Harvard took similar steps in Weld, virtually gutting the building and starting over.
But when it came to places like Grays or Wigglesworth, the College made only minor changes, leaving the buildings essentially inaccessible to students in wheelchairs.
The College admits this solution is not perfect. First-years with mobility impairments who can access their own rooms cannot necessarily visit their friends. And the accessible dorms have their limitations. Despite its overall accessibility, Thayer, for example, lacks a common room.
Nathans says the FDO also faces difficulty when trying to accommodate first-years who want to be part of roommate suites.
One solution is to place disabled students in Canaday, where at least one such suite is accessible.
But Booker, who was in a Canaday suite, says his placement while convenient, was socially isolating.
"The rest of the entryway was up a set of steps...which meant that I could never meet anyone in my entryway," Booker says. "We were located in a room everyone thought was a supply closet."
Read more in News
Knowles Looks to Increase Faculty-Student RatioRecommended Articles
-
Disability Act Inadequate, Panel ClaimsThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not go far enough in providing equal access for the disabled, according to
-
LettersTo the editors: I was somewhat disturbed by the administrative response to disabled students reported in The Crimson (News, Oct.
-
Faculty Council Discusses DisabledAs the University nears completion of a number of newly handicapped-accessible buildings, the Faculty Council yesterday began a discussion of
-
Disabled Students at HarvardTo most of those in Humanities 9b, "Oral and Popular Literature," it made little difference when the class moved from
-
Barriers to Equal AccessQ: What minority group is often excluded from classes, dormitories and other essential elements of the social and academic life
-
Complaints of Disabled Students Prompt College Policy ReviewIn response to student claims that Harvard's efforts to accomodate disabled incident have been less than adequate, the College will
