cut when parking in front of a curb.  She explained that parking in front of a curb cut would prevent people with visual and mobility impairments from finding a safe route to travel, and she emphasized that moving objects out of doorways would also help make Mount Holyoke more accessible.

Many students agree that it is urgent that Mount Holyoke improve its accessibility policies soon.  Said Hailey: “It’s come to a head. I think we’ve brushed it aside for too long, and now the College is being forced to pay attention to accessibility issues.”