We’re digging into our “What the hell were they thinking?” file because this one’s at the top of the stack.
We’re not accusing those who design or approve blueprints for new Cal State Long Beach buildings of smoking crack; the new Outpost eatery and convenience store kind of answers that question before it’s asked. Yes, somebody must have been high.
The building has disabled access signs — the blue signs with the white wheelchair illustration — at each door, which indicates the existence of special accommodations like push button door openers.
But these doors are no more easily accessible than those without the placards. It’s almost as if somebody played a cruel practical joke, like pulling a chair out from under a visually impaired person just as they are sitting down.
It’s nice that 49er Shops has the Outpost “on the capital improvement list for the next budget,” as reported by the Daily 49er on Thursday.
This is a brand new frickin’ building. If no accommodations are made to make it easier for disabled persons to enter, what is the purpose of the signs? Are they just put there to tell people with disabilities they are welcome inside — if they can manage to get in? It’s like saying, “We have food, but you’re only allowed to smell it from outside if you can’t open the door yourself.”
Not enough compassion is practiced by an institution that seeks to meet the minimum requirements of accessibility standards mandated by the Americans with Disability Act. Many parts of the ADA — like the word “reasonable accommodations” — are sort of ambiguous and leave enough wiggle room for subjective interpretation.
The ADA is explicit with some requirements, but doesn’t demand door actuators on university campus facilities. This is a loophole needing to be closed.
One section of the ADA that isn’t as ambiguous about new construction is Section 4.1 of the “Standards for Accessible Design,” which states, “Any portion of the building or facility which can be made accessible shall comply to the extent that it is not structurally impracticable.” Door actuators are not “structurally impracticable” by any stretch of the law.
The original cost of the Outpost was estimated to be $4 million, but rose to $5.5 million. That’s a lot of money to overlook something as necessary as easy accessibility.
Before it opened, Don Penrod, general manager and CEO of 49er Shops — which runs the Outpost and other dining services on campus — said of building changes, “It was a little sexier in terms of its design, and now it’s a little more utilitarian.”
We can only guess that “utilitarian” also is ambiguous. When students can’t get in, it’s neither utilitarian nor sexy.
This certainly isn’t the fault of 49er Shops’ management or its employees. Most blame falls on the shoulders of those who rushed through the building’s design and left disabled student concerns on the sidewalk.
University officials in charge of overseeing new building plans are certainly culpable. That’s part of what they’re paid for and our communities rely on them to do their jobs.
Some blame also has to fall on Associated Students Inc. Section 3.0 in ASI’s “Policy on Diversity” clearly distinguishes that “Where it is readily achievable, architectural and communication barriers will be removed. New structures and alterations will comply fully with all accessibility requirements.”
ASI should not be satisfied with doing just the minimum. Its sole vested responsibility is to make certain no student is barred or marginalized.
This isn’t to blame the current ASI leaders of missing the mark because its something they inherited. When it comes to current and future new buildings, though, it’s imperative that they demand these policies be followed.
We would hope that CSULB, ASI and 49er Shops all work together to both fix the current problem and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
It’s negligible not to maintain the mission of diversity and inclusion at a state university. The value of rectifying the access problem far outweighs the cost of a few cheeseburgers.