Needs not met

It has been more than 15 years since a few disability advocacy centers filed and won a lawsuit against UTEP because the school did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some changes were made as a result of the civil action, but disabled students at UTEP still have reasons to complain.

Getting to class on time is a challenge for many of them, who sometimes need to wait until vehicle traffic clears to cross a street or until someone else opens the door of a campus building.

"With my disability being Spinal Muscular Atrophy, my physical movement is not much," said Emmanuel Arzate, freshman student and SGA senator at-large elect. "When I go into buildings that don't have the button that one pushes to open the door, I can't do it, so I have to wait for someone to open the doors for me."

In one of the most popular buildings, the Union Building East, students may also have some problems. Students with a visual impairment, for example, perceive things that are on the floor, but they can't see the projections of the stairs and they are at risk of hitting their heads.

About 300 students with hearing, physical and psychological disabilities and visual impairment are registered with the Disabled Student Services Office, which supports them through interpreters, class note takers, classroom accommodations and arrangements to extend test times.

Neelam Agarwal, DSSO assistant director, said UTEP's location doesn't help disabled students.

"We are moving in a good direction, but we have some problems to deal with, much of them because UTEP is on a hill," she said.

Hector Flores, DSSO coordinator of services, said the department makes arrangements to accommodate students in accessible buildings.

"If a student is registered in a class in a building that is not quite accessible, we move classes around," Flores said.

The Student Government Association developed a task force to solve the problems that disabled students face.

Administrators from departments such as Parking and Transportation Services, College of Education and College of Health Sciences met with SGA April 15 to explore what can be done to improve disabled students services.

"We try to join all the UTEP resources to support the DSSO," said Leo Negrete, senate majority leader. "It was only the first meeting of many others."

Members of the Miner Diamonds, a student organization whose main goal is promote awareness, educate and sensitize students, staff and faculty about disability issues, participated in the meeting.

Some changes SGA will work for include the installment of sensors on automatic doors, a golf-cart initiative for handicap students, specialized tutoring for mentally impaired students, traffic guards and subtitles in the Union Cinema.

Negrete said some of the newly elected members will work to improve services for disabled students at UTEP in the 2009-10 school year.

"As senator at-large, I would like to get input of people with different types of disabilities and see what their concerns are," Arzate said.

Did you know?

•In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. The act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and guarantee them access to all public programs. In 1992, most of the provisions took effect.

•The Disabled Ability Resource Environment and IMAGE advocacy centers sued UTEP in December, 1993 because the 65 buildings of the university were not providing access to disabled students.

•The SGA task force said the UTEP campus has 91 buildings but constructions like Old Main, Education, Quinn Hall, Hudspeth Hall, Worrell Hall and Bell Hall are among the most inaccessible buildings for disabled students.

Nicole Chávez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.