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Bradley is trying to make its buildings more handicapped-accessible as a result of the recently-passed Americans with Disabilities Act and efforts from a student group.
Friends of Challenged University Students compiled a list of the basic changes that they wanted the university to make, according to Jodie Jones, who chairs the Student Senate Campus Affairs committee. Jones used this list in writing a proposal for Student Senate to consider.
Ron Doerzaph, facilities management director, said that although the university currently is not very handicapped-oriented, the administration is doing everything it can to improve accessibility.
Doerzaph said the university already has placed Braille markers for the visually-impaired outside of residence hall rooms, but because of student vandalism, some of the markers will have to be redone.
Shawn Mayo, president of FOCUS, said that although Braille identifications outside of rooms are helpful, disabled students still need markers outside of classrooms so they can find their classes with less difficulty.
Other requests from FOCUS members include easier access to bathrooms, lower science lab tables in Olin Hall, a wheelchair ramp for Harper and University Halls and lower keyholes for the elevators.
Doerzaph said it is hard to make all of the changes at once because of limited funds and limited time.
"We want to put our dollars where it will help the most people," Doerzaph said.
He said the main concern now is getting handicapped students into the buildings, so the administration is looking into installing more ramps outside of campus buildings.
In the future, the administration also plans to make at least one residence hall into a completely handicapped-accessible building. Right now, officials are looking at Geisert or Williams as possibilities.
The administration also is targeting an academic building to start remodeling. The estimated price to make Westlake Hall handicapped-accessible is about $300,000, while about $500,000 would be needed to remodel Bradley Hall to the ADA specifications.
Doerzaph said because most buildings on campus were built in the 1950s and 1960s, they were not built to be handicapped-accessible, and now Bradley must start from scratch to meet ADA requirements.
The money for the project will come from the Facilities Management operating budget.
Doerzaph said it is hard to know what buildings need remodeling because the administration does not know where handicapped students frequent.
"We don't know who they (handicapped students) are unless they tell us, and a lot of times the students feel self-conscious about letting other people know (about their handicap)," Doerzaph said.
"It's a two-way street," he added. "Students must tell us who they are and what they need and we will work as fast as we can to become a handicap-friendly university."
Mayo said she hopes the administration will make the changes she and her group put forward.
"We want to work with Bradley, but we also want to support the students' rights," Mayo said. This would be a continuing step in the group's goal, which is to "educate and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities," she said.
Mayo said members of FOCUS are visiting education classes to educate students about what the group does and what being handicapped is like.
She said it is ultimately up to the students to advocate their own rights; otherwise, they might be overlooked.