A current junior at Washington College has been fighting for disability rights on campus since the day they rolled onto campus. The student stated, “prior to committing to Washington College, I knew I was going to have a lot to fight for in order to make this campus accessible to all abilities.”

In their freshman year, the student successfully made the college build a ramp to access the campus garden. Prior to the ramp being built, individuals with disabilities were expected to enter through an entrance that would require them to traverse on the main road. With the success of the newly constructed campus garden ramp, the student moved their attention to another important aspect of accessibility: transportation. 

Washington College currently owns a wheelchair accessible shuttle that could be used to provide transportation accommodations to students and staff/faculty with temporary and permanent disabilities; however, the vehicle just sits in the parking lot, only utilized for “off campus academic activities.” There are several students on Washington College’s campus who have physical disabilities, who are forced to risk their safety during inclement weather conditions such as rain, snow, ice, wind, or temperatures below 60°F. There are also many student athletes on the campus who are prone to temporary disabilities from injury, and are expected to traverse campus without any assistance when injured. 

This Washington College student spent 3/4 of her freshman year fighting with The Office of Academic Skills, The Dean, Student Affairs, and the Title IX coordinator. In these meetings, the student referenced the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) stating that, “According to the ADA, Title III, section 12182, states that, ‘“No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation. The previous section  (12181) details that this applies to “a nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private school, or other place of education.”  Private colleges and universities are included in Title III.”

The student also enforced the facts stated above, regarding the lack of safety students with disabilities are prone to during inclement weather conditions. Yet, the college administrators responded with “like the personal care attendant accommodation, the college approved reasonable access to services, but the servicer is to be supplied by yourself. For example, a personal care attendant agreement was established and accompaniments such as a College ID for the attendant were provided. However, the person in the role of the PCA needed to be secured by the individual themselves. The same holds true for the request of a driver. The college has provided the vehicle, but students with disabilities will need to secure a driver for on-campus transportation between courses.”

It is implied that students can use the school’s accessible vehicle, but we must provide the driver ourself, suggesting that we find somebody to hire, and pay out of pocket for the service. Hiring our own drivers is also not a feasible solution, as we are college students with little to no income.

With the absence of transportation, students with disabilities are being discriminated against, as we cannot experience “…full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations.” Washington College is putting students with disabilities at risk of severe health risks and discriminating us from accessing academic opportunities. This accommodation is not a matter of convenience, it is a medical need and a human right. 

Despite all of this information, and various appeals, the Washington College administration still refuses to provide this accommodation. The latest response was that because Washington College is a small, private college, financial resources and administrative infrastructure are limited. The difficulty and expense associated with offering transportation services would cause an “undue hardship” on Washington College. Accordingly, the College is unable to grant this request. 

This excuse is completely unacceptable. Students at Washington College pay over $70,000 per year, and the school gets plenty of grants from their board members. There are also various other schools who provide this accommodation to students with disabilities including Stevenson University, Goucher College, and Yale University. Again, there is no excuse for Washington College to deny this accommodation to students who have temporary or permanent disabilities. This petition will be presented to the President of the college in the upcoming fall semester. Every signature counts! Students with disabilities deserve equal access and opportunities when attending Washington College.