MWSUser friendliness

By Staff

October 24, 2006

Missouri Western prides itself on service offered to its students. The university has made great strides to better cater to the wants and needs of the students.

For instance, we now have a Quizno’s on campus, and the food court stays open longer for those late-night eaters.

Also, Western has received a substantial increase in financial aid to help students pay for their education.

Lastly, the university established the Griffon Gateway Program to aid students who might struggle during their first year of college.

Western deserves applause for the increased efforts to please the ones who are spending their hard-earned dollars for a good education.

However, there is always room to improve. Western is not as disabled-friendly as it could be.

The university needs to make an effort to guarantee that they meet all of the students needs, especially the disabled.

Many of the buildings around Western’s campus have only one disabled-accessible entrance.

The other doors around the campus are heavy and cumbersome.

Also, the sidewalks during the winter need to be cleared off and salted as soon a possible for those who have to get around in a wheelchair.

The sidewalks are hard enough to walk up, and every year it is a certainty that some students will slip and fall when walking from Blum Union to Murphy or Eder Hall.

Perhaps heated sidewalks or a shuttle vehicle could help students get to their destinations safely.

Also, instead of the disabled-accessible buttons at those entries, use a motion sensor that is close to the ground so that those in wheelchairs don’t have to wheel over to the button, push it, wheel back and hope that the door doesn’t close before they get through.

The older water fountains around campus are not easy for our disabled students to access. There is no bar to push to get the water, and they are high up, making it impossible for a person of short stature or in a wheelchair to get a drink of water.

Being more conscientious of the special needs of the students will make Western an even more comfortable, easy access place to live, learn and have fun.