Getting to Know Stephanie Boal

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Steph is currently a Senior majoring in Health Science with a concentration in communications disorders. Steph was part of a wheelchair basketball team for about two years. On campus, Steph is significantly involved with Alpha Phi Omega a serviced based co-ed fraternity. On her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends, watching movies, listening to music and going to concerts.

THE INTERVIEW:

Q: How would you rate Stockton’s main campus accessibility 1-10? 1 being the worst, 10 being the best it can be?

“I give it about an eight. It is very flat and I am able to get around and I’m able to get on the shuttle. They’ve actually improved a lot in the past four years that I’ve been here.”

Q: How has it changed in the past four years that you’ve been in Stockton?

“When I first came they didn’t have weekend shuttles and within the first week of me being here they did. Now all of the Arts and Sciences shuttles have lifts which they never had when I first got here.”

Q:Is there anything Stockton could do for you to improve their accessibility on campus? Is there anything that can be made easier for you?

“No I think they’re pretty good.”

Q:Has there been times where you’ve had to wait for a different shuttle that has a lift?

“Yes, specially before they had the shuttles in the Arts and Sciences. I used to always had to wait  for the campus center one and that only comes around every so often so sometimes if I don’t get there at a certain time  I’ll have to wait an extra 15 minutes for it.”

Q:Are there any campus events that you wished to attend but could not due to accessibility issues?

“Sometimes off campus activities don’t have shuttling if they get an outside company to shuttle and they don’t have a lift unless you ask them weeks in advanced. But event on campus I’ve been able to attend.”

Q:What housing unit do you currently live in? Or do you commute?

“I live in housing 5, Kerria.”

Q:Were you restricted to this housing unit because of extra accessibility? Or was it your choice?

“When I first came here I was supposed to live in housing 2 in an apartment but then there was a housing mishap because the director at the time left and never told me and they put me somewhere that wasn’t accessible. Then within the first two weeks before school started they were scrambling trying to find out where I was going to live. So they told me housing 5 was going to be the best option for you and I didn’t even know if there were other accessible housing units on campus except for housing 5. I ended up loving it and I’ve been there for the past four years.”

Q:Does it upset you that you are subjected to the higher costs of Housing 5, because another housing option wasn’t available to you?

“It does, I wish it was a little bit cheaper.”

Q:Do you have to take an elevator to your dorm or is your dorm located on the first floor?

“I live on the first floor and still have three roommates and there is actually two bathrooms in our apartment. One is for everyone else and in the shower room there is an accessible toilet for me.”

Q: Has your physical disability prevented you from accomplishing any task or goals you may have had?

“It hasn’t gotten in the way that much, I was still able to attend college and strive here which was great. In other aspects it has gotten in the way that some people tend to look at people with disabilities and automatically think mental disability not just the physical and they’re afraid to get to know you because of it.”

Q:How do you feel society looks at you because of your disability?

“I know that when people first meet me they’re like oh maybe she can’t so as much. Specially with jobs I know I get turned down because of my disability because they think I wont be able to reach a cash register or do anything. I just wish that society would see more of the ability in me than the disability.”

An Interview with Stephany Piermattei

Stephany Piermattei is a senior social work major here at Stockton University. She advocates for herself and speaks up when she’s facing a difficult task and hopes that her insights will help bring change to some aspects of Stockton’s accessibility. 

 

1.      How would you rate Stockton University’s accessibility 1-10? 1 being the worst, 10 being the best

A.      “I would say it’s around 8. Most of the rooms and the library are completely accessible but there’s some places like the Performing Arts Center and some of the bathrooms have really heavy doors and no buttons. But the accommodations at Stockton are really good, like if you need a note taker in your classes or you need extra time in your classes they’re very good with helping you get that; it’s more of the structure of the buildings that don’t always work with wheel chairs”.

2.      Is there anywhere on Stockton’s main campus besides the bathrooms that that accessibility is an issue for you?

A.      “Sometimes it’s hard to get around when it’s snowing outside because around the main campus [the pavement] is clear, but near the dorms it’s not plowed away right or it’s iced over. I have friends in wheelchairs who said that they’ve broken their front wheels because of black ice and they had to miss classes because they couldn’t get through”.

“I notice sometimes when I visit my friends in their apartments even the accessible apartments aren’t always accessible because sometimes the tables are too high or the stove is too low. I can remember my one friend described one of the apartment’s showers was strange because the shower spout was on one side while she was on the other side. So some apartments are better than others.”

3. Have you ever been late to class because of lack of proper accessibility?
A. “I feel like the way the buildings are set up are pretty good because all the wings are connected. The only real problem is once in a while I’ll have classes in West Quad, or when I have to see the nurse there’s a lot of cracks in the side walk and I always have to make sure that my wheels don’t get stuck because that has happened before and they had to have someone help me get out of one of the  of one of the cracks”.

Stephany showing some of the larger cracks in the pavement

A close up on how wide and deep some of the cracks are

4.   Is there anything Stockton could do for you to improve their accessibility on campus? Is there anything that can be made easier for you?

A.  “I think just making sure that maybe they have more automatic door openers on some of the door because they have them on the outside of the doors but not necessarily on the inside of the doors. A lot of times I have to wait for someone to walk by and I have to ask them to help me out. The pavement by West Quad, and maybe making sure the snow and black ice isn’t in the way, they like to put sand on the snow so people don’t slip but a lot of time that sand can get stuck in my wheels and I know for other people that’s how their chairs broke because their wheel got tangled in the sand”.

 Another student helping Stephany open the bathroom door.

Stephany showing some of the doors that are accessible for her

5.  Have you ever been late to class because of lack of proper accessibility?

A.   “I notice that sometimes when they’re doing renovations on the elevators they don’t always notify the students who need them, so on those occasions a couple of times yes I have been late; I was trying to find another elevator that was working fortunately when they went over to Learning Access about that then they started getting notifications when the elevators would be down but it wasn’t until I said something. I have to go down there initially to be asked to be put on their mailing list because I’m not permanently on their mailing list because they don’t normally send messages like that out to the students but I guess they don’t realize that for some students that really makes a difference.”

 A renovation that Stephanie wasn’t informed of

6.  Are you being punished for your lateness’s from your professor?

A. “No I have not”

7. Are there any campus events that you wished to attend but could not due to accessibility issues?

A.  “No actually because usually when there is an event that’s happening the Learning Access already know about it and work with students to come up with a plan to make it more accessible, for example graduation is coming up and Nancy and Bob Ross from Learning Access program basically laid out a plan for me to make sure that I would be able to participate”.

8.   Are all Stockton shuttles properly equipped to transport you to campus? Have you ever had to wait for another shuttle to transport you?

A.    “I have noticed that they are a little bumpy in the back they don’t have a lot of shock resistance so you could feel every time they turn a corner or go over a bump. I believe there are two [shuttles] that are accessible; sometimes you do have to wait for another one to come by but I do know that if you contact them and give them your schedule they will help you get where you need to go but in practice that’s a good idea but with always having events and stuff you can’t go by a set schedule so a lot of times I have to wait for another bus that is accessible because I don’t always know when it will be ready to pick me up because it changes from week to week.”

Stephany, and her friend, at a tabling event on campus.

9.  What housing unit do you currently live in? Or do you commute?

A. “I commute, I don’t drive I use Access Link and sometimes it takes two hours to get here because they drop other people off and you never know. You always have to plan two hours ahead so that you’re not late.”

10.  Do you ever find something when you’re going throughout your day where you wish they would do it differently?

A. “I will say that I wish that they had an accessibility seminar for incoming freshman because part of my disability is I have a slow reading time so it takes me a while to read stuff. So, at my community college what I would do was not take classes where my books weren’t online in this special program I use online, but at a university that’s not always possible. It wasn’t until I went into the Learning Access program that they told me about the program called Curdswell which will read your books out loud to you which will save a lot of time. For me it was easier to find this stuff out because I’m good at advocating myself but I’ve noticed a lot of students with disabilities they’re not comfortable going to Learning Access and trying to figure things out so a lot of times people only learn about the accommodations through word of mouth so I really feel that having a mandatory seminar that’s part of orientation where they talk about accommodations would be really good.”

 Stephany posing in front of one of the entrances to the Campus Center that isn’t accessible for her

11.  What is your main concern for graduation?

A.      “Again, I learned about this because I went to Learning Access and they happened to see me there and talk to me about it but we are going to meet ahead of time and try out Big Blue, try out the ramp and see how It works but they have to track down some of the other students who may have issues with that but haven’t gone into the office. When I asked the Graduation Studies Office if it was accessible they said ‘Yes it’s in Big Blue’ but they didn’t explain to me that we would have to get on stage so I think another improvement would be the communication between the Learning Access program and the other departments because they will give you the standard answer ‘yes it is accessible’ without really knowing if it is, or they will tell you to Learning Access”.

12.  Do you think you’ve had a positive experience at Stockton as far as the accessibility goes for Universities?

A.      “I’ve seen a couple of other colleges and I have to say it’s much better here than at most places because even though a lot of times even though you have to seek out the help, once you do you’re not viewed as a burden, they’ll get right on whatever it is and make sure you get whatever you need, which is very rare to find not just in education facilities.”

13.  Are you confident when you go into the work field that Stockton gave you the tools you need to go and work?

A.      “Yes, also you might want to mention that they have a program in the summer that is specifically for disabilities with helping them with mock interviews and resumes and helping them get set up with different organizations that will specifically look for people with disabilities- which is great because a lot of us in the disability community fear the stigma that once they see the wheel chair they’re just going to pass by. The learning Access program will work with someone from the career center to help you find places that are actually looking for people in our positions. Learning Access has also referred me to another program which help a lot of us pay for our undergraduate degrees it’s called Vocational Rehab which is really nice because when you’re already paying for transportation to get here, I think it’s $92 a month for me, having that assistance with Vocational Rehab really helps with loans and stuff.”

14.  Is there anything that the schools offers in forms of scholarships or aid that has helped you financially?

A. “There’s a new scholarship that Bob Ross told me and a few of my friends about but it’s only for undergraduates who specifically have physical disabilities. But they referred me to Vocational Rehab which covers about 95% which is really good

An Interview with Megan Grannan

Megan is a Liberal Studies major with a concentration in Education and minoring in Digital Literacy and Childhood Studies. She is expected to Graduate in Fall of 2017. Megan wants to start off her career by teaching at a school, but eventually wants to teach at a hospital. In her free time, Megan loves shopping and hanging out with her friends!

 

 

Our Interview:

How would you rate Stockton’s main campus accessibility 1-10? 1 being the worst, 10 being the best it can be (ex. 1= You require extra accessibility to reach a specific place in general and/or in a timely manner // 10 = you feel you have proper accessibility everywhere you try to access on campus, and can get from point A to B in a timely fashion)

“About an 8. The majority of places on campus are easily accessible, except for a few things: the height of the buttons on the automatic doors are too high for shorter people to reach sometimes. Also, not all of the shuttles are handicapped accessible, so I have to sometimes wait for the next one. ”

 

Is there anywhere on Stockton’s main campus that accessibility is an issue for you?

“No, but C-Wing can be improved: it’s sort of annoying to navigate where the elevators are placed. I have to travel up one elevator, and travel across the court just to reach another. On another occasion, they couldn’t figure out how to work the lifts on the Experimental Theatre. They eventually figured it out, but it was a long wait. I was trying to attend an event to support a friend, and I was late because of it.”

 

Is there anything Stockton could do for you to improve their accessibility on campus? Is there anything that can be made easier for you?

“Just lowering the elevator button, and getting a couple more handicapped shuttles I would say, personally.”

“Not all of the shuttles are handicapped accessible. Sometimes I have to wait for the next shuttle to come, just so I can get to campus. It’s caused me to be late to my classes before, but none of my teachers have ever penalized me for it.”

“They could improve the curbed-area outside of the ARHU building, where the shuttle stop is. I watched someone who is handicapped fall once, and I felt so bad. She completely fell over and was unable to get back up. The curb is too un-even.”

“Inside the Campus Center, the straws and the napkins at Dunkin Donuts are hard to reach.”

“Also, at Lakeside Lodge, the handicapped button sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, so sometimes, I have to wait. And it takes awhile to open. We usually count how long it takes until it opens! Also, sometimes the counter is hard to reach… I have to have someone with me, or hope that someone is going to reach whatever I need for me. On a positive note, there’s a handicapped button to get into the computer lab in the lodge, and they actually moved that button down so I could have access to that. I’m very appreciative of that.”

 

Have you ever been late to class because of lack of proper accessibility?

“Yes”

 

Are you being punished for your lateness’s from your professor?

“No, but lateness’s do happen”

 

Are there any campus events that you wished to attend but could not due to accessibility issues?

I went to a show, not at the PAC, but at the experimental theater. Nobody knew how to work the lift so it was kind of annoying. It kind of scared me too, because it was not safe, I didn’t think. I was going to an event to support a friend, and almost missed it. They finally figured it out, but it took awhile.”

 

Are all Stockton shuttles properly equipped to transport you to campus? Have you ever had to wait for another shuttle to transport you?

“No. I’ve had to wait before to hop on the next shuttle to transport me to campus”

 

What housing unit do you currently live in? Or do you commute?

“I live in housing 5. In Juniper”

Some images within Housing 5

Were you restricted to this housing unit because of extra accessibility? Or was it your choice?

“Yes. I feel that I am, but just because if I lived in Housing 1 or 4 I wouldn’t have to take a meal plan, but with Housing 5, I do have to take a meal plan. They are so expensive. I don’t eat that much, and I kind of end up, not wasting money, but I waste money on a meal plan that I didn’t have to have. Or, if they would have let me keep my commuter plan that I had, and just had flex dollars instead of meals and flex dollars, It would have been better. There’s not a lot of variety and it’s the same thing over and over again. Lakeside Lodge is okay, but you can’t live off of that. At the end of every semester, I have so much money left over!” But regardless, living there is better for me. Stockton went out of their way and re-did the entire apartment for me, and made sure that everything is accessible for me. The shower head was moved down, I was given a smaller desk, and my clothing rod was moved down as well. I’m so appreciative of everything that they’ve done for me to make living here easy.”

 

If you were interested in another housing unit for a cheaper cost, were you turned down because of lack of proper accessibility?

“Sort of. Housing 5 was the best option for me. Because of the stairs with Housing 1, I wouldn’t have been able to live there. And with Housing 4, I only would have been able to live in one unit on the lower level, and you can only get to it from one side of the building. So Housing 5 was the best option for me. But Stockton has done so much extra for me to make living on campus easy, and I’m so appreciative of that.”

 

Are you upset you are subjected to the higher costs of Housing 5, because another housing option wasn’t available to you?

“I’m not upset. I’m just so grateful for what they have done, so it doesn’t even matter. Again, the meal plan is the only thing that is super expensive. But other than that, I’m fine with the situation I’m in. I can access things so easily”

 

Stockton University has made significant improvements for Megan by lowering light switches and re-arranging her bedroom.

Is living in this housing unit easy for you? Or can anything be changed? Explain

“Yes, it’s so easy. Everything has been moved down for me and is easily accessible. For entering our room as well as my room, they added a magnetic key and lowered it down so I could reach it.”

 

Is there anything that can be improved on to make living easier for you?

“No, I think everything’s good.”