Eye Opener: Photo Essay!

Most of us will be physically disabled at some point in our lives. As a child with a broken leg, a parent with a bad back, an elderly person with a walker, etc. We are all disabled in one way or another. As far as the built-up environment is concerned, it is important that it should be barrier-free and adjusted to fulfill the needs of ALL people equally.  I believe planning for the majority involves planning for people with varying abilities and disabilities.

According to the UMD website, The University of Minnesota's Mission Statement states that,"...founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community...provides an atmosphere of mutual respect, free from racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and intolerance; that assists individuals, institutions, and communities in responding to a continuously changing world; that is conscious of and responsive to the needs of the many communities it is committed to serving..." 

Stadium's Purpose Statement states almost the same thing, "A community built upon mutual respect, responsibility, and opportunity..."

With the statements above, I found that the environment of Stadium Apartments on campus here at UMD does not follow it's mission/purpose statement. This facility does not provide an atmosphere of mutual respect, does not respond to a continuous changing world, and also is non responsive to the needs of the many diverse communities...especially for people that are wheel-chair bound or have serious allergies.

My photo essay is not to "bash" Stadium Apartments, but for you to take a moment, open your eyes, and step out of your own body. Put yourself in the shoes and mindset of someone who is dependent on a wheelchair or having severe allergic reactions to dust. Now take a seat in your wheelchair and enjoy the ride.....

"I am a student at UMD, their mission statement states that everyone has an equal opportunity of living and learning. I'll check out Stadium Apartments...it's on-campus living, my disabilities won't hold me back! right?...."

"Wait, no buttons or automatic doors for me to enter...I guess I'll just have to wait for someone to come and open the door for me..."

"I'm meeting with my group to study for our test, we are meeting in the study lounge."

"There is no way I can make it up those stairs with my wheelchair, and there are no elevators, I guess I'll have to study on my own..:("

"Since there are no elevators here, I'll check out the rooms on the first floor and see if I can live here!"

"All of the bathrooms and bedrooms are upstairs, there is no way I can go up these stairs!!"

"OR down these stairs!!"

"Wow, so many stairs in this building, but NO ramps of elevators for me!"

"Yikes, just a few weeks worth of dust off the carpet...achoo!"

"There are no plug-ins for Cable TV upstairs..."

"I guess the only option for watching cable upstairs is to get an extra long chord and trail it to the upstairs!"

"The accumulation of chords for televisions upstairs and Ethernet internet chords is crazy!  You can only get internet from the upstairs of the apartment, you would think with wireless internet being so common now, Stadium would be able to get wireless internet so we can avoid all of these dangerous chords!"

"Wow, there is a ton of dust up there, this window is 15 feet high, how do you get rid of the dust up there!?"

"No ventilation=tons of dust everywhere! Even with dusting regularly, so much gets accumulated on the heaters, how dangerous! Achoo!"

"My wheelchair definitely won't fit through this kitchen, how could I make food!?"

"The bathrooms are only upstairs, this shower has no handles or seating for me!"

"Also upstairs, I can't use this restroom, my wheelchair will not fit in here and there are no handlebars for me to grab onto!"

*sigh* 

"I guess UMD's mission and purpose statement was wrong, the environment here is not safe for my health or accessible for my wheelchair! :( "

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi