Recently Cabrini has made efforts to make the campus more accessible to those who have mobility challenges. In spring of 2014, a grant was requested to support accessibility in order to improve safety and access campus wide.
In summer of 2014, Cabrini received funding from the Widener Memorial Foundation totaling $86,660. Such improvements around campus were much needed for those who are faced with mobility challenges because campus was difficult to navigate without proper upkeep.
These funds provided many updates around campus such as automatic handicapped door openers with wireless push pads in Founder’s Hall, Jazzman’s and Iadarola. The funds also supported the installation of a handicap-accessible ramp outside of the public safety office and the replacement of worn elevator doors in the Holy Spirit Library.
Frank Cornely, a senior communications major who is wheelchair bound, suggested the installation of a ramp outside the public safety office because he could not easily access help if it was necessary.
“There were some ramps, Founder’s has them, but as far as Public Safety goes there wasn’t anything. What happened was, when I got here my parents had to go into the office and get my ID card because I couldn’t go in myself,” Cornely said. “So that was kind of a wake up call for me. I actually worked in the institutional advancement office for two years for work study so I knew one of the people who finds the grant money or reaches out to people who give us grants, and she was able to reach out to alumni, so we got this grant.”
Cornely also suggested the addition of a pathway located between the mansion and the one way street on campus because he realized the danger of students, mobility challenged or not, using the one way street as a pathway to move about campus. He shared his concern of safety with both the Disability Resource Center and Public Safety and steps were taken to ensure that the improvement would be made.
Dr. John Cordes, a communications professor, mentioned that his hopes for the campus include panel sessions or focus groups about such topics.
Cordes said, “I admire their courage and their respect because they’re going through challenges that many of us don’t experience at all and if they’re willing to share those challenges and talk about themselves, to me, they become teachers.”
Cordes added, “Part of what college is about is teaching and I learn from my students and I hope very much that my students learn from me. But for a panel session, or for focus groups or for individual meetings, the ability of those with specific disabilities to share what they’ve experienced and to try to convey to someone who hasn’t experienced what they have is a real gift and I think that gift can actually strengthen our entire community.”
With Cabrini College soon becoming Cabrini University, more funding to support campus accessibility is highly anticipated by both staff and students such as Cornely. As it is a goal for campus to have a wide range of diversity, many are hopeful that Cabrini’s campus will be able to welcome and accommodate more students that may be faced with mobility challenges.
Kathleen Johnson, director of the Disability Resources Center, said, “I think that it’s not just about having automatic door openers or ramps but it’s also about having people change their opinions perhaps about working and being with students with a physical disability or disability in general.”
Johnson added, “If we could just move our campus towards an open-mindedness and recognize that everybody has strengths and weaknesses, we all have challenges and just embrace that difference and accept that it’s just who we are as a campus.”
