This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are many obstacles for people with disabilities at Stetson University, markedly that of students. This petition is to call the administration of Stetson, particularly our newly appointed President Christopher F. Roelke, to make needed changes to the University.

Years of pressure for an elevator in Elizabeth Hall has received constant push-back from administration that such construction would destroy its historic structure, and this is not the first petition regarding it. The students and alumni of Stetson do not simply want a beautiful campus: we want equally accessible education. Students with invisible disabilities have been denied protection for their accommodations. Professors have not been held accountable for fulfilling the needs of students with disabilities. Courses with labs often require students to drive themselves to the field – which is both a disability and an economic disparity issue.

By refusing to make all of the classrooms and courses of Stetson accessible, Stetson University has been segregating students with disabilities from the rest of the student population and seriously undermining their futures. Disability is a race issue, an economic issue, and an education issue. We hope that Stetson will take the surrounding climate of demand for civil liberties into account and take advantage of the reduced time in which campus will be open this fall to conduct needed renovations, curriculum restructuring, and faculty training. Please provide the students of Stetson the rights which they have been afforded by the courts and but denied for far too long. We are counting on our new leadership.