Late Nite isn’t always accessible to students in wheelchairs, the vice president of the Alliance for Disability Awareness said.
Lauren Slaven, vice president of ADA, recruited members of ADA to attend Late Nite in wheelchairs twice during the month of March because she wanted to bring awareness to the fact that there are limitations for students with disabilities who attend the activities.
Slaven attended the first Late Nite of the year with graduate student Keiuma Bennett, who is a power chair user.
The two found out there was no accessible bus transportation from Bennett’s Anthony apartment to the L.A. Pittenger Student Center, where Late Nite is held. They walked to Late Nite, but sometimes Bennett’s chair battery would die and could not make it round trip.
After a semester of talking with Late Nite organizers, an accessible bus was provided. But even when they attended Late Nite, they could not participate in many of the activities.
“A lot of their events just aren’t accessible,” Slaven said. “We go and we can do the craft and maybe if we’re lucky one or two activities, but usually Late Nite meant for us going down and bowling because it was the only accessible activity that they consistently had.”
Bennett attends Late Nite with Slaven every week and loves it, but said she wishes there were more activities for her to do.
“I think it’s important to do, to bring awareness that everyone comes to Late Nite, not just people without disabilities, but people with disabilities [too],” Bennett said. “Not just people in wheelchairs, but people that can’t see or have a hard time walking [also].”
Because Ball State is known for being a disability-friendly campus, Slaven said having a student program funded by tuition fees that is not accessible is “pathetic.”
“They need to realize that people in chairs, people who are visually impaired, we go to these events and they need to make it accessible for everybody for the good of everybody,” Slaven said. “That doesn’t mean [making] absolutely every single thing there accessible for all, but at least having something.”
However, Alicia Baker, assistant director for programs at Late Nite, said she has not had any complaints about Late Nite while she has been assistant director.
She said the group works closely with Disability Services, who will talk through specific events or activities to make sure they are accommodating.
“Accessibility is always considered when planning Late Nite. We consider the entire event and ensure we have several options that will appeal to a wide variety of interests and will be accessible for students of all abilities,” Baker said. “Late Nite works hard to ensure that we have a wide range of activities for students of all interests and abilities. We try to balance our activities so that we can accommodate all students.”
Slaven said she talked to Tristan Chaput, a graduate assistant who works with Late Nite, about her problems. Chaput would not comment and directed all questions to Baker.
Slaven said her job in ADA is to make sure they raise awareness about disabilities.
“I’m not saying you have to fix absolutely everything, but if it even crosses your mind to make sure that events are at least somewhat accessible for everybody, then we’ve done our job,” Slaven said. “We just want them to realize people with disabilities, we’re on this campus too, and we wanna do Late Nite too.”
