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UA changes challenge disabled students

Kristy Mangos Arizona Daily Wildcat Pre-education sophomore Andrea Barker walks along the sidewalk in front of her dorm, Coconino Hall, assisted by her cane. Barker has had to change her routes to class due to the construction on campus.

Like many other UA students, Andrea Barker experienced the effects of campus construction face to face when she encountered an inconvenient fence blocking her path between classes.

However, the pre-education sophomore faced more of a challenge than most as she tried to find her way around the chain-link barrier. Barker is blind.

"I got it," Barker said. "It was just a pain."

Construction mainly due to renovations to the Memorial Student Union have presented new obstacles for physically disabled students such as Barker. Blocked off areas, fences and construction vehicles have all rearranged the campus landscape that blind and wheelchair-bound students had memorized as part of their daily travel routines.

"I have to learn all these patterns to get around," said Barker, who guides herself around campus with the aid of a cane. "I had this really nice route worked out. I go to do the route, and there's this big fence in my way."

Barker said the fences have been her main hurdle in getting around campus and estimated they were causing problems for other disabled students as well.

"Where there's a fence, there's a blockage, and where there's a blockage, somebody's route got messed up," she said. "More people probably have more routes messed up than mine."

Interdisciplinary studies junior Gaston Mascarenas, who is also blind, shares Barker's concerns.

Mascarenas visited campus two weeks before the start of the semester to get a feel for the changes and create a new route for himself. However, he still finds challenges in his day.

"The construction slows us down," he said. "We have to leave a little earlier. We don't know where they're going to put a fence. We're walking and boom, there's a fence in front of us."

Barker, Mascarenas and other disabled students have resources at their disposal, however. The Center for Disability Related Resources (CeDRR) keeps their students updated on construction developments and provides a shuttle service to help them get from class to class.

Barker and Mascarenas also rely on helpful passers-by to direct them to their destinations.

"We're very capable of getting around," Mascarenas said. "If there's a lot of mess, I always ask for help."

A representative from CeDRR also works in conjunction with the UA project managers and representatives from Swinerton & Walberg, the building team that is responsible for the Student Union construction.

John Mosser, coordinator of specialists for CeDRR, attends weekly meetings to address student concerns and discuss the progressing construction's effect on UA's disabled community.

"We make decisions that we think are going to be best (for the students)," Mosser said.

He said although some students have voiced complaints about the obstacles construction has presented, the amount has not been overwhelming.

"Given the amount of construction that has hit our campus, the access that students had appreciated before, we are not always able to provide during construction," Mosser said.

However, Mosser said that construction officials have been cooperative and receptive to needs of the disabled population. As concerns arise, they are brought to officials' attentions and swiftly remedied.

Gilbert Davidson, assistant project manager for Student Union renovations, agreed.

"I haven't personally heard anything, but if we do we try to quickly solve it," he said.

Although Barker and Mascarenas have had to adjust their mental maps of campus, both agree that they have not experienced major problems when traversing campus.

"Fortunately I haven't run into a truck yet," Mascarenas said.

Still, Barker is aware of the tasks she must overcome everyday.

"I'm almost afraid of walking around these days, because I don't want to get lost," she said. "It's stressful enough without all the construction."