Accommodation Policy and my college.

[Atom]

I attend Missouri State and have been working out in their adaptive exercise facility. Recently I have noticed that people who are able bodied can access workout facilities much longer. On campus their facility stays open from 10am to 10pm Monday-Thursday and 10am to 5pm on Fridays, while mine is from 7am-10am and 4:30pm-6:00pm Monday-Thursday and is not even open on Fridays.
After reviewing Missouri States Accommodation Policy ( https://www.missouristate.edu/disability/8882.htm ) I noticed that in part II: Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities: 7: Is entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the academic community. This includes access to services, extracurricular activities, housing, and transportation at a comparable level as that provided to any student.
Unfortuantly for me they use vague words like comparable which could mean that I am getting more than my share or less than. Do I have a valid complaint or am I just being a cry bitch.

[wheelchairTITAN]

I attend Missouri State and have been working out in their adaptive exercise facility. Recently I have noticed that people who are able bodied can access workout facilities much longer. On campus their facility stays open from 10am to 10pm Monday-Thursday and 10am to 5pm on Fridays, while mine is from 7am-10am and 4:30pm-6:00pm Monday-Thursday and is not even open on Fridays.
After reviewing Missouri States Accommodation Policy ( https://www.missouristate.edu/disability/8882.htm ) I noticed that in part II: Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities: 7: Is entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the academic community. This includes access to services, extracurricular activities, housing, and transportation at a comparable level as that provided to any student.
Unfortuantly for me they use vague words like comparable which could mean that I am getting more than my share or less than. Do I have a valid complaint or am I just being a cry bitch.May I ask why you would like to file a complaint?

[Eileen]

I have no idea about the legal standing of a possible complaint, but I can tell you the fact that your school has adapted exercise equipment is not the norm. Certainly the college I went to, which is huge at 30,000 students, had no such facilities, so I think I would just be grateful they had them at all and not make a case about equal number of hours availability. That's just me.....

[SoFla]

Are you unable to attend the facility during its hours of operation? If you cannot schedule a regular fitness routine around the limited hours due to your class load, you may have a valid complaint. ADA requires equal access.

[Liz321]

Kudos for your uni for having the gym. (Isn't it a shame we don't have more). Do you know why the gym isn't open as many hours?

If it doesn't fit your schedule than it isn't giving you access.

I'd say talk, better yet write, your Office of Disability Services on campus and find out why?


p.s. Eileen why should we be grateful for what should be the norm already?

[Broknwing]

It's not just a question of wether or not ATOM can access it during the limited hours...the law says equal opportunity and comparable access...That would translate into comprable hours. How many students ARE being left out b/c they have limited hours? ATOM, I'd first contact the disabled student services at your college and bring up the limited hours and ask why they are limited. Ask why they are not the same as the regular gym. If they give you a run-around excuse, bring up the State Accomodation Policy(have a copy with you) and ask them why they aren't providing like services in this instance. Now, if it IS a staffing issue, they may need to hire someone(which does take time and sometimes requires crappy gov't financial approval processes...blech! but it CAN be achieved, even with a student employee) The other center is open 12hrs/day m-th and 7 on fri....yours is open 4 1/2 and not at all on fri. that is DEF not even close to equal or comparable...Don't initially approach confrontationally, but don't be afraid to be confrontational if you have to be....

[Atom]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was wanting to file a complaint because this year all my classes have to do with my major and I need to spend extra amounts of time studying and preparing myself for this degree. I usually get up early in the morning to accomplish ROM and other items before my day begins and by 4:30 I am hitting the books and doing Homework. I'm wanting to file a complaint because the best time for my schedule is 3:00 right after I finish my 2 to 2:50 class. Yes I am very grateful that the school even has this type of equipment but am sadden that they would limit its use to such an extent that it would require me to sacrifice my schooling to stay fit and it does not ask that of the able-bodied students. As for the disability services, the lady in charge is incompetent and has not been very helpful before so I will not be surprised if she isn't again. But I look forward to settling this dispute with the school and appreciate all of your responses.

[LaMemChose]

Kudos to you for going for the same hours in the gym with the adpative equipment as other gyms on campus. I hope you get the hours you need in the gym so you can keep up with your workouts and your studies.

Let us know the outcome of the gym hours, eh?

[carl]

Atom,
If you want to get an immediate resolution, first go and informally talk to disability services AND the Athletics Department and see what their responses are. Once you file a formal complaint then forget about getting anything done quickly. Maybe they can just give you a key to get in during off hours if someone will go with you. Good Luck!
My opinion,
Carl

[Atom]

Well it seems that I have equal access to the area as all students. Come to find out its for academic purposes and not a Health and Wellness facility. I would go into further details but the hole situation kind of has me down so it seems there is nothing further I can do except to bite the bullet.

[JenJen]

sorry multiple posts..

[JenJen]

sorry multiple posts..

[JenJen]

Is there a health and wellness facility on campus for AB students? If there is a place for them to workout, then you are entitled to equal access.

Perhaps it is worthwhile to lobby your uni to make this facility avb to d/a students.

[SoFla]

Don't let it keep you down for long. When you feel up to it, I would like to hear the details. Something smells fishy to me.

[Atom]

The lady in charge of the equipment received in through a grant for purposes of teaching her PED 100 class more specifically the disability section of PED 100 which is comparable to PE in high school. Since the equipment is considered academic and not Health and Wellness I have equal access to the area like any other student. There is a Health and Wellness facility on campus but it lacks the adaptive equipment held in the academic area which makes the Health and Wellness area useless for me. I felt down about the situation but have realized that we get screwed everyday for a condition we didn't ask for and have overcome way more than this to let it affect me in a negative light. I realized today that the battle to overcome adversity comes in many forms and no matter how simple or small this hurdle may be I will rise up and defeat it with a smile on my face. Thanks for all your replies in an attempt to help me receive equal access but it seems this battle cannot be won.

[sjean423]

So they are looking at it as you have equal access to the regular center, along with everyone else. And that the adaptive facility is just an extra, due to it being created for the course, that you can use as well? Apples and oranges so to speak I guess.

MAybe the point is to make some of the OTHER center accessible to you, using what they learned in creating the academic venue.

[Broknwing]

MAybe the point is to make some of the OTHER center accessible to you, using what they learned in creating the academic venue.

As SJean said, they need to make the OTHER center accesible to you, if they are saying that you have "equal access" to it...you CAN'T use it...therefore it's NOT equal...and they already own the equipment to make it so...They can either move the adaptive equipment to the other center and teach the course IN that center OR they can adjust the hours of the gym with the adaptive equipment...Don't feel defeated...it's not over yet, you're getting a run-around BS answer...Find out who's budget the staff is getting paid to operate the gym, if it's the Health and Wellness department, then they can ABSOLUTELY no longer claim that it's academic...They may have obtained the equipment FOR an academic course or through an academic grant, but if the gym is being operated under a H&W budget, then it's H&W or if it's being presented as being a H&W program, then they have to do a bit more to substantiate that it's NOT part of the H&W program...

DON'T give up the fight...that's what they want you to do...you deserve the equal access, they alreday HAVE the equipment to give it to you, they're shirking their responsibilities by not giving you the equal hours....

[Bonita]

I don't see why they don't combine the two facilities. I go to Wichita State...it's not a huge school but surprisingly it has universal weight equipment for wheelchair users and also has a vitaglide for cardio workouts. I'm kind of surprised that other public schools don't make their rec centers accessible to all...I'll be honest, I thought this was normal for public universities since they get funding from the state.

I would push for them adding wheelchair accessible equipment in the "regular" gym. You're paying for it, you should be able to use it too. Especially since the so called "accessible gym" is not meant to serve the same purpose as the other from what I can tell.

Just my two cents...You're health isn't worth sacrificing...and no doubt it's important for you to continue to do well in school.

Jennifer

[Atom]

My student fees go to the Health and Wellness fitness center but no student fees contribute to the area with the adaptive equipment which is why its considered a classroom that and the fact that classes are held in the area. The school is building a new Wellness center with construction starting sometime this year. I have been told that the director of disability services is on the board to try and acquire workout equipment for people who are disabled so that the center will be accessible for us.

[SoFla]

The director of disability will TRY to aquire accessible equipment??? Sorry, that is not good enough. The school MUST aquire the equipment! They must, aslo, make the current facility accessible to you NOW. It should have been done years ago.