HSL Staff Blog: The Stadium and the people with disabilities

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December 07, 2006

The Stadium and the people with disabilities

Yesterday, at our monthly meeting of the Council for Disability Concerns, we discussed the renovated Stadium vis-a-vis people with special needs. (You may have read in the newspapers that there is considerable controversy about this topic and that a lawsuit by the Disabled Vets is possibly being considered.) A representative from the Athletics Department and three UM lawyers were present at the meeting (one being our very own Council Chair, Jack Bernard). The discussion was lively yet extremely civil and quite productive. Various suggestions were proferred, e.g., flexible temporary seating that could be removed if more wheelchair users were present at the games. There was also a discussion of ease of finding accessible restrooms. We discovered that handrails will be added in sections where they are needed (the ends of some seats need to be removed to make room for them), and the meeting concluded on a positive note, I am happy to report.

Posted by schnitzr at December 7, 2006 04:18 PM

Comments

Anna, Thank you for posting this. I appreciate your consistency in posting reports from your meetings, and the enthusiasm that you bring to (and from) your various groups.

Also, I think the stadium question is an interesting one and I'm glad to hear that the U is addressing the concerns that have been raised. I also like that it's a positive example of a group working collaboratively despite their differences of opinion, with respect for all participants.

Posted by: janeblum at December 8, 2006 07:06 AM