Written by Hannah Dang with support from the DAC Team
For years, UConn has asserted its commitment to being an accessible school for its disabled professors, faculty members, students, and visitors and having a zero-tolerance policy for disability-related discrimination through the following:
- “Resolving allegations of discrimination based on disability
- Overseeing and ensuring University compliance with all relevant laws and regulations related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- Providing consultation, information, and referral to appropriate resources for disability‐related issues
- Providing training [for professors and faculty members] regarding the ADA and Section 504” (Accessibility at UConn).
But are their facilities truly accessible?
For the most part, UConn has prioritized their students and the Center of Student Disabilities (CSD) by installing ramps, elevators, handicapped bathrooms, handicap push buttons for their heavy metal doors, assistive technology, interpreting and communication, parking, and transportation, spreading awareness to their professors, encouraging students to reach out, and any other student accommodations. To this day, I am proud of the steps UConn has taken to ensure every single one of their students is not at a disadvantage in comparison to their peers and is given the same opportunities as everyone else. But improvements can always be made.
The first time I heard I was placed in Towers, I wasn’t sure what to expect because I heard mixed reviews about the residence area. Now, as an upcoming sophomore, I have plans to live there again with one of my best friends due to an unfortunate lack of available housing, but I have a lot to say about my prior experience.
Upon receiving the housing assignment, I was quick to text my roommate at the time to review our housing situation together. Although it is habitable, Towers was far from our first choice. My roommate and I were placed on the top floor of our resident building located at the farthest corner of campus. Seeing as there was little to be done, my roommate and I planned to make the most of it. We figured we’d mostly be using the rooms for sleeping and wouldn’t spend all of our time there.
In no time, the move-in weekend was upon us. Not only did we have to lug a fridge, a microwave, and a total of four suitcases, we, two able-bodied and relatively healthy college students, struggled to climb the four flights of stairs during the stressful, fast-paced move-in process. The prospect of students not having help from their families or friends nor any accommodations they’ll need then struck me. The only accessibility features Towers offered were a built-in ramp in addition to the stairs at the front of the buildings and the few handicapped parking spots, which weren’t located near every building. I found it ridiculous that out of sixteen buildings, there are no elevators except for Morgan Hall. Thinking back, I wondered if UConn considered accessibility during the dormitories’ construction.
On the outside, the buildings are not modernized as UConn’s Peter J. Werth Residence Tower, one of UConn’s newest dormitories for students in learning communities. Although the buildings at the Towers consist of a brick exterior with numerous windows on every side, it has eroded with time. On every one of the four floors, the buildings are co-ed, and there are two bathrooms, one for girls and the other for boys. To my disbelief, in each bathroom, there are only two bathroom stalls and three showers for about two dozen girls and boys. The problem isn’t in the lack of stalls and showers but in their sizes and cleanliness. At Towers, there are no handicapped bathrooms. Not to mention, the stalls are barely large enough to fit one person and are not equally sized, one of the toilet stalls is significantly smaller than the other. If a person was using crutches, a wheelchair, or any other mobility equipment, it would be a huge inconvenience to use the bathroom in any situation.
As for the dorm rooms, for students paired in doubles (dorm rooms for two people), there is a decent amount of space; however, for the students who have two roommates, the triple rooms barely have any space. The rooms are not soundproof either, but in my experience, the majority of students are respectful and tend to keep the noise volume down at night. In addition, no air conditioning is provided for the students unless their doctor’s notes explain the need for air conditioning for medical and health purposes. Luckily the majority of UConn’s weather altered between snow, wind, and/or rain. The ceiling and floor tiles are prone to either falling on our heads or breaking under our feet.
UConn’s Towers follow a traditional “universal design” consisting of an adjustable twin-sized bed, one desk and chair, two dressers, closet space, and access to at least one window for each student. For future students, I believe it would be beneficial for students if the university prioritizes inclusion and allows students to have a say in what should be included in their rooms. Although UConn has explicitly stated it is dedicated to accommodating all of their students, its services are not reliable.
Not only that, there are only two laundry facilities in the entirety of the Towers, one on each side. While the facilities were large, containing at least a dozen washing machines and dryers, the problem was their locations and the low quality of the machines. Because the washing machines and dryers were prone to breaking down easily, if none of the machines were either available or usable, the student would have no choice, but to walk to the other side of the dorm area to do their laundry.
In my case, the only benefit to living on the farthest corner of campus was having the laundry facility located in my building. In the late autumn and cold winter months, in which there was a ton of snow, ice, rain, wind, and other blistering weather conditions, it was dangerous for students to lug themselves and their heavy laundry bins outside. As someone who befriended many students who allowed their laundry to pile up for weeks on end, it was awful to listen to their stories of having to do their laundry in poor weather because they ran out of clothes to wear.
By far, the best part of the Towers is its dining hall, Gelfenbien Commons. The dining hall is the most modernized building at Towers as it is the only building at Towers with handicap push buttons. Other than its limited menu items, Towers is spacious, but because the seats are first-come first-serve, there is no priority seating for people with disabilities.
Last but not least, the trip to Towers and the heart of UConn’s campus by walking is by far one of the most treacherous parts of living at Towers. Although there is a hill, similar to a ramp, which can be used for people who are injured or use wheelchairs, the distance is deceptively long outside of catching the bus. As someone who has lived at Towers for nearly a year, I’ve grown used to trekking up the endless flights of stairs on days I am unlucky enough to miss the bus or on days, my classes are closer to my dorm area.
At the end of the day, Towers isn’t an unbearable place to live, but it is not as accessible as the other buildings or residential areas on campus. Part of its outdated design lies in the fact that Towers is one of the oldest dormitories in UConn. Perhaps soon, UConn will set its sights on improving and upgrading the dorm lives for students by making it more accessible to many different kinds of people with many different kinds of mobilities, abilities, and cultural backgrounds.
WORKS CITED
Office of Institutional Equity. “Accessibility at UConn.” Accessibility, University of Connecticut, accessibility.uconn.edu/.
Disability & Access Collective 