By Maxwell Goldner
Mitchell Chrapek, a Kent City High School senior, is in the process of applying to college. Unlike the majority of his classmates, Mitchell is legally blind due to a degenerative eye disease. He is interested in Kalamazoo College, but he fears that our college won’t be able to fit his needs.
“I really like the idea of going there, I’m just worried about getting around the campus,” he says.
His fears are validated, as our campus’ terrain makes it especially difficult for those with visual impairments to navigate, and even more so for those who use a wheelchair. Senior Associate Dean of Students and Disability Services Dana Jansma says, “The campus, I think, is very difficult if you have a mobility issue.”
Our campus has barriers that keep students with physical disabilities and visual impairments from everyday life. As described by Dr. Siu-Lan Tan, a psychology professor at Kalamazoo College for 25 years, a barrier is “anything that stands in your way, and it can take many different forms. We can’t just talk about one kind of barrier, as they’re often occurring on many different levels, such as taking away social opportunities.”
Given that Kalamazoo College was founded in 1833, many attribute that to the lack of accessibility plans for a majority of the buildings and residence halls. While true, accessibility awareness isn’t a new idea in the Kalamazoo area.
Curb cuts are small ramps in a curve that make it easier for those who use wheelchairs to traverse the sidewalks. Curb cuts are an important step in making an area accessible to all, and Kalamazoo was a pioneer in implementing these measures. “Usually, when you hear about curb cuts, there is an association with Berkeley and the 1970’s. But actually, when you look at the history of curb cuts, you find that downtown Kalamazoo already had curb cuts in the 1940’s,” says Dr. Tan. Not only were curb cuts implemented in downtown Kalamazoo, but the lawyer who led the charge was a K College Alum.
With accessibility being implemented in the Kalamazoo area for over 80 years, it raises the question of why Kalamazoo College has not made greater strides in making its campus fully accessible. From Hicks Center not having a handicap button to the accessible door in Dewing that doesn’t open fully, our college isn’t proactive in meeting the personal needs of the student body.
Last year, a TikTok video circulated where different barriers on our campus were highlighted. This video was the result of a project in a women, gender, and sexuality class. It’s simple premise and fun approach was able to bring real awareness to some of these issues while keeping it less confrontational.
“More in Four should apply to everyone,” says the Kalamazoo College sophomore, who prefers to remain anonymous, who created this video. “Though I understand that a lot of the buildings around campus are Grandfathered in, I feel as if the upkeep of the current “accessible” implementations has been lacking. As an able-bodied individual, I know that I am privileged to walk around at a college that doesn’t prioritize those who may not be,” she says via TikTok messenger.
According to Susan Lindemann, the Associate Vice President of Facilities Management, it isn’t that the college doesn’t care, but rather a scarcity of resources. “We try to be incredibly responsive when we have a need, but I don’t think that we are able to be as proactive as we could be. I don’t think it is out of a lack of concern, but out of the necessity to make sure that the way we use our resources makes the most positive impact that it can.”
Aside from budgetary issues, Jansma says that to have our campus truly accessible, we would have to take out the quad. “The campus is on a hill, and that is not going to change. The only way to put a ramp that would go from the top of the quad to the bottom of the quad, which would follow ADA regulations, would turn the whole quad into cement full of switchbacks. That’s just not reasonable,” she says.
While this may not be reasonable, some more minor land adjustments are a part of the College’s master plan for 2022. Every ten years the college releases a plan with the city of Kalamazoo relating to zoning. “One of our objectives in that plan was to think about how to remove some of the barriers that exist because of our geography,” says Lindemann.
Because of these land barriers, the college intends to change some of the natural landscape to make it more accessible. The hill on Thompson Street is proposed to be leveled out so as to not be as steep, and the walkway off Academy Street is going to be ramped in hopes of flattening out that area for increased accessibility for those who use a wheelchair.
As of right now, these are just intentions, as the master plan does not follow a set timeline, but rather aligns with a set of values and visions as to what they would like to see done. This plan is impressive, but it doesn’t always match the college’s resources.
“There are always trade-offs. When you have scarce resources, and you choose to spend the money in one way, it means you can’t spend it somewhere else,” says Lindemann.
But the price might be steep. “The lack of accessible accommodations is likely to turn people away from the college, especially those who would utilize them. For a college that preaches inclusivity, the inclusivity of this group is lacking,” says the Kalamazoo College sophomore.
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