Union officials try
to accommodate
disabled students
By Michelle Starr
Staff writer
A barrage of construction
throughout UNL’s campus greeted
visually impaired senior
Christopher Joyce when he came
from Michigan to school in
Nebraska.
« While Joyce said he was pleased
in general with the university’s ser
vices for the disabled, he said: “The
next time you rip up a building,
keep us in mind.”As construction at
the Nebraska Union winds down,
students and faculty members have
had mixed reactions concerning the
services provided for disabled stu
dents during and after construction.
Nebraska Unions Director
Daryl Swanson said improving
accessibility was one of the union’s
goals.
tie said concerns aooui accessi
bility changed two projects after
construction had already began.
The original plan included a lift
at the west entrance but was
changed to a straight ramp because
of safety concerns raised by the
state fire marshal. ^ *
The second change was an addi
tional ramp at the north exit, just
east of the revolving door.
Swanson said Christy Horn, an
ADA compliance officer who was
unavailable for an interview, sug
gested the additional ramp and pro
vided funding for the project
through UNL’s Americans with
Disabilities Act office.
However, in some spots, Joyce,
who has used a cane for nine years,
* had some trouble. He said the con
struction placed unnecessary artifi
cial barriers in centralized locations
outside of the union.
He said a fence, located to the
west of the union during construc
tion, was difficult to maneuver
around and made it hard to get to
the Canfield Administration build
ing.
“I don’t think these people took
the time to calculate how these bar
riers would affect the disabled stu
dent population,” Joyce said.
He was concerned that disabled
students were not informed of alter
native paths.
“You had no idea what they
were going to do next, it made it
very hard for us to calculate (the
next barrier),” Joyce said.
Marie Ward, director of services
for students with disabilities, said
she was concerned about blind stu
dents navigating around the new
Broyhill Fountain.
The previous fountain had a
raised circular base and was easier
for physically disabled students to
distinguish its boundaries.
Swanson said he thought the
new fountain would be easy to nav
igate around.
“The steps (of the new fountain)
themselves will serve as a barrier,”
Swanson said. “The north stage of
the plaza would also serve as a bar
rier.”
Ward said she would have ori
entation sessions for blind students
to help them familiarize themselves
with the union plaza and in particu
lar the fountain.
Jody Rockenbach, a junior visu
ally impaired student, noticed her
friends who used wheelchairs
found the temporary wooden
switch-back ramp on the west side
“not wide enough to turn comers.”
Rockenbach was also con
cerned with the amount of light and
lack of contrast in the color scheme
inside the union after construction.
“Everything seems to blend
together,” Rockenbach said.
Swanson also said he selected
the interior’s colors from the choic
es offered to him.
He said he was confident about
other aspects of the outcome of the
union’s interior as well.
During construction, some stu
dents might have felt inconve
nienced when the south elevator
was out of commission, but the new
north elevator was already working,
he said.
Ihe north elevator only goes to
the second floor, and students can
ask to use the freight elevator to get
to the third floor, Swanson said.
Ward said planners did a good
job with the east and west ramps on
the north side of the union and “in
general students seem happy with
the location of the elevator.”
Both Swanson and Joyce were
especially satisfied with the out
come of the new first floor rest
rooms.
Swanson said his instructions
were for them to be of “airport qual
ity.”
Both the men’s and women’s
restrooms have wide entrances
without doors, making it easier for
physically disabled students.
Other added union facilities
include computers with larger
images for the visually impaired,
closed captioning for televisions, a
hearing-impaired accessible phone
at each bank of new phones and a
wheelchair-accessible computer in
the row of six just north of the lab.
Brad Meulhing, architect and
project manager for the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, said they
worked extensively to make the
building accessible.
“We consider the (ADA) code
as a minimum,” he said, “(The
union) more than exceeds require
ments.”
Crib holds bands, scholars, events
CRIB from page 3
“The models were really close to
the audience,” Behmer said. “It was
almost like having the runway in a
cafe.”
After this year’s union renovation,
the Crib is no longer the only study
area in the Union. At least some stu
dents prefer the study areas near the
new north entrance to the union over
the Crib.
“The new areas are brighter,” Luke
Bossard, a senior psychology major,
said.
Bossard said he “hardly ever”
spent time in the Crib since the new
areas opened.
However, the Crib continues to be J
filled on weekdays with students eat
ing, studying and talking to friends.
Behmer said the Crib isn’t used as
much as it could be, though.
“From my perspective, I think the
Crib is under-utilized,” Behmer said.
Although the space draws students
most weekdays, Behmer said, the Crib
is often empty on weekend nights.
Ultimately, student organizations
will have to decide if the Crib will be
the site of weekend programs, he said.
Behmer said the Crib had a great
«
From my perspective,
/ ^mA: Cr/fe is
under-utilized
Bill Behmer
union operations manager
potential for weekend events.
“There are bars in town with
smaller dance floors that get along just
fine.”
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