Elizabethtown College does not have many physically handicapped students. This is because of the lack of handicap accessible buildings and the unfriendly handicap environment that is offered to them. The discriminatory campus is not allowing the chance for these students to want to go here, especially for disabled students touring the campus.
There are numerous buildings all over the Etown campus, whether they are for academics or housing. According to the U.S. News College Compass, Best Colleges of 2011, there are a total of 2,356 students attending Etown. But how many of these students are physically handicapped? How many of the buildings are handicap accessible? Of the nearly 50 buildings on campus, at least ten are either completely inaccessible to handicapped indivudals or problematic for them to enter.
Some people might argue that there are not enough handicap students on campus to spend money on and put in more handicap accessible buildings. If the money was spent, attendence of handicapped students would reflect that. However, this campus needs to respect the physically disabled and make sure their time here at Etown leaves a positive impact on them. The campus should want to make the disabled feel like they are not different and that they are just like everybody else. Students with disabilities who tour the campus could notice the lack of handicap accessible buildings and therefore not even apply to the College. If the College had more handicap-accessible buildings, then they would have a higher application rate and a more diverse campus.
The cafeteria is the main place on campus where students like to enjoy their food with their friends. There is a wide variety of easily accessible food, but on the other hand, for the physically handicapped, these high counters and high drink stations makes accessing food very hard for them. Having lower counters or assigned aids for the handicapped would allow them to access their food a lot more easily.
The safety of Etown students is the College’s number one priority. There are fire alarms and fire extinguishers in every building on campus. In the event of a fire on campus, a student should immediately move to the closest exit while alerting others of the situation. Students are also told to not use the elevator in the event of a fire. If a disabled student is in an upstairs room or classroom, how will they be able to make it down the stairs in a timely manner? This is one reason why the buildings on campus need to be more handicap accessible. The lives of students could be in jeopardy if the campus ever suffered from a fire.
People would argue that there are not enough physically disabled students to spend money on, but in the event of something deadly, the campus officials should make sure that everyone is safe at all times, no matter the cost. Overall, the College needs to improve the accessibility of the buildings to all types of students.