The Accessibility of Hanna Hall
Bowling Green is a bit notorious for dilapidated buildings. There’s South Hall with the supposed cock roach infestation. There’s University Hall which is beautiful on the outsides, but many students fear for their lives upon entering it. A little dramatic, but true nonetheless. Then there’s Hanna Hall. Hanna Hall is an old building on the old side of campus. Not only is it old, but it’s poorly maintained making it difficult for anyone with a disability to access it.
There is only one ramp leading into Hanna Hall. The ramp is very long, at least fifteen or twenty feet. If someone is in a wheel chair it will be difficult for them to get up the ramp. This is especially so for someone who may have a week upper body. After the person in the wheelchair gets up the ramp they must open an extremely heavy door. The door is even heavy for anyone without a disability. Once the person in the wheelchair gets inside the building they can only stay on the first floor because there is no elevator for them to reach the second and third floor. Students who cannot use stairs can’t take classes that are on the second or third floor of Hanna Hall, which is very unfair.
People who are blind or wheelchair bound will also have difficulty getting into the bathrooms. There is a step leading into the bathroom with a very narrow ramp leading into it. People in wheelchairs must be very careful going up and down, so they don’t fall off either side of the ramp. The blind also need to be very careful so they don’t slip off the side as well. The bathroom is also very small and cramped making it difficult for anyone with a disability to navigate their way through it. And there’s no handicapped stall.
The stairs leading into Hanna Hall are also very unstable. They’re chipped and uneven, which is dangerous for anyone who is blind or uses a cane, has leg braces, or uses walking sticks. People with the aforementioned disabilities may be able to use stairs, but the stairs surrounding Hanna Hall are particularly unsafe. Last year there was a set of stairs that were really broken and uneven. It was scary for me to walk up and down them. There was no way anyone with a physical disability could use those stairs. They would need to use a different entrance which may be inconvenient for them and again is not fair. The stairs were fixed half way through the Spring semester of 2009.
The inside of Hanna Hall is also very loud. Heaters and other mechanics in the building constantly clank and whir. This may make it difficult for anyone who is blind and uses their hearing to help them navigate areas.
The design of this building reminds me of the class lecture in which we discussed how building were built with healthy, strong, and non-disabled men in mind. Doors are heavy, there are unnecessary steps to get into the bathroom, there’s no elevator, there’s dangerous steps, and there are narrow walkways. Hanna Hall is truly designed for the strong, healthy, and non-disabled male, which is frustrating because less than half of the population are non-disabled men. Whoever designed the building didn’t even think about those who have a disability when he designed the building.