Accessibility

There is a common misconception that people in wheel chairs are mentally retarded. People think that there would be no reason for these people to go to school. This is false. Not everyone in a wheel chair is mentally retarded. In fact, many people in wheel chairs are very intelligent. They have the same mental capacity as you and me. Therefore, many of these individuals could take your spot and even mine at this university at any time. It is crucial that we change our campus so that it is more accessible for everyone. People also think that it is a waste of money to change all of the buildings on campus to make them accessible. They think that the money could be spent on more important things. They want more funding to go to the sports teams or other clubs where they will be able to generate more revenue. Making campus more accessible is an investment for BYU. These changes will be permanent. They will be around for years. Part of BYU's mission is to make sure everyone has the resources to receive an adequate education. This idea that everyone needs to be educated is supported by the LDS church. Making the campus at BYU more accessible would be a good investment. Making the campus more accessible would also help to accomplish the BYU mission.

I am a student in an interior design course here at Brigham Young University. One of my assignments was to identify the accessibility of a couple of the buildings on campus. My interior design professor is sister Nielson. She has been a professional interior designer for many years. She talked also agreed that there are several buildings on campus that are not accessible. In my interior design class we learned the criteria for what does make a building accessible. We also learned what does not make a building accessible. Then we had to walk around and evaluate campus. I found the newly remodeled buildings at BYU were up to par with their accessibility. Some of these buildings were the Wilkinson Center, the Jesse Knight Building, and the President Hinckley Memorial Building. Many of the buildings on campus are not accommodating to people with motion impairments. Some of these buildings are the MARB and the Maeser building. After completing this assignment, I found numerous places around Brigham Young University's campus are not accessible.

There is a common misconception that people in wheel chairs are mentally retarded. Therefore, people think that there is no reason for these people to go to school—especially college. This is false. Not everyone in a wheel chair is mentally retarded. In fact, many of these people in wheel chairs are just as intelligent and have the same mental capacity as you and me. Consequently, many of these individuals could take your spot, even mine, at this university at any time. It is crucial that we make Brigham Young University accessible, so that everyone, even those in wheelchairs, can attend BYU. People also think that it is a waste of money to redesign and make BYU’s campus more accessible. They think that the money put toward making campus more accessible would be better spent in other ways: more funding for the sports teams or other clubs to help them generate more revenue, better pay for teachers, more food choices on campus, more parking lots, etc. Making campus more accessible is an investment for BYU because these changes will be permanent. Part of BYU's mission is to make sure everyone has the resources they need to receive an adequate education. The idea that everyone needs to be educated is supported by the LDS church, too. Making the campus at BYU more accessible would not only be a good investment, but it would also help to accomplish the BYU mission.

I am a student in an interior design course here at Brigham Young University. One of my assignments was to identify the accessibility of a couple of the buildings on campus. My interior design professor, Sister Nielson, has been a professional interior designer for many years. She agrees that there are several buildings on campus that are not accessible. In my interior design class I learned the criteria for what does or does not make a building accessible. Then, I had to walk around and evaluate the accessibility of BYU’s campus. I found the newly remodeled buildings at BYU were up to par with their accessibility: the Wilkinson Center, the Jesse Knight Building, and the Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center. Many other buildings on campus, though, are not accommodating to people with motion impairments: the Thomas L. Martin Building (MARB) and the Karl G. Maeser Building. This assignment brought to my recognition the need for Brigham Young University to make its campus more accessible for everyone.