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Speaking Out
Testing Accessibility
The test of whether "Penn has succeeded in making most of the campus
accessible to individuals with disabilities," as Omar Blaik claimed
in the May
2, 2000 issue of Almanac, is a test I give Penn everyday. In
the six years I've been on campus, Penn has failed the test repeatedly.
Several of the improvements cited in Mr. Blaik's letter are the result
of a formal complaint by a disabled student to the U.S. Department of Education,
which covered six buildings. Compliance with this complaint diverted the
$150,000 flat fee that Penn budgets (3/4 of 1 % of the total budget) for
ALL requests for access. As a result, the top priority repair of the elevators
in Williams, a priority set by the Architectural Barrier Removal and Prevention
Committee in 1996, was postponed again.
The official response on access issues is metaphorically similar to
paying someone to rape you, then being told to be grateful that he had the
grace to buy and use a condom.
--Sigrid Peterson, ABD Religious Studies
Speaking Out welcomes reader contributions. Short, timely
letters on University issues can be accepted by Thursday at noon for the
following Tuesday's issue, subject to right-of-reply guidelines. Advance
notice of intention to submit is appreciated. --Eds.
Almanac, Vol. 46, No. 33, May 16, 2000
| FRONT
PAGE: SSW,
Wharton,
GSFA,
CGS,
& Nursing
Awards | CONTENTS
| JOB-OPS
| CRIMESTATS
| OF RECORD:
Use of University Name | Business
Enterprise Network | TALK
ABOUT TEACHING ARCHIVE | BETWEEN
ISSUES | MAY at PENN |
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