Beacon Hall Wheelchair UN-Accessibility

By Gerry Whitted

"You can adopt the attitude there is nothing you can do, or you can see the challenge as your call to action." - Catherine Pulsifer

When I finally entered Beacon Hall at Housatonic Community College a.k.a. the new building. WOW!!! This looks and has the aura of something special with the high ceilings, track lights and spacious halls. My olfactory nerve is romanced by the smell of new. The fovea, in the center of my retina, is distracted by the new color scheme.

However, a beacon is a guide to help you find your destination. If this is so why does the wheelchair accessibility at Beacon Hall has me lost. Beacon Hall wheelchair accessibility is akin to playing hide- n –seek, dodge ball, obstacle course or riding on a roller coaster. Remember this is not an amusement park or recess at an elementary school. This is Housatonic Community College, an undergraduate institution that promotes higher learning.

My first day of school I was greeted by one of the heaviest doors in creation. I had to pull the door open with both of my hands in order for me to gain entrance, while sitting in my wheelchair. Inside the vestibule there is a plate that you push that will open the door automatically. But I wondered, why is there not one outside?(hide -n- seek)

It has taken me two weeks to answer this question, and the answer issssssss. It was always there. The entry plate sits about five inches above the brick ashtray. It is difficult to see when all the smokers congregate around the ashtray because they obstruct the view of the entry plate.. But that definitely is not the only problem with accesability.

When I reach the elevator and the doors open, no longer do I worry about rolling over someone's foot. My rear wheels will not obstruct the closing of these doors as I enter. Also absent, are the “do you mind waiting for the next elevator” look on other riders faces, due to the elevator being crowded.

But as soon as I get off the elevator my bubble burst, because I had to battle with these ridges in the carpet. Maybe they are speed bumps to deter excessive speeding in the hallways. Walking you barely notice the ridges, but when you push a wheelchair you expend more energy. It is tantamount to the ridges on the interstate that alert you when you are on the shoulder.

My next problem is the blacktop pathway between Beacon and Lafayette. There is barely enough room for a pedestrian and a wheelchair on this thoroughfare. Many do not chance a confrontation, so instead they move on to the dirt. Imagine two wheelchairs on this pathway going in different directions; 1)you can get off the pathway and chance getting stuck in the mud or rubble 2)you can collide while figuring out who has the right of way 3) turn around and wait for an all clear signal. So much for choices(dodge ball).

If you should survive the roller coaster/obstacle course, beware for what is ahead. There are two sewer drains with grooves that are on the downward slope adjacent to the Beacon Hall garage entrance. It will take an effort to avoid that sewer with grooves--it is very tricky. If your wheel finds its way in there, be prepared to defy gravity or fly (Roller coaster).

In July1998, the American with Disability Act was passed. Its purpose isto assist those who are physically challenged and leveling the playing field for usto succeed. We do not want or expect any special treatment. All we ask is that you remember that the sum of our unlimited abilities is so much greater than the limits of our physical disability.