NIU

Interior Design and Convenience

Posted by Stacy on Monday, February 09, 2009 11:14 AM

My roommate is an interior design major. She's always sitting around doing projects (like almost never has tests) and she has to make models and measure and glue tiny things together (something that would really annoy me if I had to do it). But she does get to do a lot of interesting and hand on projects.

Last week she was telling me about how she had people who were in wheelchairs come to her class and talk about the restrictions that were put on them because of buildings and vehicles not being very wheel chair accessible. They talked about our universities campus and also where they work and how they get in and out of their wheelchair vans. It was interesting to hear about everything that she had learned. We know (as people who don't have to use a wheelchair or get into and out of handicap vans) that it is hard for someone in that position, but we don't really realize the extent, because we don't have to go through it every day of our life.

So in her class she had to get into a wheelchair and go around campus (in the snow) and go to her classes and get through the day. They even ordered used wheelchair vans for them to use for the project. She said that there were a number of times that she just broke down crying because she couldn't handle all of the stress or that it would take her up to ten minutes sometimes just to cross the street, especially with the weather the way it is now. There are so many things that we don't think about because we aren't going through them on a daily basis that we really do take for granted.

I know my roommates and I complain when we have to walk to class or go up the stairs when the elevator isn't working (and it is usually just 2 or 3 flights) and it really does put things into perspective when you live in someone else's shoes for a day. The thing is though, at any time she could have gotten out of the wheelchair and walked, but a lot of people can't do that and we really need to learn more about how to make buildings and just everyday life more accessible for the people that are in wheelchairs.