Insights on wheelchair accesibility at SPU

By AUBREY REAGAN, Assistant News Editor

Published: November 10, 1999

Mathematics professor Roxe Ann Olson does not believe that the Seattle Pacific University campus is wheelchair accessible.

And she believes that this fact needs to be brought to the attetion of student, staff and faculty for the sake of students, or potential students, in wheelchairs.

"It doesn't bother me that things aren't wheelchair accessible, but I can imagine the frustration of others," Olson said.

According to Olson, if she were a student in a wheelchair, she wouldn't stay at SPU for more than a week because of lack of wheelchair accessibility.

"Gwinn has been terrible. I can't imagine anyone in a wheelchair trying to eat in Gwinn," Olson said.

The elevators in Gwinn were not working toward the start of this year, and Olson is frustrated that you have to go around the whole building just to get to the elevator entrance.

Her biggest problem is that when something is wheelchair accessible, there are no signs indicating so.

She teaches a class in Peterson Hall that has wheelchair accessibility, but no signs indicating where it is, which happens to be all the way around the building.

Small things that an average person does not notice are inconvenient for Olson as well.

For instance, there's a raised crack on the path in front of the Student Union Building (SUB).

That small crack prevents Olson from being able to walk to central campus without going through the SUB.

Olson has a 350-pound electric chair that doesn't do well on hills around Seattle.

She can't imagine someone being able to maneuver a manual wheelchair around campus.

Olson refuses to go to University Services across from Hill Hall anymore.

She had to drive up there to get her picture taken for a faculty identification card last year, and had a terrible time getting out of her van and into the building on the steep incline.

"They're going to have to come to me," Olson said.

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