In 1973, VCU and all other U.S. public higher-education institutions had to offer equal access to all programs and services, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. That equal access act is still the law today.
But sometimes doors malfunction, and people end up late to appointments, classes and meetings. At VCU, some students discovered the School of Business Building’s Main Street and Floyd Street handicap entrances broken, causing handicapped people to find another way in.
“I wasn’t even aware of the problem,” said Latoya Brown, a sophomore accounting major, even though she attends several classes in the School of Business Building. Brown said she never notices things like broken handicapped doors in her day-to-day activities on campus.
But when one student discovered the Main Street handicapped door broken on Nov. 18, he reported it to Walter Griggs, associate dean for undergraduate studies in the business school.
“I was first aware of the problem on Nov. 3,” Griggs wrote in an e-mail to The Commonwealth Times. “As soon as I discovered the Floyd Street handicap door broken I reported the problem to facilities management.”
After checking on the maintenance request date, Mandy Moffett, the school’s executive secretary, called the situation “very unusual.”
“It doesn’t usually take this long to fix problems in the School of Business,” she said, adding that the physical plant must have had to order parts to fix the doors. “The problem should be fixed early next week.”
Student safety and facilities maintenance are goals of every university. To monitor and ensure these goals, The Commonwealth Times has decided to become a watchdog for the student body. This is the second installment of the Campus Watch series with reporter Isac Crouch. His responsibilities will include visiting buildings to find where there may be obstacles to security or safety.
Joyce Knight, coordinator for the Office of Disability Support Services, said she receives complaints for broken handicapped doors and other maintenance problems.
“I immediately send them to facilities management for repair,” she said.