Passersby in the area of west campus saw some interesting sights yesterday afternoon -- a blinded student pushing one in a wheelchair, while another student on crutches limped behind.
About 45 students in LARCH213 (Introduction to Design Implementation) tried to experience how disabled students feel as they spent the afternoon artificially blinded or disabled.
Students were given crutches, a wheelchair or spray-painted sunglasses to simulate blindness. They were then told to navigate from the Stuckeman Family Building to the front entrance of Pattee Library, then to the front of Old Botany, to the middle of West Halls quad and finally then back to the Stuckeman Building.
The students worked in groups of three, with the blinded person pushing the student in the wheelchair.
The student on crutches had his or her foot wrapped with athletic tape to hold a grape against the ball of his or her foot. If the student put any weight on that foot, the grape would break and the student would lose points on the assignment, teaching assistant Jeff Fitzpatrick said.
"I think the crutches are going to be a lot harder, just because of the strength required, and [the blinded person pushing the wheelchair] can go a lot faster," participant Josh Lippert (sophomore-landscape architecture) said.
Fitzpatrick said the activity helped students in the class who are learning how to design outdoor spaces.
"Part of that is learning how to make everything universally accessible," he said.
This is the first time the class has done an activity like this, instructor Stuart Echols said.
"Unless you've been through it, you don't understand the challenges of getting around in an environment that isn't designed for you," he said.
Patrick William Kane (sophomore-landscape architecture) said navigating campus in a wheelchair made him appreciate the difficulties of being handicapped, but he said he received help from other members in his group.
"Even now, we don't get the whole effect ... I imagine being in a wheelchair by yourself would be much more difficult," he said.
Students agreed that some areas on campus are less handicap-accessible than others.
"If you know your way around campus, it wasn't that hard, but there should be more ways to get around here," Nate Ruckinger (sophomore-landscape architecture) said, noting there is only one wheelchair-accessible entrance into the West Halls quad.
Fitzpatrick said the exercise made students think about the difficulties disabled students encounter.
"We knew we'd never be able to replicate the experience of navigating campus with a disability all the time," Fitzpatrick said. "We're just trying to get the students to think about the difficulties a person with disabilities would face navigating campus."
