Sophomore Caroline Hill, an electric wheelchair user, was heading down the hill in front of her residence hall before her 9:30 a.m. class when her wheelchair lost traction on the ice.
“I can feel the wheels losing traction slowly as I’m going down, and I’m trying desperately to run the joystick, and it’s just not doing anything,” Hill said. “At one point, I was like, ‘Let me see this.’ So I lift my hand, and I’m still moving.”
Hill had no control over her wheelchair as she went down the hill and spun twice before she stopped moving. Even once she stopped, however, she found herself stranded in the middle of the icy sidewalk.
“The way that the wheels work, because they’re spinning, they’re not gonna move forward; they’re just gonna stay exactly where they are. I have no traction,” Hill said. “I was just spinning in circles over five minutes.”
The winter snowstorm that hit Des Moines on Feb. 12 brought icy sidewalks and over six inches of snow. This weather can create accessibility issues, especially for those who use mobility aids like wheelchairs and crutches.
Hill is not the only student with mobility issues struggling to get around campus due to this snowstorm. Senior Jacob Rakers is an ambulatory wheelchair user whose crosswalks outside her were not adequately shoveled, making it extremely difficult for them to get to their classes.
Last year, their wheelchair kept getting stuck in the snow. Eventually, they got stuck rolling back on the ramp
“I mean it is a good workout,” Rakers said. “That’s my way to look at it.”
Riley Wilson, a senior at Drake and the treasurer of Disability Coalition, uses various mobility aids, such as canes and crutches. Due to the recent weather, Wilson said they have been walking extremely slowly to stay safe on campus. Wilson carries a shovel in his car and even offers to shovel Raker’s pathway for them to ensure their safety and that of students with similar mobility issues.
“I am constantly worried that my cane or myself are going to slip,” Wilson said.
According to Patrick Williams, Drake’s grounds manager, Facilities Planning and Management works proactively and reactively to deal with campus weather.
The department prepares plans for snow removal and staffing months before winter weather is a concern.
“We monitor each storm as it is forecast and determine the best way to attack it,” Williams said in an email. “Each storm is different, and conditions can change quickly, so there can be a reactive element if conditions change throughout the day [or] night.”
Williams also works with Michelle Laughlin, director of Access and Success, to ensure paths are cleared so students with accommodations can make it to class.
“Michelle [Laughlin] is asked to provide a list of students who may need accommodations and those are communicated to our team,” Williams said. “We have also discussed with our team and custodial staff to be mindful of where the card readers are at each entrance and making sure they are accessible.”
After the ice thawed, Hill still had issues with the snow on sidewalks not being shoveled wide enough to accommodate her 36-inch wide wheelchair.
“It’s the most infuriating thing when they only leave a two-inch path for feet,” Hill said. “I’m trying to get through the snow, and then you’re trying to get past people who aren’t always paying attention.”
When dealing with winter weather, Hill says she pays extra attention to the conditions on the sidewalk and the people around her.
“I’m trying to be considerate of other people, I’m trying to make sure I don’t slide into other people, I’m trying to check if other people have room on the sidewalk,” Hill said. “I would just give other people the same courtesy.”
Some students have flexible attendance accommodations, but Laughlin clarified that this accommodation is typically given to students with medical conditions or mental health disorders that prevent them from being in class, not students who struggle to get to class in the snow.
Laughlin would previously request professors to offer online options to students as an alternative to coming to class in person, but Laughlin says she no longer offers this accommodation.
“We look back at COVID, we were able to go online,” Laughlin said. “It was an emergency type of situation. It was not anything we anticipated that we would need, right? We are an in-person institution. So to request or require professors to provide online options is not realistic.”
Laughlin believes that in the future, technology may advance to where this becomes an option again, but operating both an in-person and online class is too challenging to ask professors to do right now.
“Those who have mobility issues or who are disabled in any way, use your best judgment,” Laughlin said. “If you are unable to get to class, let your professor know, ‘The weather is not conducive to me coming,’ and [all] professors are going to understand.”
Rakers said that having online classes as a solution to accessibility during bad weather is not sustainable because Drake would struggle to create a clear policy regarding when this would be initiated.
“Part of my concern is not knowing which things we are going to have it be moved online for or canceled for and which things it’s just going to still be in person for,” Rakers said. “Where do you draw that line? What is considered enough of a safety hazard or enough of an access barrier? Frankly, that’s usually going to exclude some of us.”
Rakers and Wilson have a professor who will not cancel courses unless instructed by the provost, so when Provost Sue Mattison leaves it up to the professors, the professor chooses to continue with the class. Wilson explained that the class is discussion-based, so it cannot easily be moved online and it is hard to make up outside of class if people miss it because of accessibility issues.
Wilson said that moving classes online during hazardous weather increases a professor’s workload, and having professor and students’ input on when to cancel class would be ideal.
“I think it is valuable to give professors and instructors their own choice for whether or what they do with their classes,” Wilson said. “I just think more emphasis should be put on student input.”
Williams encouraged students to report snow or ice conditions to Drake Public Safety, who will communicate with Facilities Planning and Management.
“Facilities Planning and Management are always looking for ways to provide a better experience for our students, especially those with disabilities,” Williams said. “We are happy to take constructive feedback and adjust accordingly.”
