Student safety or discrimination? One school’s dilemma
December 21, 2009 by Claire KnightPosted in: Campus Safety, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
School officials at one university recently gave an on-campus student an ultimatum: Comply with residence hall rules or move out of the dorm.
Sounds pretty cut-and-dried, but it isn’t that simple:
East Central University student Joshua Jackson is a 35-year-old quadriplegic who cannot move from his bed to his wheelchair without assistance. Jackson has an aide who helps him in the morning. But he is alone overnight.
University officials say they are concerned because Jackson is breaking a residence hall rule that jeopardizes his safety — and the safety of other students.
The residence hall rule in question: Residents must be able to evacuate their dorm rooms on their own at night — in the event of an emergency.
As a result, school officials have ordered Jackson to hire an assistant to stay with him overnight — and if he doesn’t, he will have to move out of the dormitory.
Jackson argues that he cannot afford to pay an $11,000 aide’s salary out-of-pocket. Post-secondary schools are required to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities, but with increasing budget cuts, the school says it cannot pay the salary either.
Jackson, along with other students with disabilities, is working with school officials to find an accommodation that works for all parties involved. But the end of the semester — and the Dec. 12th deadline — is fast approaching.
How should this dilemma be resolved? Where’s the line between safety and discrimination? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I would sue sue sue. This is obviously discrimination and violates ADA laws. The case would cost the school dearly. They would have to pay for the civil liabilities and still pay for the accommodations. That rule was only made clearly for the handicapped. What would they do with asthmatic people who collapse after relatively little smoke inhalation. There are many situations in which their so called rules would be violated. If there’s more than one floor in this dorm and any handicapped individuals who weigh more than 200 pounds or so are on upper floors, then unless their aide has the same build as the Governor of California, they would have difficulties taking them down the stairs by their self. In an emergency people generally don’t need special training to put someone in the chair (there’s no need to prepare them for the entire day). So they could always assign residence assistants as emergency aides without having to be at their exact location. Come on, they teach things at college, but can’t ever seem to teach common sense!
December 26th, 2009 at 7:44 am
The university should eliminate the policy, and clearly state that all students will be provided basic safety features (alarms, sprinklers and emergency exits),and leaving the building during emergencies aill be the students responsibility. It should be no different then what’s available to those who live in private apartment buildings. It’s rough, but a reality students with disabilities will soon face.
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:41 pm
The provides for reasonable accommodations for EDUCATION, not dorm living. Unless the university requires students to live in the dorm, they are not required to provide an aide or other assistance related to daily living. It seems that there is a county agency or SSI handling costs for an aide. Why not pay a student living on the same hall to be “on call” in case of an emergency, rather than pay an overnight aide?