Vincent Lyon, founder of the new Vandal Inclusion and Access Club, is dedicated to promoting an inclusive space and accessible campus for people with disabilities.
Lyon shares he began planning VIAC last semester but it’s finally coming to fruition this semester. “There needs to be a community for people with disabilities,” Lyons said. “It would be great to meet other people like me.”
VIAC is actively looking for members. Lyon says anyone can join and it’s not just for people with disabilities. Meetings are held on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the Pitman Center in room 127.
Currently, his main goal for the VIAC is to work with the university and the Center for Disability Access and Resources to improve sidewalk conditions.
Lyon created a Google Maps providing 57 pictures and videos documenting “problem areas” of the sidewalk, along with the location and whether it’s university-owned or privately owned. The “problem areas” are categorized on a scale ranging from green to yellow to red, each indicating the severity of the sidewalk’s conditions.
“When I first came to campus in a wheelchair, a year and a half ago, I got stuck in a lot of areas from using the sidewalk,” Lyon says he ends up driving on the street or is unable to reverse out of an uneven sidewalk while heading to class.
Based on Lyon’s Google Maps areas near Elm Street, Idaho Avenue, and University Avenue have the most concerning sidewalk accessibility for people with disabilities. With 18 recorded “problem areas”, five on the green scale, seven on yellow, and six on red.
That isn’t the only thing Lyon hopes to accomplish with VIAC. A future project Lyon aspires to get more invested in is interior door accessibility. Lyon says that many students on campus have trouble operating heavy doors. The Americans with Disability Act states the max push/pull weight of an interior door should require no more than five pounds of force to open. Lyon examined 15 doors on campus; of these 15 only one door met the ADA’s standards.
With all the documentation of inaccessibility around campus Lyon hopes to gain recognition from ASUI, increase membership, host movie nights and game nights, potentially bring in guest speakers, and create a more inclusive campus for people with disabilities.
Alyssa John can be reached at [email protected]