Physical (in?)accessibility of the Greek life?
 

Hi all,

I'm wondering how accessible your Greek system/houses are to those with physical disabilities.

I go to a campus with a small but rather old (all four chapters are 80+ years) NPC Greek system, and, perhaps as a result, our houses are old and thus pretty inaccessible. I have a physical disability, and while I'm fortunate enough to be able to get into my chapter's house with some minimal assistance, I haven't been able to live in due to the house's inaccessibility. We had two girls in wheelchairs go through recruitment last year. Both pledged different houses (from me and from each other), but both have since disaffiliated, and it wouldn't surprise me if the lack of accessibility was part of--but not all--of the issue.

To be clear, I love my sisters, and they've always been really great about making sure things are accessible to me. I'm just curious about the level of accessibility at different campuses, and if/how this has been handled with regards to PNMs/NMs/members with disabilities.

This is a difficult question to answer as there are so many different variables. Each house is independent and may or may not be locally owned. As a matter of law, we are exempt from ADA requirements as we are private organizations. On the other hand, we want to be accessible to our members. The physical limitatons of existing properties often make that very difficult to accomplish. If the house is landlocked, it is difficult to add on a handicapped accessible unit. It may not be possible to move load bearing walls. Or it may be possible but not financially feasiable. In some locations, groups have made their homes more accessible. On campuses where the houses are owned by the U, it is up to the U to handle that if they fall under the ADA requirements.

^
Yeah, I'm familiar with that-- thanks, though. I'm more interested in specific experiences with regards to accessibility and/or members with physical disabilities,

I can speak from a House Corp member's perspective. I know our house was built only 10 years ago ( owned by sorority and not university) and meets the ADA rules as they applied at that time. We have a special needs room downstairs which doubles as our guest suite when not in use. All of our doors are wheelchair assessable as well as all downstairs bathrooms. We even have an elevator shaft ready but no elevator as yet. This year we have one special needs member living in with her dog. All seems to be going well. We offered her the room downstairs with a private bath but she chose to live upstairs with her sisters. BTW, her dog is loving all the attention.

x

I remember one of our houses pledged a girl who used a wheelchair. They added handicap access and negated their historic structure access.

My daughter's sorority added access via a ramp to the ground floor, but their chapter room is downstairs and the girl's rooms are upstairs...no elevator. Plus no accessible bathroom on the ground floor.

Ditto at North Texas. With the exception of the Chi O lodge, which is not a live-in house, all the facilities have at least one first-floor bedroom and bathroom suite that are wheelchair accessible.

Two recent remodels / renovations at Dartmouth have made the Tri Delta and Alpha Xi Delta houses accessible, at least to some degree. An article mentions this, and more:

http://thedartmouth.com/2009/10/07/news/construction

Very recent articles, from two different campuses, about new sorority members who have disabilities. One's an Alpha Xi Delta at Kent State; the other's a Kappa Kappa Gamma at the U of Missouri. Each article has a pic to go with the story.

the Kent State Alpha Xi:

http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/med...-3820583.shtml

and the Missouri Kappa:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/st...ty-new-member/

ETA: The story about the Mizzou student touches upon some possible interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I would encourage readers not to rely solely on those statements; it's not that they're "wrong" or "right," necessarily, just that interpretation of the ADA (and any similar state laws) isn't a particularly simple matter.

What I find interesting and encouraging about the stories is their recognition that, perhaps, more people with disabilities are seeking and finding "homes" in Greek life. (For plenty of GCers that's not news, of course.)

Oh hell yeah; I remember that quite well, but obviously I myself couldn't "cite" you, since that could have come across as a Poster Child kind of thing. I agree, by the way, that it's good to see news like this of Greek system positives.