FOCUS: OPENING THE DOORS

Johanna Greenberg and Alex Barrasso are active students on campus. Greenberg swims, drives a car, paints and trains her dog. Barrasso swims, plays chess and foosball and lifts weights. What makes Greenberg and Barrasso so remarkable is that they are physically disabled. Greenberg and Barrasso are among a group of University students who are disabled. According to the University's Office of Affirmative Action, many students with disabilities do not identify themselves, and many who go to the office are not seriously disabled. The office reports that there are around four students who use wheelchairs, 30 people who are blind, legally blind or have low vision and around 10 people who are hard of hearing. Greenberg and Barrasso are examples of how students can serve as catalysts to encourage the actions which have made the University a comfortable and convenient place for the disabled. There are still a number of buildings or parts of buildings that students like Greenberg -- in wheelchairs -- can not reach. But the University has tried to make campus-living as easy for handicapped students as for others -- from renovating buildings, to making special arrangements for classes, all on an individual basis. Barrasso and Greenberg prove that there is good reason for the University to be open to students with disabilities, no matter how severe. And people and organizations, from roommates to the University's affirmative action office, have taken steps to ensure they will be welcomed. "The committment is there 100 percent," Sharon Harris, assistant director of the OAA. "Penn is in the forefront for accessibility and we get called a lot for technical assistance." · After an accident five years ago, Greenberg, a second year Veterinary School student became a parapalegic, but she did anything but give up. She maintained her interest in sports and, after 16 months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, became active again. Greenberg is a young woman who has maintained a toned physique despite her five years in a wheelchair. She lives alone in an off-campus single. The Vet School student's athletic skills become obvious the minute she begins to maneuver her wheelchair, turning corners with seeming ease and jumping over cumbersome obstacles. Greenberg is even about to start training for a triathalon. Swimming, always a favorite hobby, is still very much a part of Greenberg's life, and she said she is able to do it unassisted in most pools. "I can get in and out [of the pool] if the water is not far from the edge," Greenberg said. "I used to put water wings [inflatable floatation devices] on my legs, but now I swim without them." Using a manual wheelchair on the University campus as Greenberg does, especially over the Locust Walk Bridge, is exercise as well. College freshman Barrasso has been blind since birth and has always been interested in sports, academics and computers. He lives with three roommates in the Modern Language House. Barrasso, is a young man who always makes sure he looks good and is well-dressed. He said he has Braille labels attached to the inside of all his clothes that indicate the color of the garment so he can match outfits. At home in New York, Barrasso is an avid swimmer and enjoys lifting weights. While at school, he gets his exercise by walking around and playing "foosball." "It is too hard to coordinate schedules with a friend to go down [to the gym] to lift weights," he said. Barrasso is also an accomplished chess player, who has won or placed in several tournaments. He uses a special pegged game board which allows him to feel where the pieces are. Barrasso uses a black Labrador Retriever guide dog named Clipper to walk around campus. Occasionally he uses a fiberglass cane. In his room, he walks around unassisted, knowing exactly where everything is and where things should be. Greenberg, in addition to using her wheelchair to get around, also drives a car that was modified so that she can get in and drive it on her own. "[My Acura Integra] has a hand control built on to the steering wheel," she said. "It's a mechanical connection that you pull up for the brake and push down for the gas." A few years after her accident, Greenberg decided that she wanted to go to vet school, but had difficulty finding a school that was willing to accomodate her needs. "Getting into vet school, I faced so much opposition," she said. "Penn was the only school that welcomed me with open arms." Greenberg said she wants to learn how to train guide dogs at the Vet School because she said people who use wheelchairs frequently need the assistance of a dog. "I love to go to the beach and to hike, so I need a dog to pull me," Greenberg said. "A dog can also be a portable rail." Getting around the University, according to Greenberg, is not always easy even though the University has made renovations specifically for her. "The Vet School itself is accessible," she said. "In the old building, the old elevator didn't always work, but this semester we're in a new building that's great." When she needs access to a building that she does not usually use, however, Greenberg has run into some difficulties because other buildings give people using wheelchairs minimal access. "There was a lecture in Smith Hall, and I couldn't get in until people came to help me," Greenberg said. "If I were in the [Quadrangle], I would have a much harder time [because of the stairs]." Barrasso said he finds most professors are very helpful, making special arrangements for exams. This semester, he is enrolled in five and one-half classes and thinks he will be able to handle everything. "Some professors give me an exam and have someone read it to me," Barrasso said. "My philosophy professor [Charles Kahn] had a [teaching assistant] come over and proctor the exam." Taking notes in class, is now much easier with Barrasso's portable computer called Braille and Speak. It weighs less than one pound and Barrasso carries it to classes with him. · For the past 20 years, the University has made an effort to accomodate people who are disabled by renovating buildings and arranging for extra assistance, both inside the classroom and out. These changes were mandated in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. "It is important to recognize that modifications can be made in the environment or in teaching styles to accommodate individual students without affecting academic integrity," a June 1989 Provost's Memorandum states. The OAA handles disability cases on an individual basis through its Programs for People with Disabilities department, which is coordinated by Alice Nagle. "OAA assists disabled students, faculty and staff in resolving problems related to housing, access to buildings, orientation to campus, academic scheduling, transportation and parking," a pamphlet distributed by the program states. A collaborative effort between OAA and the Department of Transportation and Parking has made a van available for students who have difficulties getting around campus. It is equipped with a device that raises wheelchairs into the van. The "Handivan" is only available from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., but, according to Nagle, it has extended hours if an individual requests it. While most campus buildings have, by this point, become handicapped-accessible, some locations are still difficult for people who use wheelchairs, while others are accessible, but not through the primary entrance. Meyerson Hall, for example, has stairs in the entrance hall that handicapped students can not avoid if they enter through the main door. To avoid the stairs, Nagle said students must use the service entrance. College freshman Greg Worley, whose roommate uses a wheelchair, noted that Williams Hall, while it has a handicapped-accessible entrance, only gives people who use wheelchairs access to the first floor. "You must go up or down stairs to get to the elevator," Worley said. "The University arranged [my roommate's] classes so he has access to all of them and his professors make accommodations for office hours." Worley also said that some buildings, including Houston Hall, that are supposedly accessible are actually not. "Houston Hall has phones that you can use to call security," he said. "Usually the phones are broken." Disabled music majors would also run into problems since the music building does not have an elevator and wheelchairs can not reach a large second-floor room with better acoustics than the accessible rooms. Nagle said the renovations for the old building would be very costly for the University. "To put an elevator in for three floors, especially since it is historic, would cost $250,000 to $300,000," Nagle said. "It is not economically feasible." Some areas of the University are equipped with a device called stair-trac, which attaches to wheelchairs to transport them up and down stairs. But it is not compatible with many different models. "The stair-trac doesn't fit on my [light sports] wheelchair," Greenberg said. "It mainly fits those old, big chairs." Greenberg said that the biggest obstacle that she has is with restrooms, because they are usually not handicapped-accessible. "I usually have a problem with bathrooms," she said. "I can't get in [the stall], and when I can, I frequently can't close the door." Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, on the other hand, is completely accessible and is equipped with amplified telephones and handicapped-accessible bathrooms. While the entire campus is not completely accessible, every building that a disabled person needs access to has been renovated. OAA officials said they hope that through fundraising, enough money will be raised to renovate the remaining buildings. "At least 88 percent [of the University] is physically accessible," Nagle said. "We would hope that in the future, through the annual support campaign, we will build up enough contributions that are earmarked to [make the campus more handicapped-accessible]." In some ways, Worley said the University has been "more than accommodating" in terms of renovating their rooms and bringing ramps to scheduled events. "During orientation week, we had an event at Irvine Auditorium, and the University arranged to have a ramp there for my roommate to get inside," he said. But at the same time, Worley said the University did not make his bathroom handicapped-accessible, so it is inconvenient and messy for his roommate to use.

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