Access Denied

[jason]

Access Denied

In a discrimination case that is still crawling through the Louisiana court system after seven years, McNeese State University’s president has asserted that it is not a “high priority” for disabled students to access the university’s student union.

The case, which stems from a 2001 accident, was brought by a student who — while in a wheelchair — was injured trying to pry open a bathroom door in the union. The door was not made accessible for disabled people, according to the suit.

I can hear Len already formulating a comment on LJ, even though I’ve not posted it yet. Len, Jen and Aleja have been enlightening me about realities related to disability issues over the past year that I’ve been helping a bit with the Gimp Girl Community. I had just assumed that proper legislation would just make it easier for institutions to use money to accommodate students, not that they’d balk at having to use money in this way. Real life is tough enough, without having institutions taking the stand by trying to tell people what they can and cannot have, when legislation’s in place describing what the needs are and how they should be met. I’m a slow learner.