The University of Oregon emphasizes their commitment to having a “diverse learning and working environment that is inclusive and accessible for everyone,” however some students with disabilities say the reality does not align.
Four students with varying disabilities told the Daily Emerald that campus accessibility is not what it advertises. They pointed to several alleged American with Disabilities Act issues throughout campus, from student housing evacuation plans to ramps.
The ADA was enacted in 1990 and it includes laws, regulations and standards specific to the civil rights of people with disabilities. Since UO is a publicly-funded school, areas that have been updated since 1990 are legally mandated to comply with the ADA.
Luna Fera, a third-year student and the director of the AccessAbility Student Union who uses a wheelchair for mobility, said, “In my opinion, UO is a lot of talk and little action… In my experience here … most things are accessible on paper, but to actually access (them) becomes a lot more complicated.”
Another student, Lucy Feuerborn had a similar opinion. “It’s a lot of talking the talk, and, no pun intended, not a lot of walking the walk,” Feuerborn said.
According to an email statement from the Accessible Education Center Senior Director, Norma Kehdi, the AEC is designated to “determine disability eligibility, work with students to identify accommodations, and advocate for equity, access, and inclusion in the experiences of disabled students on campus.”
There is a wide range of offered accommodations from accessible housing options to support in the classroom. This may look like extra time for testing, access to certain seating in a classroom or wheelchair accessible dorm rooms.
Lisa Kain-Kasday, a student with multiple disabilities, said she has had problems with the AEC and its transparency.
“I knew of an accommodation that my friend was unaware of and qualified for, and her advisors never brought it up to her,” Kain-Kasady said. She said the AEC’s transparency is a big issue, and because of this she has taken on a role in the Women’s Center at the EMU to inform people of what they qualify for.
“We have this double standard at the UO. It’s like ‘we want you to be the best you can be, you’re now adults, spread your wings.’ But, at AEC it’s like, ‘let’s wait, we’re only going to give you that accommodation unless you’re failing the class,”’ Kain-Kasady said.
Kehdi told the Emerald that it is the student’s responsibility to get connected to the AEC and seek their accommodations. “Once they are connected to the AEC, we work closely with students to make sure they understand how to utilize their approved accommodations,” Kedhi wrote.
Physical Barriers to Students’ Success
Aside from the AEC, students also expressed concerns of physical barriers for physically disabled students on campus. These barriers exist in different aspects of campus; construction, outdated inaccessible building design, ramps and more.
Fera spoke about how wood-chips are an issue for wheelchair users when discussing the constant construction on campus. When areas of campus are under construction, the paths often get demolished. Currently, construction near University and Villard Hall on the northwest side of campus has forced the sidewalks to be replaced with wood chip paths.
“Our tires are like bike tires, but unlike bikes, these are our life,” Fera said. “We can’t run the risk of them getting punctured, or getting flat, because that is just going to be a huge hassle.”
Mike Harwood, the associate vice president and university architect of UO Campus Planning and Facility Management said “we don’t have the ability to reach out to students… unless you come to work for us as an intern, we don’t know who you are. So we try to communicate with the campus in general.”
Harwood said there are announcements made in a weekly employee newsletter, called “Around the O Workplace.” Harwood said the newsletter is only sent to employees, not including undergraduate student employees.
One instance of the lack of communication for Fera occurred during construction near Knight Library in 2024.
“I come to find out on the first day that there’s construction going on in the shortcut that’s by the cemetery. Able-bodied people can go through the cemetery, but it’s impossible to do in a wheelchair, so I had to go all the way around in order to access my class,” Fera said.
According to Fera the detour around the building caused a stressful mixup in which she did not set aside time for. Fera said she wishes they would “notify me so that I know ahead of time that I need to leave early, not only for the broken elevator… but even earlier so I can navigate around campus.”
UO spokesperson Eric Howald expressed interest in including construction updates and possible accessibility-interfering announcements into Quick Quacks, a weekly newsletter sent to all students.
“I can help do some coordination with getting information into Quick Quacks,” Howald said. He said he believes this would be an easier option for students to find updates.
Feuerborn spoke on several unsafe areas of campus that could be dangerous to disabled students and able bodied students alike. One being a ramp outside of Global Scholars Hall with concrete on both sides and no handrails.
According to the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department Chapter 813, handrails are required on a ramp that has a rise of over 12 inches, or a horizontal projection longer than 144 inches. A horizontal projection is an extension of a building. The ramp outside of Global Scholars Hall has a horizontal projection approximately 505 inches and 19 inches high.
Another issue students expressed is inaccessible water fountains. Several water fountains make it impossible for wheelchair users to fit their chair underneath them, due to their boxy shape and outdated design.
According to Chapter 6 of ADA, drinking fountains must have clear floor space beneath them for multiple accessibility reasons. Many of the older buildings on campus have water fountains that do not have this room underneath, making it hard for many students to access them.
Harwood said CPFM often waits to address potential accessibility issues until it does an entire building renovation, for budget purposes. He said it is a lot less expensive to fix everything at once, rather than going in and doing one thing at a time.
In 2024, the UO had a capital expenditure budget of $229 million to make improvements on physical aspects of campus.
“It does mean that it’s taking us a longer time to get those things done the way we’d like them to be,” Harwood said.
However, this is a financial choice not all students are aware of.
“It really shows that the university does not really care about letting their disabled students, like physically disabled students, into public spaces,” Feuerborn said. “It’s really disheartening for a school that prides itself on its very progressive image.”
Fera said when she moved into New Residence Hall, an on-campus residence hall, she asked her Resident Assistant about the plan for evacuating due to a fire, and was given “silence.”
In an email statement to the Emerald, Jasmyne Channel, associate director of residence life for residential experiences, stated that in the event of a fire where the elevators become disabled, students with disabilities should evacuate to the nearest stairwell where they can safely remain for up to four hours.
Once in the stairwell, Channel stated that students can call 911 for assistance or send someone down to notify first responders of a person in need of “mobility assistance.”
“In any case, I don’t have anything written to me about what those safe zone locations are,” Fera said.
Howald stated in an email to the Emerald that RAs receive training related to emergency and evacuation procedures, and they are informed of alternative evacuation or emergency procedures for students with disabilities.
Inaccessible School-Run Events
According to numerous students, several school-run events have also failed to include disabled students. For example, the university’s annual Flock Party, an event to welcome students for the new school year, was held on the Erb Memorial Union grass. However, students with mobility aids were unable to attend since it took place on sloped grass.
“The Flock Party has a history of being inaccessible,” Fera said. AASU planned to have a table for outreach at the event, with two wheelchair users running the table.
“Their accessible option was to have us [set up] on Onyx Street,” which would separate them from the rest of the group. “It’s the lack of foresight,” Fera said that UO does not create a welcoming space for events like these.
In an Email statement, Howald told the Emerald, “The scheduling and event services team relies on event organizers to know their audience but does everything possible to help identify and anticipate accessibility needs. Based on previous successes with Flock Party in the EMU area, the university did not foresee a reason to alter past practices.”
Ways to Move Forward
Regarding reporting concerns, Howald stated “The important thing is that people feel comfortable reporting their accessibility concerns to university.” They can do so under the “File a Complaint” section of the Accessibility at the University of Oregon page.
In the fall of 2023, the AEC began recruiting for the Disability Advocacy Committee, with a mission to “advance and uphold the core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Oregon by continuously striving to improve the campus community so that education may be more universally accessible for all.”
The DAC is in its first cohort of students, and according to Kehdi, who is also involved in DAC, a number of their priorities were identified as long-term projects.
If students feel there are ADA issues at the university, Lesson 9 of the Enforcement of the ADA states people can file complaints with the Department of Justice.
