The Crimson White Print Edition - January 18, 2024

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2A news Students say UA accessibility is insufficient Rachel Seale Staff Writer Although the University of Alabama leads the way in programs like Adapted Athletics, which allow students who use wheelchairs the opportunity to play sports, some students with disabilities say campus and off-campus areas like the Strip still present them with accessibility challenges. Campus accessibility Maddie Daniell, a freshman majoring in human development, has a neurological and a genetic disorder that requires her to use a power wheelchair. Even though the crosswalk buttons technically meet Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, Daniell said she can’t push the button at crosswalks because they are too high for her to reach from her wheelchair. “You just have to sit and wait for an able-bodied person to push the button for you,” Daniell said. Toni Nelson, a junior on the wheelchair tennis team majoring in criminal justice, also said she tends to wait for someone else to push the crosswalk buttons due to difficulties reaching them. She said certain wheelchairs are not made to go over the grassy areas where crosswalk poles are located and users may get stuck. Daniell said the biggest problem on campus is the cracked sidewalks, which are painful to go over. Additionally, she said many sidewalks and ramps on campus are inaccessible because they are too steep for her power chair to go over and could cause it to tip. “Able-bodied students can take a path that I just can’t,” Daniell said. Daniell said she can’t ride buses on campus since her wheelchair doesn’t have tie-downs, or straps that connect the chair to a vehicle so the chair doesn’t move. “They’ll let you ride the bus, but it’s not safe and you're gonna slide around,” Daniell said. “It’s a danger to yourself and other people.” Both Nelson and Daniell said they have had issues with elevators not working. “There’s one in ten Hoor that tends to always be broken,” Nelson said. “Thankfully, the teacher I had let it go when I couldn’t go to class.” Daniell said she also experienced an issue with an elevator in the Math and Science Education Building that took 45 minutes to get fixed, leaving her stuck on the second floor of the building. “I had to take a test right after that, which I was almost late for,” Daniell said. “It took a lot of calls and the Office of Disability handled The crosswalk buttons at the northeast corner of University Boulevard by the Strip’s Whataburger may not be ADA compliant, Lee Busby said. CW / Caroline Simmons it, but it’s something that shouldn’t have happened.” Although campus buildings have automated doors that meet ADA requirements, Nelson said sometimes the ones at Farrah Hall are locked. There is an ADA assistance phone number listed on these doors; however, Nelson said she just waits for someone to let her inside. Daniell and Nelson have both received accommodations from the Office of Disability Services. Although Daniell has a specific ODS employee she can call or text, she said that she has still encountered issues such as push buttons that don’t always work when trying to open doors and able-bodied students parking in handicap parking spaces. ODS is the University’s program that helps meet with and plan reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Vanessa Goepel, executive director of ODS, wrote in an email that students with disabilities that are impacting their academics can contact the office by completing an online application, providing documentation of their disability and meeting with an accommodation specialist to have an individualized assessment. Goepel said ODS provides students with disabilities alternative formats for testing, communication access and classroom access. “ODS regularly evaluates our approach to academic accommodations in order to ensure educational access while prioritizing student autonomy,” Goepel wrote. “The national trends are towards use of adaptive and assistive technologies to provide accommodation and supporting all learning styles through Universal Design for Learning (UDL).” Although students have concerns about general accessibility issues, the University leads the way in accessible athletics facilities. Margaret Stran, associate director of Adapted Athletics, wrote in an email that the University was the first college to open a facility designed for adapted athletics in January 2018. She said the University also opened the first collegiate wheelchair tennis facility in October 2021. Able-bodied students can take a path that I just can’t. Maddie Daniell Freshman at UA “UA is the leader in adapted sports in the United States and is the only university that has two facilities for [its] athletes, both of which were designed for students with ambulatory disabilities,” Stran said. Stran said all campus facilities are wheelchair accessible and meet the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA. Alex House, UA assistant director of communications, wrote in an email that the University strives to act in compliance with local, federal and state requirements when it comes to campus accessibility for all students. “Students or employees who may encounter accessibility challenges are encouraged to report any issues using resources listed on the Office of Disability Services website, by calling the ADA Hotline at 205-348- 5882 or sending an email to uafacilities@ua.edu,” House wrote. Both Nelson and Daniell said they didn’t know where or to whom to file complaints about problems they have faced. House also said the University works with the city of Tuscaloosa to ensure areas off campus are also accessible, including the Strip. The Strip Daniell said there is a lack of sidewalk space on the Strip, which causes her to put herself and others in danger by riding in the road. Nelson said she uses a walker or wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. She said the sidewalks on the Strip are small, so she also tends to ride in the street. Nelson said she’s had a friend walk beside her and watch for cars while she used the road on the Strip near the Union on Frank apartments since the sidewalks are not big enough for a wheelchair or walker. Mallory Hatchett, a 2023 UA graduate who received ODS accommodations as a student, said she struggled to get around campus after she developed postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, in 2020, which causes her to experience dizziness and makes it harder to walk long distances. Hatchett said she is against the way parking functions on the Strip. Publix only allows its customers to park in its parking lot, which includes a few of the only handicap parking spaces available on the Strip. “We all understand like we’re constantly forgotten about, but I think it’s really aggravating when Alabama likes to say that the campus and the Strip and everything is accessible and it’s not,” Hatchett said. Lee Busby, a member of the Tuscaloosa City Council, reevaluated the areas students called into question on the Strip along University Boulevard, Union on Frank apartments and Here Tuscaloosa apartments. Busby wrote in an email that the City has given $400,000-$500,000 to help fund UA projects within the last 18 months, including those designed to create accessibility improvements. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, crosswalk push buttons should be placed no higher than 3.5 feet above the sidewalk, a minimum of 2.5 feet from the curb and 5 feet from the crosswalk. Busby found that the crosswalk button on the northeast corner of University Boulevard by the Strip’s Whataburger is 4 inches higher than the other crosswalk buttons at this intersection due to a cross slope in the sidewalk. “I am asking that that issue be reassessed for ADA compliance and common sense functionality,” Busby wrote. Moving forward Hatchett said she wants the University to take more action to listen to the suggestions of students with disabilities on how to increase accessibility. “I would like them to host meetings with people that are disabled ... and ask them specifically, like, ‘What do you think we could do to improve our campus?’” Hatchett said. Stran is a member of the ADA Deferred Maintenance Committee and works with the University on its master plan. “Work on the master plan also includes UA students with ambulatory disabilities assessing and providing feedback on accessibility across campus via an interactive app,” Stran said in her email. Interim Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Engagement Editor Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chairperson Chief Copy Editor Assistant Copy Editors Opinions Editor News Editor Carson Lott editor@thecrimsonwhite.com EDITORIAL STAFF Carson Lott managingeditor@thecrimsonwhite.com Ronni Rowan engagement@thecrimsonwhite.com Jeffrey Kelly dei@thecrimsonwhite.com Jack Maurer Sarah Clifton Cassie Montgomery Chance Phillips letters@thecrimsonwhite.com Ethan Henry newsdesk@thecrimsonwhite.com Assistant News Editors Culture Editor Assistant Culture Editor Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor Chief Page Editor Chief Graphics Editor Multimedia Editor Maven Navarro Jacob Ritondo Savannah Ichikawa culture@thecrimsonwhite.com Gabriella Puccio-Johnson Abby McCreary sports@thecrimsonwhite.com Bella Martina Natalie Teat Riley Thompson Natalie Marburger Shelby West Augustus Barnette The Crims is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students. The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions and editorial opinions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The Crimson White are in room 1014, Student Media Building, 414 Campus Drive East. The advertising mailing address is Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. The Crimson White is printed monthly, August through April by The University of Alabama, Student Media, Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Call 205- 348-7257. All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2024 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of The Crimson White. The Crimson White, Copyright © 2024
news How SGA officers have delivered on campaign promises Courtney Stringer Staff Writer The Crimson White spoke with SGA President Collier Dobbs and members of the executive council to discuss their progress toward campaign promises made in the spring. Dobbs will address all initiatives the SGA has worked on in the annual State of the School address Jan. 30. During last year’s campaign, the candidates expressed their goals in a series of Q&A interviews with The Crimson White. Although some of these goals have yielded tangible results so far, others have not. President Collier Dobbs In last year’s Q&A, Dobbs said one of his goals was creating a student leadership summit. “I believe a lot of student organizations look at a problem from a narrow perspective,” Dobbs said. Dobbs worked with other SGA members and The Source to plan the summit, which is scheduled to be held in late February. Dobbs also mentioned adding more student resources in the interview, and now says the SGA has implemented Togetherall, a free resource that offers mental health support for students, on Blackboard. Previously, Dobbs said he wanted to increase the SGA’s transparency by including an SGA newsletter within UA President Stuart Bell’s monthly newsletter to make students aware of SGA events. Currently, the SGA has a newsletter that is sent out once a semester, but is not included in Bell’s newsletter. In an interview with the UA News Center last August, Dobbs mentioned wanting to instate a Good Neighbor Walk in which SGA members would travel through Tuscaloosa neighborhoods to distribute the Good Neighbor Guide, an SGAcreated resource for Tuscaloosa renters. Dobbs said the Good Neighbor Guide has been created but not yet distributed, and the walk will likely take place after Spring Break. Dobbs also mentioned holding a fashion show that would benefit the Denise and Chandler Root Crimson Career Closet, which allows students to borrow professional clothing at no cost. Dobbs recently said the SGA has been working on a clothing drive, and the date of the fashion show has not been finalized. Executive Vice President Josie Schmitt In her Q&A, Josie Schmitt, the SGA’s executive vice president, discussed increasing the SGA’s transparency through a year-end review on its website that would allow students to view what each position and branch has accomplished. Recently, she said the SGA is working to finalize the review that will highlight the accomplishments of the Executive Council, Cabinet, Senate and Judiciary. Schmitt said in her candidate statement that she planned to implement initiatives in campus connection, student experience, internal engagement and student safety. She said recently that she has worked with Student’s Tide Against Suicide for Suicide Prevention Week and co-hosted Puppy Break to help relieve student stress. Vice President for Student Affairs Andrew Fairburn In his Q&A, SGA Vice President for Student Affairs Andrew Fairburn said he wanted to implement a Bama Asks director to his cabinet who would interview students on campus on topics relating to athletics, academics and transportation. Recently, he said he’s working with Vice President for Student Life Steven Hood to make the Bama Asks platform more accessible to students, although he did not provide details. Fairburn said in his candidate statement that he wanted to make the block seating selection process for football games more transparent. He said recently that he had met with the Student Judicial Board in the fall to explain the block seating allocation process in the case of an appeal, but no appeals were made. Vice President for Academic Affairs Johnny Foster Johnny Foster, the SGA vice president for academic affairs, discussed finding ways to alleviate academic pressure that students may feel in his Q&A. One of these was potentially making the student schedule page, Week at a Glance, into a clickable widget for easier access. Foster said the idea was presented to Office of Information Technology representatives and is currently being worked on by the office’s software engineers. It remains to be seen what the final result of this idea will be. Additionally, Foster spoke on making examination booklets available in all classes. Foster said that while he advocated for the placement of the booklets, it proved to be “logistically impossible,” although Foster did not specify further. “In response to this, the SGA has doubled down on our promise to have free examination booklets always readily available on the front desk of the SGA office,” Foster said. Foster also discussed wanting an open-door policy to allow students to approach him with concerns. Currently, Foster said that through the implementation of the policy, he’s been exposed to issues for a wide variety of groups. Foster said members of the SGA had spoken with representatives from Xfinity, the UA residential internet service provider, and engineers to advocate on behalf of the students experiencing issues with internet connectivity. He said there has been “significant maintenance” on the connectivity, although he didn’t provide specific details on this maintenance. “Altogether, the opendoor policy that my office holds has been extremely beneficial for myself and all students across our campus,” Foster said. Vice President for Financial Affairs Eric Doh In his campaign Q&A, Doh said one of his goals was to modernize Financial Affairs Committee funding and reward organizations that used funds responsibly. He said recently that the SGA has been able to allot a variety of student organizations additional funding for their programming, and that there have been discussions concerning improving the committee’s funding system, although nothing concrete has happened yet. In his candidate statement, Doh mentioned improving financial literacy on campus and increasing the transparency of fund allocations from student bills. Doh said the SGA has hosted Wealth Management Wednesdays, a speaker series that allowed students to hear from experts on topics related to financial literacy. He also said a fulltransparency week is being planned for the spring that will allow a breakdown on the transparency of student funds, but no dates have been finalized. Vice President for External Affairs Samad Gillani Samad Gillani, the SGA’s vice president for external affairs, said in his Q&A that his main goal was to make students feel welcome and reconnect them to the campus and city. Gillani said recently that he has worked to collaborate with Bama Dining to increase the Dining Dollars locations to four new restaurants in Tuscaloosa: World of Beer, UPerk Coffee, The Standard Pizza, and WeDat’s. He also said that in November, students had the opportunity to receive a pass for a free week at 9Round, a local kickboxing gym. 3A “Giving students opportunities to be active participants in the city they call home during their time at the Capstone is an ongoing effort,” Gillani said. During his campaign, Gillani stated his intention to collaborate with Lyft to offer students discounted late-night rides and the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter to raise money with a pickleball tournament. Gillani recently wrote in an email that despite his efforts, these partnerships were “halted due to university or other restrictions.” Gillani also previously mentioned making the SGA more transparent with the student body and gathering their input. Gillani said recently that “significant strides” have been made to foster open communication, citing the fact that details for External Affairs programming have been made available in the SGA’s newsletter, website and Instagram account. Gillani said he’s had the opportunity to speak with many students during his open office hours about involvement opportunities as well. Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bella Loia In her Q&A, Bella Loia, the SGA’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, mentioned the goal of listening to the student body on what changes need to be made to the University. Loia has launched the SGA DEI Passport Instagram Page, which allows students to discover and participate in diversity, equity and inclusion events. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive, reflecting the effectiveness of this approach in fostering a more inclusive campus community,” Loia said. Loia also previously stated that she would like to increase the SGA’s transparency by expanding its committees and getting more students involved. Loia said recently that over 100 members have been added to the SGA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, with additional assistant director roles. She also said the SGA Black Student Leadership Council has been reinstated. CW / Shelby West
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The Crimson White Print Edition - January 18, 2024

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