Opinions expressed in opinion columns are the own author.
At the start of my junior year, I was on crutches. After a fairly debilitating knee injury earlier this year, and before doctors could understand what was wrong with my joint, I spent six weeks hiding the campus.
Meanwhile, I have experienced what many students from Maryland University experience every day – the pain of the arm to get up and descend the hills, frustration when the elevators were broken and pure exhaustion ‘Go to a single class on our campus of more than 1,000 acres.
If these crutches taught me something, it is that our campus is not as accessible as it should be. This university must invest in services and resources for disabled students, including interactive campus cards and a Application University of Maryland This includes real -time updates on the accessibility of our campus.
Diamondback made a 2022 analysis On what life is like for disabled students on campus, and that emphasizes how desperate it can be. Essentially – within the framework of the play mentions – it seems that students with disabilities are a “reflection afterwards” in the large scheme of the community of this university.
I’m lucky that I can now go up and down these hills without fighting and I don’t have to depend on elevators or clean ramps.
Accessibility is a main part From the university’s commitment to belong and inclusion, but students need more support to make sure they know what works and what does not work, where on campus is sure for them for Navigate and if they can go to their lessons.
In addition to the massive size of our campus, many of its academic buildings are old. It is difficult to depend on elevators and other infrastructure. If accessibility buttons do not work or are not accessible, students with disabilities cannot be expected in class.
Even CookieWho commuts students and disabled teachers around the campus, can be difficult to sail. This requires special certification with points to use the service, and in addition to that, students are encouraged to give a notice of 48 hours if they need a trip somewhere. The nature of the college barely allows students an hour of an hour’s buffer, so the recommended opinion limits them more.
There are options open to this university to help alleviate these problems – and the solution lies in investment in more technologies to help our students. Addition to our annual compulsory fees could provide funds to invest. Although higher costs are almost always a cause of frustration, they would make the campus safer and more equitable for all students.
Students have small indicators of the moment when things work and when they are not. The university application has a map of the interactive campus, but it has no detailed information on the functioning of elevators, the paths are deleted for disabled students or if there are stairs on a particular route.
The first step to help disabled students is to ensure that they are as informed as possible, which means improving the application to include a card with updated information for accessibility services. We may get this information thanks to the crowd and a report system on the application for students, teachers and facilities. The juxtaposition of the crowd with official reports of the facilities will give students the most updated information possible. If someone enters the application, it should be able to simply click on a few buttons to report a problem, creating a live card on the application and physical directories around the campus. In short, the card should work as SlipAn application that allows drivers to enter real -time updates on road closings, cameras, accidents and more.
In addition to the application, we need more resources for disabled students. Having a series of physical interactive cards scattered on the campus, such as a Shopping center directorywill help students stay up to date and conscience while they are going through the campus. Without information, disabled students are forced to guess and hope to go to lessons, clubs or events.
An interactive campus card offers real -time updates – and is beneficial not only for disabled students, but even for those who do not know how to go to their lessons, making this university a more welcoming place that supports its students.
Jahnavi Kirkire is a higher government and major in politics and public policy. It can be contacted at jkirkire@umd.edu.