Being handicapped at Yale: an uphill struggle?

As the only current undergraduate with a hearing impairment and one of a scarce number of students with physical or learning disabilities, I identify myself first as a Yale student and second as a student with a disability. However, that is not to say that having a hearing loss has not affected my college experience. It has undeniably shaped it—just in very subtle ways.

Although I have become part of the hearing world of Yale, I have had to accept some limitations. Lectures are difficult when the professor is talking on the stage or meandering around the classroom and not facing me, since I read lips more proficiently than I hear. When students in the class ask questions or make comments, it is difficult for me to find them in the crowd and understand what they are saying. Seminars with fast-paced discussions can also be frustrating, and plays, lectures, and concerts can be bewildering, because sometimes I cannot understand the performers. However, these frustrations are but a small part of my experiences and have not stopped me from taking advantage of all Yale has to offer.

After I presented documentation of my hearing loss, the Resource Office on Disabilities (ROD) provided me with all the accommodations I have needed, such as real-time captioning: a court reporter sits next to me in class and types the lecture, almost verbatim. The lecture appears instantaneously on a laptop in front of me. While at first it was embarrassing to have to go to class with a stenographer sitting next to me, I eventually realized that it has its perks: all the professors know who I am, and so do most students in my classes.

After two semesters, I cannot recall a professor who was unwilling to allow the captioning or who would not meet with me during office hours to review the lectures if I had an especially difficult time understanding. The professors, along with ROD, have made the transition from the smaller, more intimate setting of high school to the larger setting of college fluid and easy. The University as a whole is supportive of disabled students and ensures that their lives are as unaffected by their disabilities as possible.

However, there are still flaws in the University's treatment of students with disabilities; many buildings are old and cannot accommodate wheelchair ramps or elevators. It will take time before handicapped access is extended to more buildings around campus, but students with disabilities need to challenge other Yale students, staff, and faculty to create greater access for the disabled. It is not that the University does not care, but when disabled students comprise such a small minority, their voices are not always heard.

By Emily Regan Wills

Yale is not a very easy place to be physically disabled. It's a big campus, an old campus, and a hilly campus. Thus, by its very nature, Yale is not easily accessible. College gates are hard to open. Classes are in buildings without elevators. You have to go in circles to avoid steps on Old Campus.

I am lucky; I use crutches, which means that I can get up all those steps. I also don't require handicapped-accessible housing or as many accomodations as someone in a wheelchair would. But regardless, the very environment here works against a disabled student.

Yale is also a large university; if you have any sort of disability, you're going to need to make your voice heard and ask for things very specificially. However, you can cope by taking advantage of the resources available.

Fortunately, Yale makes every effort to help students who have even greater disabilities than I do. I often use the Handivan, a special minibus that is available to take handicapped students around campus. But for those who absolutely cannot make it to a particular building, classes can be moved to more accessible locations.

The Resource Office on Disabilities is the place to go to get what you need. Headed by Judy York, the office can do all sorts of things to make your life easier. If you listed a permanent disability on your application, you should be contacted by the Resource Office this summer. The goal of the Resource Office is to make sure all the accomodations you need are set up as quickly as possible.

When you get to campus, you'll have to meet with York to sign some paperwork and set up whatever services you need. Stay in contact with the Resource Office. The staff can be immensely helpful. And, for those able-bodied readers out there: should you ever, say, break a leg falling in the shower, the Resource Office will be available to help you while you're laid up.

It will be hard getting around campus if you have a disability. Meetings you want to go to and offices of groups you want to join won't be accessible. Classes will be held on the second floor of Street Hall (I braved that one all semester, and it was no fun at all).

Hopefully, the current extensive renovations to Yale's campus will render all the buildings much more handicap-accessible.

Graphic by Zander Dryer.

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