Spring Break
The Daily OrangeDisability groups form partnership to assess campus safety, awareness
By Mandy Heins
Posted: 9/29/05, 10:29 PM EST Section: Pulp
Bei Aixinjueluo put away her ballet shoes. Her high heels are shoved back into shoe boxes. This semester, there's a new addition to her daily wardrobe - a wheelchair.
"I don't cry anymore," said Aixinjueluo. "I don't hate or pity myself. I have grown up so much in this short time."
This semester, Aixinjueluo is one of six students with a physical handicap requiring a wheelchair on campus, said Steve Simon, director of the Office of Disability Services.
The Office of Disability Services works cooperatively with the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC) to assess the accessibility of Syracuse University for disabled students.
"Institutions don't give a lot of thought to people who are not deemed as average," said Liat Ben-Moshe, a doctoral student in sociology who specializes in women studies and disability studies and three-year member of BCCC.
Ben-Moshe stands proudly as one of the leading voices of activism for the disabled on campus striving to raise disability awareness. Her greatest concern for Syracuse University is the issue of snow removal on campus in a timely manner.
"Look at Canada and other snowy places; it is possible to remove snow to a certain extent," she said. "We have to make more of an effort on this campus."
Aixinjueluo has not yet experienced a Syracuse winter with her wheelchair. While the winter terrain on campus may present unavoidable risks to even able-bodied students, she seems optimistic about maneuvering the icy hills ahead.
"I will keep using Medical Transport to go from my dorm to class," Aixinjuelo said. "Besides that, I will stay inside most of the time to avoid the weather."
The members of BCCC work to avoid this type of self-segregation among the disabled community. Aixinjueluo said she has spent much of her time at Syracuse in her room because the hills on campus are hard for her to manage.
"I was almost tripping over myself trying to learn to stop on the hills here," she said. "It's very steep and hard to roll myself on campus."
"I don't cry anymore," said Aixinjueluo. "I don't hate or pity myself. I have grown up so much in this short time."
This semester, Aixinjueluo is one of six students with a physical handicap requiring a wheelchair on campus, said Steve Simon, director of the Office of Disability Services.
The Office of Disability Services works cooperatively with the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC) to assess the accessibility of Syracuse University for disabled students.
"Institutions don't give a lot of thought to people who are not deemed as average," said Liat Ben-Moshe, a doctoral student in sociology who specializes in women studies and disability studies and three-year member of BCCC.
Ben-Moshe stands proudly as one of the leading voices of activism for the disabled on campus striving to raise disability awareness. Her greatest concern for Syracuse University is the issue of snow removal on campus in a timely manner.
"Look at Canada and other snowy places; it is possible to remove snow to a certain extent," she said. "We have to make more of an effort on this campus."
Aixinjueluo has not yet experienced a Syracuse winter with her wheelchair. While the winter terrain on campus may present unavoidable risks to even able-bodied students, she seems optimistic about maneuvering the icy hills ahead.
"I will keep using Medical Transport to go from my dorm to class," Aixinjuelo said. "Besides that, I will stay inside most of the time to avoid the weather."
The members of BCCC work to avoid this type of self-segregation among the disabled community. Aixinjueluo said she has spent much of her time at Syracuse in her room because the hills on campus are hard for her to manage.
"I was almost tripping over myself trying to learn to stop on the hills here," she said. "It's very steep and hard to roll myself on campus."
