Awareness Doesn’t Equal Accessibility
Every year USD, much like many other universities’ campuses, roll out Accessibility Week with posters, events and social media posts reminding students that inclusion matters. It’s a week meant to highlight the importance of equal opportunity and celebrate diversity. Yet, while the message is uplifting and the intentions are good, the reality students face tells a different story. This being that USD still isn’t as accessible as it claims to be.
Accessibility Week is supposed to serve as a moment of reflection, and redirection for the campus community, but year after year, it exposes the gap between what the university promotes and what it actually provides to its students.
Students with mobility, sensory or chronic health conditions are no strangers to this gap. They’re the ones who struggle with malfunctioning automatic doors, buildings without elevator access and classrooms that seem as though they were designed without convenience in mind.
Barriers such as these affect whether students can get to class, participate or engage fully in campus activities or even feel as though they belong here.
Take into account the campus terrain itself. In theory, the campus’ layout should be fairly easy to navigate. However, icy sidewalks, uneven pathways, buildings with single ramp access and long stretches without rest areas turn a simple walk to class into an obstacle course.
The inside of some buildings on campus aren’t much better either, with places like North Complex, East Hall and Akeley Lawrence still relying on outdated infrastructure. Lacking access to elevators, having single entry points that are wheelchair accessible, narrow hallways, the list goes on.
While the university encourages students to seek out accommodations, the process of navigating those systems is often burdensome. This places more stress on students who may already struggle with maneuvering through campus both physically and mentally.
The contrast between reality and promotion is what makes Accessibility Week feel so stark, as while the university is eager to highlight its commitment to inclusion, its actions in ensuring accessibility continuously fall short.
Awareness doesn’t equal accessibility. Instead, it requires accountability and the willingness to implement meaningful change. Accessibility Week should be more than a reminder of the university’s values, it should serve as a catalyst to ensure a campus where every student can move, learn and engage fully without having to face barriers. This isn’t just for one week, but every single day.
