Four pieces of legislation highlighting the difficulties students with disabilities face on the UW-Eau Claire campus received mixed reactions at Student Senate’s meeting Monday.
Senators Doug and Lanetta Black proposed four resolutions: one in favor of making disability a prominent component of campus diversity; one that would encourage Senate’s active participation in Disability Awareness Month; one that calls for the option of registering cars of the disabled with the campus parking office (to prevent fraudulent use of handicap permits); and one that proposes a parking garage as a remedy to parking concerns of all students, but especially those with disabilities.
Senate proceeded to heavily amend the diversity resolution, postpone the parking garage resolution indefinitely and send the remaining two to commissions for review.
Senate members spoke in favor of addressing the needs of students with disabilities, but cited problems with the diversity resolution’s wording and an implausibility of building a parking garage.
Students were pleased to hear Senate is considering issues of disability, which they said many probably don’t consider on a regular basis.
“I think people should be more aware of it,” said freshman Krysta Quigley.
The Blacks, who sit on the Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities, remained positive, saying that while their legislation did meet some setbacks, it spurred the sort of discussion that will lead to increased awareness.
“I think that it was good,” said Doug Black, who travels around campus in a power chair following bouts with cancer and back trouble. “This was the first night we talked about (students with disabilities).”
The Blacks contend that the Eau Claire campus fails to meet the needs of students with disabilities in a variety of ways, from deficiencies in facilities to a lack of signage.
Much of Senate’s meeting was spent amending the diversity resolution, which originally stated a need for disability to be added to the university’s definition of diversity.
Senate found that disability was already part of the university’s official definition in accordance with UW System requirements.
Subsequent amendments altered the bill to state that disability should become a more prominent component of the university’s pursuit of increased diversity – which the Blacks said was their original intent.
“(Disability as a component of diversity) may be on paper, but it’s not in (Eau Claire’s) goals,” Lanetta Black said.
The original resolution also stated that the university usually considers diversity in terms of ethnicity, and that “different ethnicity is now being seen all over the campus,” warranting greater attention to disability.
Several Senate members said that language suggested ethnic diversity has reached an effective level, when minorities only constitute roughly 5 percent of the student body.
“I think this has an unusually harsh tone toward ethnicity,” Senator Jacob Boer said.
The Blacks said later they didn’t mean to suggest that Eau Claire had reached an acceptable level of ethnic diversity – only that the university had put plans in place to address ethnicity and should begin to consider disability.
Though the Blacks praised the Services for Students with Disabilities office for its efforts, they disagreed with her position that the university doesn’t need a separate fund for campus renovations improving disability. Currently, money for such renovations comes only with the approval of larger building projects.
Senate will review the resolutions sent to commission in its upcoming meetings. Doug Black said he intends to bring up the idea of a parking garage again and possibly even lobby in Madison.
