Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Poor Arc] Hurt Han BY VIVIAN DAVIS AND ELLEN BILES of The Gamecock Staff Architectural barriers pose unnecessary problems for the University's physically han dicapped student. For the physically handicapped, the problem is getting into and moving around the various buildings. The blind student has the additional problem of finding the building. Bill East is a January graduate of the USC School of Law. "To a large degree the number of steps up to a building determined what my professional life was going to be," he said. East, who has had to use a wheelchair for the past five years, wanted to work towards a graduate degree in social work, but the building, DeSaussure, was inac cessible to him. Because the new law school building was accessible, East became a lawyer instead. Al Corbett, director of the management science center and teacher of Computer Science at USC. had a severe case of polion iyelitis when he was seven, and i.,w has to use a wheelchair. While working towards his Ph.D. and t,,aching at USC, Corbett said he has encountered several problems. CORBETT SAID his experience at USC has been limited to new buildings which were built with handicapped persons in mind. Even the new Business Ad ministration building has some problems, though. "The architect made a mistake," Corbett said. The bathrooms were designed so that a person in a full adult-size wheelchair has some problem going in and out. When the problem was discovered, Corbettt said it was too late to correct it. "The biggest problem for han dicapped people is being unable to use a bathroom," Corbett said. The average adult wheelchair is 27 inches wide, and some doors are 24 inches wide, he said. W.S. Turbeville, director of physical facilities and planning at USC, said officials are aware of the problem. It has been only in the past few years, Turbeville said, that the problem has come to the University's attention because previously very few handicapped persons attended college. TIHE UNIVERSITY has built ramps for wheelchairs, cut curbs and renovated toilets so they were accessible for the handicapped. The University has been following the American Standards Association's guidelines for con struction of new buildings which was adopted in 1963, Turbeville said. There are still ap proximately 20 buildings on campus which are inaccessible to persons in wheelchairs, he said. * If a building is renovated it is * made barrier-free, Turbeville said. He said the McCutcheon House renovation includes a special elevator for the handicapped which costs $30,000. The cost of renovating old buildings to make them accessible itectural. 0' dicapped' is prohibitive, although the cost of installing ramps and making curb cuts is not so great, Turbeville said. Bill East said he had seen figures showing that the cost of modifying existing structures is usually less than one half of one per cent of the total construction cost. The notable exceptions are special elevators, he said. "The problem with the problem," Corbett said, "is that it's hard to justify spending a great amount of money on a few people." Planning ahead, as the University is doing now, will minimize the expense, he said. PART OF the problem now, according to Turbeville and staff engineer G. T. Perry is that there is no state law in effect to use as a guideline. Still, all building plans must be approved by the state engineer's office, they said. "We are in an interim period. There is no legally applicable law in existence in South Carolina," L.P. Hamilton, chief engineer for the State Budget and Control Board, said. This interim period is the result of a law signed July 9, 1974, by Gov. John West establishing the South Carolina Board for Barrier Free Design. Bill East was made chairman of that board which has been meeting since January to set' building standards for public buildings both publicly and privately owned. The board's purpose, East said, is to see that there is no inherent discrimination againstthe han dicapped. The board will probably follow the handicapped section of the North Carolina building code, he said. "North Carolina has the jump on everybody in developing stan dards," Hamilton said. He also 'To a large degree the a building determined life would be.' said his office was approving building plans now on the basis of the North Carolina guidelines because ne was reasonably sure the guidelines approved by the Board for Barrier Free Design, of which he is an ex-officio member, would be equally rigid. Turbeville said his office was also following the North Carolina standards. In the case of existing buildings, Turbeville said, as renovation became necessary, provision was made for han dicapped accessibility when possible. "The University has put forth special effort to accommodate the handicapped as the need arose," Turbeville said. EAST AGREED that the University had reacted well to the needs of handicapped students. "But I would like to see more af firmative action rather than just reaction," he said. "What I would like to see the University do is take Designs s Mobility more positive effort to become the mecca in the state ior handicapped students." To do this the University should have an outreach prograni to encourage handicapped high school students to come to college, East said. He would also like a special program for extensive care for the severely handicapped and another program for renovating older buildings to make them accessible. "Handicapped people typically can't work with their bodies and have to use their minds," East said. "So it's ironic to haye an institution of higher learning not accessible to them." In addition to helping solve the problems of mobility, the University has several organizations that help han dicapped students with other problems. The Office of Residence Life provides initial help with these students, Mimi Parrott, assistant dean, said. "Our purpose is to refer them to to the right people," she said. Parrott said it takes time to arrange facilities for han dicapped students. The Advisory Committee on Aid to the Handicapped Student was formed in 1973 by Dean Charles Witten. It includes members of the Counseling Bureau, Residence Life, Housing, Health Services, facuky and student body. Al Menard is chairman of the com mittee which was formed as the result of petitions from han dicapped students on campus. MENARD SAID the committee has made recommendations to the administration and has seen results on several matters. Dr. Donald A. Swanson and the Counseling Bureau have set up a number of steps up to what my professional Bil East resources center for the visually handicapped with the help of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. "Housing now suggests certain dorms that are more convenient for the handicapped," Menard said. He said the visually han dicapped would be more likely to stay in the Towers because the resource room is in the lobby of Baker. A buzzer light has also been in stalled at Blossom and Sumter streets so blind students may cross that intersection easier, Menard said. "One thing we've done is tried to identify the handicapped on this campus. No one knows who they are," Menard said. "We define handicapped as having a severe mobility or visual disability." Menard said last year there were 18 visually handicapped and 35 mobily handicapped stundents on International Hi campus. Menard said that in a letter to Dean Witten dated Nov. 26, 1974. Harold Brunton, vice president in charge of operations, claims $4.5 million would be needed to renovate the old buildings to make them accessible for the han dicapped. Menard said the committee requested $10,000 to start making the campus barrier free. He had been told by Brunton and Dr. Jay Allen of the College of Education that the best way to get the money was to petition the legislature. THE ADVISORY committee recommends buildings that need renovating and curbs that need cutting, Menard said. Helping with class schedules is another role of the committee members, he said. Bill Brickle is a counselor for blind and low-vision students and is director of the Resource Room for these students. "I talked with blind students on campus about their problems. We decided we needed two programs at USC-one for new college students and one for on-going students," Brickle said. THE PROGRAM includes in struction in the use ot the cane and various audio equipment, such as cassettes, TV's and a variable speech machine which makes recorded speech any speed the listener desires. Helping with registration is another of Brickle's jobs. "We try to get the blind and low-vision students into registration early so they can plan a schedule allowing plenty of timefor classes," he said. The Resource Room in the Baker lobby has a closed circuit television, a place to read to people and other facilities. Braille text books may be purchased from a foundation, but Brickle says students are now contributing their old texts to a Braille library in the Resource Room. He hopes they will soon have a number of these, such as the ones used in English 101. Brickle said there is a classical conflict with the visually han dicapped. "We're doing things to make them independent. You have to ask yourself if you are helping too much. The one thing you don't want is for the student to become dependent on you," he said. ANOTHER SERVICE to the handicapped is a full-time Vocational Rehabilitation Coun selor at the University. Phil Grubbs works jointly with the USC Counseling Bureau and the Vocational Rehabili ation Department. "I'll be here to help with indicap Symbol schedules, to be the go-between of staff and faculty and student," he said. Grubbs is planning an easier way for students in wheelchairs to get through registration. "We're going to get them in before the crowd gets there," he said. THE UNIVERSITY started late with changing the campus for the handicapped, Grubbs said. "The people at the University have been cooperative and willing to change. I haven't run into any un cooperative people yet," he said. Handicapped students have also had problems with parking. There are approximately 16 parking places for the handicapped.ac cording to Lt. Joe Green of the Department of Motor Vehicle Registration. Green said about 30 stickers have been issued to handicapped students, but any car with one of these stickers can be parked in a faculty or staff place if all the handicapped spaces are filled. Juliann Thrift of the om budsman's office has worked with several students who have had problems with class locations. "In most cases, there's a way to solve the problem," Thrift said. THE FIRST step is to try to get the class moved to the first floor or to another building, she said. In one case a student will take an art course as independent study. "Not too many handicapped students come to the om budsman," Thrift said. "A lot of handicapped students may be afraid to." Dr. Serena Riser Clark, an M.D. at the infirmary, worked with Menard on the advisory com - mittee. One of her ideas was that there be attending care available for the severely handicapped. Clark said she wanted the University to begin an outreach program to encourage students to come to USC. In addition, she wants two systems of 'ran sportation for USC's handicapped students. One system would help off-campus students get to school, and the other would help students in residence halls get to their classes.. "One goal that will come out is the establishment of a full-time person for handicapped affairs. This person would be an ar. ministrator," Menard said. He said this fall the committee will outline goals and start with the priority list of buildings that need renovating--a good step toward ridding the University of some of those unnecessary barriers for the handicapped student.