After a three-year legal battle with some handicapped students, UB and the State University of New York have finally settled the lawsuit regarding the school's lack of handicap access on campus.
The university has agreed to improve its facilities to better accommodate its handicapped students and faculty, but it is disturbing that the administration has decided on this only after legal action has been brought upon the school.
Tammy Milillo, a graduate student, and former UB students Jason Bowman and Rudy Denmeade filed the lawsuit against UB and SUNY in May 2000, claiming the university is not as wheelchair-accessible as it should be.
This week, UB and SUNY made an out-of-court settlement and agreed to renovate facilities in compliance with a thorough audit of UB's campus and facilities that is scheduled to be completed at the end of May, estimating that the costs will total over $1 million.
One million dollars is no small sum, but according to Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs, "somebody has to pay for it." Luckily, it won't be the students.
"We are getting money from the campus operating budget, state appropriation and SUNY capital money," said Black. "This is all capital expenditure. All brick and mortar fees come from the state."
While improvements to UB's accessibility are laudable, and the fact that students won't foot the bill is also fortunate, it seems the changes were brought on solely because of the lawsuit - and that is unfortunate.
If UB considered making more of the university handicapped-friendly during past renovations and expansions of the campus, the school would not have been sued in the first place. Next time UB decides to expand the dorms or build a new wing or parking lot, making sure there are designs for wheelchair ramps, automatic doors and handicapped toilets should be a top priority.
UB has not totally ignored the needs of the handicapped student body and faculty, as the administration has been taking steps to reduce the frustrations of these individuals. UB has made renovations to the Student Health Center on South Campus - notorious in the past for the two steps before the main entrance - by adding a wheelchair ramp at the rear of the building.
It is good to see UB trying to find all possible ways to improve the living conditions of its handicapped students and faculty, but it's sad to think that none of this would have come about without complaints and a drawn-out legal argument. Incidents like this should not occur in an institution that should cater to its student's needs - handicapped or not.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
