By SAMANTHA VANALSTYNE
Contributing Writer
The first day of classes is a momentous occasion for upper and lower classmen alike; the opportunities are endless, new friends, new professors, it’s truly a time to reinvent oneself. On the first day of classes forget butterflies, a hive of angry bees had taken refuge in my belly; I was about to embark upon uncharted territory and it terrified me then and still continues to whenever I arrive to campus. Going to college without an aide is the biggest achievement of my life to date.
I have cerebral palsy, in layman’s terms I was born not breathing and the lack of oxygen killed parts of my brain. I use a wheelchair, I’m not wheelchair bound. According to the Center for Disease Control 1 out of every 323 children have been identified with cerebral palsy, and according to the Saint Rose website there were approximately 3,950 students enrolled at the college in 2017; so statistically speaking it baffles me that I’m the only wheelchair using student I’ve seen on campus.
Which brings us to the topic of the accessibility of campus; now before I begin let me clarify that aside from a few minor things Saint Rose had done a wonderful job accommodating those with mobility challenges. One of the biggest challenges I face is the fact that all of the doors on campus, particularly leading to classrooms are really heavy.
That being said, if you happen to see me fighting with a door, please I beg you, grab the door! Also, little known fact; there is a single bathroom on campus that works well for me. It’s the third floor women’s room in Albertus Hall, in case you were wondering.
In that same vein however, there are definitely a handful of things Saint Rose could do to better accommodate those with mobility issues like myself. The issue of the heavy doors could easily be solved by the addition of either automatic doors or buttons that open the doors. The addition of more bathrooms better set up for those with mobility challenges or some remodeling to already existing bathrooms would also be appreciated; essentially the toilet and the handrail cannot be on opposite sides of the stall as is the case with most of the restrooms on campus.
If Saint Rose were to add just one additional elevator on each floor of the necessary buildings I’m of the opinion that, that small act could cut down on commute time to classes, as the elevators are utilized not only by the mobility challenged but by the preverbal every student as well. It would be the addition of these accommodations to campus that I believe would increase the quality of campus life for myself and other students with limited mobility but also could put Saint Rose on the map as being the go-to college for the differently abled.
Let’s talk about the big, pink, and disabled elephant in the room: socializing, why it’s different and why it’s not. I’ll be the first to admit I’m socially awkward. I try really hard to make friends, so if you see me in the lounge or in Camelot come say “hi.” I can guarantee I’m way too intimidated to come say “hi” or invite myself to sit with you.
In regards to socialization there is definitely a learning curve for most people on what to say and what not to, to a person in a circumstance such as mine. But in all honesty the best advice I can offer is to just use your head; if you’d feel uncomfortable having it said to you, don’t say it to someone else. An area of my life that people don’t expect to be as average as it is, is dating.
Believe it or not, people with disabilities date; and for some reason that fact occasionally shocks people. Dating a partner with a disability definitely has its challenges I’m sure, but I’d like to think I’m worth it as I’m sure would anyone who happened to be differently abled. For the record, I’m not currently seeing anyone so, Starbucks anyone?
To sum everything up, college can be and is at times scary, and that’s okay. After all, we’re all navigating our own waters to become who we want to be; sometimes it helps to know you aren’t alone.
