Hourglass 2021-22 Issue 3 Online

the hourglass | March 2022
news | 3
Physical Accessibility
at Baldwin
The school’s new campaign claims that
“Baldwin is the Future.” So why are its
structural accomodations stuck in the past?
MAKENNA WALKO ‘23
Features Editor
Though Baldwin has made efforts,
like adding ramps and elevators,
to accommodate injured and
disabled students, many feel that
the school’s design environment remains
inaccessible and antiquated.
Baldwin has already taken steps to
ensure physical accessibility. Upper School
“I guess on one hand,
they’re trying to
preserve the history
of the school. But in
doing that, they could
be excluding people.”
Director Mrs. Reed said, “There is ramp
access to every building and every building
has an elevator that people can get to from
a ramp. It’s not always easy because these
are old buildings, so it’s all retrofitted…
But they are all accessible if, for example,
someone is confined to a wheelchair.”
However, many students
feel that this is not enough.
Violet Paiva ‘23, who tore her
ACL freshman year, said, “To get
into the Schoolhouse, there’s no real
accessible entrance.”
Paiva also expressed concerns
about the Blue Hallway. Paiva said, “It’s
really long, and has random stairs in it.
You’re crutching, you’re exhausted, and
you have to stop, get rid of a crutch, and
get up the stairs. It’s really difficult.”
Lisa Evans ‘23, who has concerns
about her younger sister attending Baldwin
because of her walking disability, said,
“I guess on one hand, they’re trying to
preserve the history of the school. But
in doing that, they could be excluding
people.”
However, Mrs. Reed said that the
school strives to accommodate students
with disabilities. Mrs. Reed said, “We do
our best to accommodate. It might mean
the person would be late to some classes,
because they’d have to do some extra
routes… But there’s a way for that person
to get everywhere they need to be, it’s just
going to take a bit longer and not be as
easy.”
Looking to the future, Mrs. Reed says
accessibility is an absolute necessity. “New
spaces
like the
Simpson
Center and the
Innovation Center are
up to code,” she said.
Mr. Dwyer,
Baldwin’s Chief
Financial Officer,
added, “It’s exciting
to know that with
newer facilities, like
our under construction
Innovation Center, we can
prioritize this work and make
these special new spaces easily
accessible for all students, teachers,
and visitors.”
For now, however, the school’s dated
architecture makes navigating Baldwin
difficult for
students with
disabilities. Until
that is remedied, it will take some students
much longer to “Be There” than others.
Antiquated architecture at Baldwin is often inconvenient to injured and
disabled students.
Design by Cynthia Zhang ‘24
Photography by Lighthouse Wu ‘24