Ben Smidt

Chancellor Donald Mash wanted to see how students with disabilities are able to get around on campus and if there was any areas that needed improvement.

So he and Beth Hicks, director of services for students with disabilities, took the opportunity to go around campus in wheelchairs with two people who have to use wheelchairs.

“I want to see first-hand how it is,” Mash said Thursday.

Sophomore Joe Gapko, a student who uses a wheelchair, led Mash and Hicks around campus with Matt Glowacki, a motivational speaker.

Mash noticed some of the problems that students with disabilities face when traveling around campus.

One such problem is the doors in Phillips Hall.

“Phillips is the worst building for handicaps because many of the doors have no handicap accessible openings,” Gapko said.

Gapko spotted three other areas of concern.

“The hill would be a pain,” he said.

Even the handicap ramp that leads up to the footbridge is a bit steep for those in wheelchairs, he said.

Access in Haas Fine Arts Center is an issue because not all areas are reached easily in a wheelchair, Gapko said.

Eau Claire’s campus is more difficult for people with disabilities to navigate because of its varied campuses.

“It is no doubt with an upper and lower campus, and a bridge that there is difficulty,” Mash said. “Most campuses don’t have to deal with a river, bridge and a steep upper campus.”

Mash said efforts are being made to make the campus more accessible for people with disabilities.

“You can see the difficulty of this,” Mash said. “Adaptation is possible, but not in all cases. We have a lot of adjustments and things to make improvements on.”

Students, faculty and staff are making efforts to make the campus better for handicap students.

Junior Student Senators Nate Keiser and Jess Pinch helped organize Students With Disabilities Week.

Keiser said he hoped the week brought awareness to the campus.

“Our goal is to educate students about disabilities and its accessible availability,” Keiser said.

Hicks said students with disabilities must speak out about the problems on campus.

“I think, in general, our faculty and staff has a great sensitivity towards students with disabilities,” Hicks said.

“We need mainly for students with disabilities to make their needs be known.”