Sweet & Sour: The Day and Life of a WWU Student

Yesterday, I finished my first week of spring quarter at Western Washington University. Throughout this past week, I have been reminded of both why I love -- and hate -- this campus so much. Western’s campus is so beautiful. Many buildings are constructed out of brick, and there is an abundance of different types of trees about the campus. The cherry blossom trees are starting to bloom, and the fountain was turned back on at the beginning of this week. When the sky is blue, I cannot stop taking in the beauty of the landscape, and I am so grateful that I am able to spend the next three and a half years of my education in such a gorgeous place. 

I am so blessed to be able to go to college and further my education. I have the desire to do the best that I can; however, this is difficult when the people who are supposed to be helping disabled students are actually creating way more work for us than necessary. At the beginning of each quarter, every student who needs extra time (on tests or assignments), alternative texts, interpreters, note takers or scribes, has to make an appointment with a Disability Resource Services' (DRS) counselor. At this appointment, letters describing the needs of each student are given and the student; if they want to receive services, the student is required to take the letter and informational paper to each of their professors. The professor is to sign the information page, and the student must list all the test dates for the quarter. The completed information page must then be returned to the DRS. This is a lot of unnecessary paperwork; in this day and age, with the technology we have, it would be simple to electronically provide the necessary accommodations without making the disabled student run all around the campus. It would be really nice if each student would only need to complete a profile page when they sign up for college; then, when the student signs up for a class, the information would automatically be e-mailed to their professors. This way students would not need to jump through a bunch of unnecessary hoops, and then have to wait a week at the beginning of each quarter for their accommodations. If a student’s accommodations need to be modified, then an appointment would be necessary. This more efficient system is already carried out at several high schools in my area as the IEP/504 plan is electronically linked to the attendance sheet. Plus, you would think at Western, who has won may “Green” awards, would want to distribute accommodations via a paperless method. 

Another mundane task occurs when a professor changes a test date. The student has to immediately update the DRS, as it is important for them to know exactly when the student is coming to take their test. I had an unfortunate experience this last fall quarter. My anthropology professor changed every single test date (as our class got a day behind). This was fine except for one time when my professor e-mailed the class late Sunday night that our test was going to be moved from Monday to Wednesday. I did not read this e-mail, as I was asleep; I went to class expecting to have a test that day, but was surprised to find out we would not take the test until Wednesday. I had to then inform the DRS that the test had been moved. The secretary in charge of organizing the tests was disgruntled that I did not inform her with enough time in advance. This should not have happened, as I was not the one to change the test; if all test details were handled electronically, this situation would not have come about in the first place. 

Another frustration with the DRS took place during winter quarter. There were a couple of days when Bellingham was blanketed with snow. Even though Western was open and classes continued on, the DRS was closed for two days. Many students receiving accommodations had tests on those days. Unfortunately, these students had to take their tests when the DRS reopened, which was on their own time. I was supposed to have a math test on one of the days the DRS was closed; however, my math professor canceled class the day before, so she pushed the test date a day later. Even though the DRS was open on the day my test was scheduled, my professor was not able to drop off my copy when she went to the DRS the day before, as the DRS was closed. My test ended up in the math center. So, when I showed up to take my math test, it was not at the DRS. The test coordinator said I had to wait for my test to be delivered. Fortunately, my mom was able to bail out the DRS. She ran over to my math class, asked my professor for my math test, and brought it back to the DRS. Thank you, Mom, for coming to campus with me that day, and retrieving my test!

Not only has the testing system at Western not been well thought through, but the architecture is poor as well. Granted, the majority of Western's buildings were built in-between the late eighteen hundreds and the sixties, but there are a few that have been built/remodeled in the last 15 years. One building in particular that would win an award for "separate, but equal" access, is the communications building. There are classrooms that I am not able to get to from either of the main entrances. There are four stairs leading up/down to them. However, there is a separate back door that I have to enter through so I can access these rooms; I get to enter through a different door than everyone else. Another situation that I, and many other students in wheelchairs, could face is ending up on an upper floor when a fire breaks out. Obviously, we cannot use the elevators, so we are stuck waiting for a firefighter to come rescue us. We are to sit in the designated spot in one of the stairwells. When asked, the DRS says that they are not able to switch classes to the bottom floor, as if they did it for one, they would have to do this for any student that asked. Fortunately, I love my firefighters. They have always been so wonderful, and if they are okay with this, then I will not worry about it. I know they will save me. 

So, when all the extra stress of discrimination is put aside, I love Western. I try my best to focus on the positive things, and not allow the negative ones to impact my schooling career. We should not let the things that we cannot control stand in our way of success. And in the long run, every hardship faced and overcome, will strengthen our character and personality. 

High Stake Testing: Separate but Equal

On top of having Muscular Dystrophy and being confined to a power wheel chair, I am legally blind. Throughout high school, this was a problem I had to overcome, especially when it came to taking tests. Not only did I have the typical anxiety from worrying that I did not study enough, I also had the anxiety caused by others who did not follow through with their responsibilities. It began my freshman year with the PLAN test. The PLAN is the pre-ACT test. The counselor in charge of ordering the tests, did not tell the college board that a large print copy was needed. So this time, I did not take the test as I was not able to read it and it was not a requirement for graduation.
The second time there were complications with a test was at the beginning of my sophomore year when I was taking the WASL. The math and writing portions came in large print, but ironically the reading portion was in regular font. This meant that the reading portion had to be re-ordered and I had to take it on my own time after school.
The next time a test was messed up was at the end of my sophomore year. It was my first time taking an AP test. Unfortunately, both tests ordered for me were the make up version which was a different test than any other person's test in my class. On the cover of the AP US History test, I realized that the date was incorrect and the test was for the state of Alaska not Washington. The directions on the front of this test specifically said that if the date was wrong and the booklet has already been opened, the student's score would be thrown out. I did not appreciate receiving a different copy of the test, so I searched out the principal to voice my concerns. On the day of the AP Chemistry test, I realized that the date was wrong as well. However, Squalicum's principal wrote a letter to the college board explaining what had happened. As it was the College Board's fault for sending the incorrect tests, they did not throw out my scores. Unfortunately, I did not have the same opportunity to earn my score as every other person taking their test that day. On my copy of the AP Chemistry test, there happened to be a problem that we had not recently reviewed in class. Now this would have been fine if every other person had to complete this same problem, but this was not the case as all other students received a question that had been recently reviewed in class. During these two tests, I felt discriminated against. Just because I need extra time and a large print test, does not mean I should have to take a different test with a different set of problems.
This was not the end to separate but equal testing experiences for me. Even though the college board got the rest of my AP tests right, I did not feel well taken care of when it came to taking my SAT. The first time I took the SAT, I was not allowed to take it at WWU with everyone else who took it the same day I did.  I was told that WWU did not have the separate rooms available to accommodate me. Because of my accommodations, I had to test in a separate location; instead of testing at WWU, I had to test at Squalicum. My proctor ended up being the same counselor who messed up my PLAN test. She was bitter about proctoring my test because she had plans that weekend. However, she was the counselor who signed up to be an SAT proctor at the beginning of the year, knowing the SAT dates. I was also not able to give her a long heads up as when I signed up for the SAT, I was not told that I would not be testing at WWU. When I took my SAT, the counselor did not follow through with my 504 plan; this put my physical health in jeopardy.
The second time I took the SAT, everyone one took the test at Squalicum. All the students were informed to get to the school early to stand in line to check in for the test.  So, like everyone else, I stood in line for about fifteen minutes.  When I reached the table, my name was not on the list. So, for the handful of seconds before I finally found someone that knew what was going on, I was afraid that I had signed up and paid for the SAT but was not going to be able to take it.  I was informed by a woman that my name would not be on the list because I was to have separate but equal accommodations; I was going to test by myself again in the main office detention room.
In contrast, when I took my AP Spanish, Calculous and Physics tests, I was aloud to test with the rest of my class mates. I enjoyed testing in the group. One, the atmosphere of testing with others is completely different than in a secluded room. And, when we practiced for the test, we did so in a classroom setting not in separate rooms.
Now, if only one of these incidents would have happened, it would not have been a big deal. However, when multiple mistakes are made, this is not only frustrating to me but also probably means that the same sort of events are happening to others. Tests are challenging enough for most people and if a person needs accommodations, the test should not end up being extra challenging for that person because someone did not follow through in their job. The anxiety from high stake tests is already difficult enough to deal with without having the added stress of another's incompetence.

The Bellingham School District - Separate but Equal

Last spring, I graduated from Squalicum High School. Squalicum is one of three high schools in the Bellingham School District. Throughout my educational career, I have noticed that Bellingham Schools do the least amount of work possible to meet the bare minimum ADA standard with regard to equal access.
As a preschooler, I attended Geneva Elementary. Near the playground, there was a staircase without a hand rail. Mike Anderson, the head of the maintenance department at the district office, refused multiple requests to put in a railing as the gradient did not warrant a hand rail. He did not consider that disabled four and five year olds used this stair case to get to the play ground everyday. I remember falling down those stairs and gashing my elbow and scraping my knees. From then on, I sat down the stairs and crawled up them as I did not want to continue to fall on them.
From Geneva, I move to Happy Valley Elementary; however, Happy Valley was not the elementary school I was supposed to go to. All the children in my neighborhood attended Lowe Elementary, but I was not able to join them as there were too many stairs to climb and Lowe did not have an elevator. At that time, instead of upgrading their buildings to a standard that allowed equality for all, Bellingham School District displayed on their website that they were not a handicapped acceptable school district.
For sixth through eighth grade, I went to Kulshan Middle School. Kulshan Middle School opened in 1994. However, when I began my schooling at Kulshan, there were not ANY handicapped door openers in the entire school. When the lack of accessibility was questioned, I was told that handicapped accessible door openers were not necessary as someone would just open the door for me. However, after nine weeks of pursuing the district, door openers were finally installed. Unfortunately, the door openers were only installed at the far north end of the school at the end of the eighth grade hall (where the handicapped parking spots were located). Installing the openers here was deemed acceptable as separate but equal entrances. Even though it was great to have door openers where the handicapped parking spots were, door openers were not installed at the main entrance to the school. Many times the doors to the eighth grade hall were locked meaning that I had to go to the entrance of the school and wait for someone to open the doors anyway. The other thing I disliked was having to travel down the eighth grade hall as a sixth grader to get to the wing that my classes were in.
When I was in middle school, I rolled to school. At the trailhead that lead to the entrance of the school, there was not a curb cutout. I was expected to travel behind the handicapped school busses to get onto the sidewalk and then enter the school. It took my mom two-and-one-half years and thirty-five pages of documentation and an explanation that the ADA would pay for the curb cutout (something Mike Anderson should have known) before Mike Anderson finally authorized the cutout. Mike Anderson also refused to install the curb cutout until Spring Break of my eighth grade year as he did not want the noise to bother students. Fortunately, it is now there for others to use.
My high school career was completed at Squalicum High School. The one thing that really bothered me about the building and still irks me today, did not happen until I was a senior in high school. When Squalicum was built, there was a plan to have a gym entrance from the outside. Well, for some reason the district signed off on an unfinished building. So, up until last year it was only used for graduation but not for athletic events. However, last year, our athletic director thought it would be an awesome idea to finish the entrance and have the team's supporters enter through the main gym entrance instead of the bottom parking lot doors. Even though this allows for more parking space, it also means that people unable to use the stairs have to enter the building through a separate but equal entrance. Plus, all disabled persons have to travel at least four times as far as the able-bodied person to get to the gym. From the handicapped parking space a person must travel along the front walk, up the ramp to the main doors, through the main school entrance, to the elevator and then down to the bottom floor to finally arrive at their destination. As for me, the distance does not bother me as I get around in a power chair. But for someone who uses a walker or cane, this distance is not acceptable. There are handicap spots for a reason! For me, I do not appreciate having separate but equal entrances.
As for graduation, we still used the gym entrance. I was not able to wait out side with my classmates before we entered the gym. Instead, I sat by myself at the bottom of the stairs waiting for the classmate who was to walk in front of me. Once that classmate walked by, I was to cut into the line. However, I did graduate and I am thankful for that opportunity.
To contrast the Bellingham School District. The Eastmont School District showed how schools should treat people. For four years, my family and I lived in East Wenatchee, Washington. There, I attended Grant Elementary. When I was in fourth grade, I received my first wheel chair. My mom informed the principle before Christmas break that I was going to get a power chair over the break. Before my mom could ask for door openers to be installed, the Principal said, "Well, I guess it's time we to get up to standard." When I came back to school after break, not only did I find door openers on the MAIN DOORS, but on two other sets of doors as well. I did not have to wait for someone else to open the door for me, and I could still be as independent as possible because though Grant Elementary was built in the 50's, it was ramped everywhere and I did not have difficulty traveling throughout the entire school.
So overall, I had an adventurous experience with regards to school architecture; and even through all the obstacles, I made it to the end. I know many others who have faced obstacles also successfully graduated and are now at a university as well. There are so many things that are placed in our way to build our character and make us stronger. If we let things that we cannot control stand in our way, we will be hindered and not go anywhere in life. Do not give up on your dreams and continue the fight for equality for all. End separate but equal access!