With winter fast approaching, there is one major concern on student Carbon Pierce’s mind: how will he be able to get to class? Pierce has spent his fall semester planning for winter, saving up his absences and going to class with migraines along with other illnesses to prepare for winter.

As a wheelchair user, Pierce is no stranger to the struggles of getting around campus with a mobility aid but the addition of snow can make it impossible for him to leave his dorm. Often, in the plowing process, ramps to building entrances are the last to get plowed, leading Pierce to limit how early he can schedule his morning classes.

Still, this issue does not improve once the ramps and sidewalks have been plowed. Excess snow is often pushed to the end of ramps and the edge of sidewalk curbs, forcing Pierce to either wheel through inches of built-up snow and ice or use one of the few absences allotted by his professors.

Beyond traversing campus in winter, Pierce has encountered numerous other accessibility issues throughout his three semesters at Oswego. From broken handicap push buttons to locked elevators and cones on the sidewalk, the little things that able-bodied students take for granted can add ten-plus minutes to his daily commute.

When it was announced at the beginning of the semester that all classes on the second, third and fourth floors of Mahar Hall were being relocated, Pierce was not surprised.

“It’s really disingenuous to say we`re an accessible campus and then one of your buildings isn’t even accessible to any other floor for anyone but people who can walk,” Pierce said.

Luckily, he has not taken any classes in Mahar.

Aside from Mahar Hall, Pierce also struggles with moving around Lanigan Hall. As the main lecture hall on campus, Lanigan is inescapable for almost every student. However, the layout of the building makes navigating the building difficult for Pierce.

With only two accessible entrances and one accessible restroom in the basement, having a class on the main floor of the building is not ideal for him.

These classes are tough for him to reach as Pierce has to wheel up a steep ramp without landing to access the outer hallway on the top floor and immediately open a heavy door at the top to access the outer hallway on the top floor.

“I have to balance myself holding onto the railing and try to force this door open,” Pierce said.

There have even been instances when these doors at the top have been locked leaving him stranded in the center of Lanigan.

Still, Pierce has long accepted that it will be hard for him to get to class in the snow or if he is sick.

Yet one of the biggest things that is hindering his ability to learn is attendance policies. Most classes require an attendance policy which Pierce is not against, but he believes that other alternatives to attending class in person would be beneficial.

“If I’m not in class it’s not because I don’t want to be there,” he said.

Instead, he thinks that if professors offered an option for students to Zoom into class he would not have to stockpile his absences for winter.

For Pierce, these struggles have become a part of his everyday life, and he understands that many of the accessibility obstacles he faces are due to the landscape of campus. Uneven curb cuts, locked doors and potholes in parking lots can all be fixed, but the steepness of hills on campus cannot.

“I wouldn’t recommend coming here as a wheelchair user,” Pierce said. “There’s too much wrong right now.”

Over three decades after the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pierce`s words reflect a strong reality of disabled students on campus, SUNY Oswego has come a long way in accessibility but it still has a long way to go.

Image by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels