By Jimmy Young
The University of Richmond goes to great lengths to ensure that handicapped students enjoy college without accessibility problems.
One such student, Chris "Buddy" Cassidy, a freshman from Annandale, Va., benefits directly from the improvements made on campus. These improvements can be as significant as a ramp at the entrance to a building and as minor as gliders placed on desk drawers.
Cassidy suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy that forces him to rely on a motorized scooter for mobility, he said. He has benefited directly from the proactive approach by the university staff, he said.
"I can't see any other school working as hard to meet my various accommodations and to ensure a comfortable academic and home environment," he said. "Because the staff takes care of virtually all of my needs, I am able to focus on my studies without having to worry about inaccessibility."
Unlike most universities, which often have an office that processes the concerns of handicapped students, Steve Bisese, vice president for student development, processes all students with disabilities. This comprises students with limited mobility such as Cassidy, students with sensory problems, students with temporary physical injuries and about 90 additional students with learning disabilities.
Bisese begins working with these students as soon as the admissions office contacts him to let him know that a student is interested in the University of Richmond, he said.
When Bisese received word that Cassidy was coming to tour the university, he met him and his family when they arrived on campus and twice before the first semester began.
"We're committed to personal attention," Bisese said.
Bisese has served in his current job since last year, and he's always enjoyed working with students, he said. He served as a resident assistant as a sophomore at the College of William and Mary, and when he got out of school, he realized that he could have a job outside of college working with students, he said. He thinks that the University of Richmond has a good plan in dealing with disabled students, he said.
"What might attract someone like Buddy to come here, especially with him being mobility impaired, is that when we hear [that someone is coming here], we just develop a personal plan," he said. "We don't know what they want to major in, we don't know what we're going to come across, but we will do virtually anything we can within reason."
Bisese says the university isn't fully accessible, and that some buildings, such as Ryland Hall, because of their age, never will be made accessible. He makes sure that handicapped students understand the limitations of the university.
"You should only feel comfortable if you really know the campus," he said. "We wouldn't want to hide what we are. €¦We need to let [disabled students] know."
Bisese contacts outside organizations that offer him advice as to what amenities disabled students may require, he said. He also works closely with Joan Lachowski director of housing, Mary Churchill in CAPS and Susie Reid in facilities, in what he describes as a close-knit group.
Lachowski is kept apprised of changes in student dorm rooms, but doesn't play a direct role in determining the students' needs, she said.
If disabled students need an attendant to aid their everyday needs, Lachowski will make the university community aware in a newsletter or SpiderByte, she said.
Reid plays a much more significant role in this process, addressing specific needs of each student, she said.
"We pride ourselves in working one-on-one with our disabled students," said Reid, director of operations and maintenance.
Reid met Cassidy on his first day here to make certain that he was comfortable, she said.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed doing whatever I can to help these folks achieve their goals," Reid said. "I have so much respect for them for going against the odds and accomplishing what they want to accomplish in life.
"Anything that we can do to remove barriers to that end, we are more than happy to do. And that’s the attitude everybody at the university has."
Bisese shares this view. He spent all last summer preparing for Cassidy's arrival, and was upset when he learned that an elevator that Cassidy needed in the Tyler Haynes Commons had broken on his first day on the campus during orientation.
"I was heart-broken that we had looked at every single thing possible. €¦It was his first day and I didn't want him to become scarred by [the experience]," he said. "I didn't want him being the only one [of 800 students] walking around with an administrator in a tie."
Cassidy's mother, Grace, is well aware of the problems that come with accessibility, she said.
"We've always raised Chris that he can do anything that he wants," she said. "He may just have to peel back some layers of the onion to get where he needs."
The university still has some work to do, Cassidy says, especially when it comes to publicity regarding accessibility. The university website doesn't publicize specific information regarding accessibility, which makes it difficult for handicapped students to know what to expect before they arrive on campus, she said.
Such information would else help change the mindset of the campus community and make people more aware of problems that disabled students face, she said.
"Richmond could benefit from increased awareness," she said.
When her family came here to visit Buddy during parents' weekend, they went to the football game, but had to sit on the other side of the stadium, away from the home fans, because of accessibility problems, Cassidy' mother said. The seats wee good, she says, but if her son wants to go to a game in the future, he won't be able to sit with the rest of the students, which isn't right, she said.
She hopes that handicap accessibility will be taken into account and addressed when the new football stadium is built.
She has seen Richmond make significant improvements from the first time she came here, which she described as a "disaster." She came here for Accepted Students' Day and no one was able to adequately assist them in finding their way across the campus, she said. Now, her perspective has changed, she said.
"We could not be happier with the accommodations," she said.
Gene Anderson, a music teacher at the university for 25 years, has seen the university make modest improvements during his tenure, such as creating ramps for sidewalks. Major improvements haven't come until recently, he said.
The music department used to teach a piano class on the third floor of Booker Hall, but this became impossible as more handicapped students began to attend Richmond because the only elevator in the building had to be accessed through a set of stairs, he said.
"The issue has never been completely addressed because of the lack of handicapped students here, so making the campus handicap accessible has never been a burning issue," Anderson said.
Music professor Jennifer Cable oversees the Richmond Scholars program and serves as academic adviser to the Oldham Scholars program, which Cassidy is a member of, she said. She worked with a travel agent to plan a trip to Chicago last month with the Oldham Scholars, which included ensuring that Cassidy was able to participate in all the planned activities, she said.
Still, there were problems with hotel room accommodations and the bus that the group used, she said. Cable had worked extensively to make sure that Cassidy had the proper accommodations, but those on the other end didn't do what they were asked, she said.
"No matter how much preparation work you do, things can still absolutely go wrong," she said. "I'm confident that we did all that we could do."
The greatest problem is getting people to understand what specific needs that Cassidy and other handicap students need, she said.
Annie Kennedy, vice president for student advocacy for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, says that many universities don't understand what it means to be accessible until a student with a physical disability is actually enrolled.
"Accessible means different things to different people," she said.
Many times, a university will be well-intentioned and will try to make itself accessible, but it won't make the proper modifications to do so, she said. Institutions need to understand that the unique needs of a student must be met, she said.
Richmond has a willingness to learn what needs to be done to make itself more accessible and addresses more than just the basic needs of a student, Kennedy said.
Cassidy's mother feels that Richmond has gone above and beyond to help Cassidy. For example, it would be acceptable for the university to provide a handicap-accessible ramp at the back entrance to Gray Court, she said. The university had no obligation to provide Cassidy with a second, and more convenient, entrance, she said.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination based upon disabilities. Under Title III of the ADA, public accommodations, including educational facilities such as the university, must meet certain standards that allow all people to use the goods and services that the facility provides.
The act requires that any new buildings or buildings that are undergoing major renovations anyway to be outfit with handicap accessible facilities. Buildings that were constructed before the act became law don't have to meet ADA standards.
This is why new buildings on campus, such as Weinstein Hall and Lakeview, are fully accessible, while older buildings, such as Ryland Hall, are not, Bisese said. If Richmond, as a private institution, doesn't comply with ADA standards, it will lose access to federal student loans, he said. This would be devastating to students attending the school, he said.
Since Cassidy committed to the school, Richmond has spent $75,000 to $80,000 to ensure that the campus meets ADA standards, Reid said.
This includes $20,000 to completely renovate Cassidy's bedroom and bathroom, $600 to construct an asphalt ramp at the entrance to Gray Court, $19,200 to install five automatic door openers (two in Gray Court, two in Jepson Hall and one in Booker Hall) and $12,000 to renovate the elevator in Gray Court, Reid said.
Funds are readily available if improvements are needed, Bisese said, but they must be within reason. Most of the time, requests are granted, but some improvements are simply too costly, such as making all residence halls handicap accessible.
"We can only do a little at a time," he said.
Many of the alterations to the campus have come recently because Cassidy is the first four-year student with limited mobility at Richmond, Reid said. The school has had two other handicapped students in the past five years – a law student from 2002 to 2005 and a transfer student from 2005 to 2007.
The transfer student, Jason Blackwell, spent two and a half years here and lived in the University Forest Apartments, which are completely handicap accessible, Bisese said. Blackwell's biggest problem during his time at the university was accessing his academic adviser, Bisese said.
Blackwell was an English major and his adviser's office was in Ryland Hall, which he couldn't reach because he was confined to a wheelchair.
Another one of Blackwell's problems was deciding which was more important – being able to access public areas or residence halls, Bisese said.
The registrar's office played a role in ensuring that Blackwell could take the classes he wanted. If a class he wanted to take was located in a building that wasn't accessible, the class was moved to a building that was accessible, Bisese said. The same procedure is followed now with Cassidy, Reid said.
Other than meeting Cassidy's basic needs, the university ensures that he is able to partake in activities that he enjoys, Reid said.
The pool lift had been malfunctioning for some time, which posed a problem because of Cassidy's love of swimming, Reid said. The university spent $2,800 on a new lift this October.
"If we didn’t have a student here that we knew would use it, we might have just kept repairing it for a while longer," Reid said.
Cassidy was also able to participate in the university's production of "Macbeth" when a role was modified specifically for him, he said. The director, Walter Schoen, wanted Cassidy to be cast in his show, and he assured him that nothing would hinder him from being on stage, Cassidy said.
The play was set in the World War I era, so Cassidy's character suffered injuries, allowing him to be carried around stage on a stretcher or by the other actors, he said. A wheelchair was also designed for use at other points throughout the performance. For those in the audience that didn't know about Cassidy's disability, there was no
way to determine that he had one, he said.
Bisese and Reid call Cassidy to check up on him whenever they feel it necessary, Bisese said. Both are expected to respond to whatever problem Cassidy may have, but neither is required to take the initiative in contacting him, Bisese said. Still, some problems exist in making sure Cassidy is comfortable.
"What I find challenging is finding the balance between being a support and not being overbearing," he said.
Cassidy feels as though he is living a normal life here, without the hassles that came with being a high school student. The situation was so poor that he fought nearly three years to obtain a single electronic door opener for his use, he said.
"In high school, I had to put up with the angst and frustration of having to make sure that even my most basic needs were met," Cassidy said. "It was so bad that I had to ram my scooter into the front door of the school every time I wanted to open it."
The staff of the university is what makes the difference for handicapped students, Cassidy said.
"I remember Buddy's mom telling me that when they were looking at other campuses, there may have been some that were more accessible, but nowhere did they meet people with the attitude of the University of Richmond," Reid said. "They just felt comfortable with him here and were satisfied that he would be taken care of.
"We’re proud they feel that way."