Kelly Colbert
Staff Writer
During Millersville’s eighth annual Disability Pride event on April 11, University ADA Coordinator Paul Hill hosted a “community conversation,” in which students and community members could openly discuss disability-related issues with administrators.
In addition to Hill, the panel consisted of Mary Beth Williams (Vice President of Student Affairs), Sherlynn Bessick (Director of Learning Services), Jessica Hughes (Associate Professor of Communications), Thomas Waltz (Associate Vice President for Facilities), and Peter Palmer (student and President of MU ADAPT).
“First and foremost, I want to answer any questions you have,” Hill began. “About accommodations, things that you feel can be done differently.”
Issues discussed throughout the panel included the Office of Learning Services being too far from the dormitories, inaccessible course materials, the MU Xpress bus not running on weekends, and professors’ lack of knowledge concerning classroom accommodations. Multiple people raised concerns about the current location of the Office of Integrated Studies in the library basement, which one speaker accused of contributing to “a culture of devaluation.”
Jennifer King, whose son will be graduating this year, expressed frustration about the accessibility of on-campus housing. She said that for the past two years, her son’s accommodations have not been in place when he moved in, and that there seems to be “little urgency” on the part of the administration when it comes to correcting this sort of mistake.
Bessick directed King to contact the Office of Learning Services, which could intervene on behalf of students experiencing problems with housing. King restated that her son was graduating in May.
“I am worried because I have heard other students had the same experience,” King explained, “so it seems to be a potential systemic issue.”
Hill informed the crowd that if Learning Services was unhelpful, they could bring issues directly to him by filing a report through the University ADA website. Hughes reiterated this point and recited the URL for filing these reports, saying that the professors’ union is currently attempting to gather data regarding accessibility.
King said later that she was not encouraged by these answers, describing the administrators’ responses as “rather generic” and “not specific.” This opinion was echoed by Theo Braddy, activist and member of the National Council on Disability, during the rally that followed the panel.
“What I heard over there was not pleasing to me,” Braddy said. “What I heard over there is some decision makers that did not hear all you all had to say.”
The community conversation was broadcast live through Zoom, which several people used to attend virtually. Live captioning services were provided. President Wubah made a brief appearance but left before the panel concluded and could not be reached for comment. The event went over schedule by 15 minutes, and multiple hands were still raised when Hill gave his closing remarks.
“The answers … didn’t give me the impression that they were going to take action,” King said after the panel concluded. Her son was by her side. “But knowing about the complaint button — that’s something I certainly intend to do.”
