Crutching to changes

ly when traveling from school building to school building.

The little things I modified have been some of the most upsetting ones. Music is a major part of who I am, constantly keeping me in a good mood. I used to listen to music all the time — bringing my phone into the shower and walking to class with earbuds were a daily necessity.

Yet, I’ve grown nervous of dropping my phone while crutching to the bathroom and simply don’t want to deal with the hassle of an AirPod potentially falling out of my ear. Minor aspects of my daily routine now contribute to a nostalgia I have for my life before breaking two of my bones.

It’s always about the little things.

I started using this service o ered by the school that shuttles students with mobility disabilities. I was ecstatic when my physician’s assistant told me it existed because it meant I wouldn’t have to pay for Ubers anymore. It’s the small victories that help my current physical and emotional fracture.

Yet, this service is the opposite of a victory. I live 0.2 miles o campus, on Langdon Street, just like thousands of other students. The service refuses to pick me up and drop me o at my home. It is unsafe for me to be crutching to the Graduate Hotel on black ice or when our lovely Wisconsin winter decides to unpredictably shower us with snow.

Yet, our inaccessible campus allows individuals like me to be rejected a convenient pick up and drop o location.

I’m one of the lucky ones, though. While this is an inconvenience for my spring semester, I will eventually be able to

Even if the shuttle service is more helpful for some students than it is for me, we still have to make it into our classrooms. I hope most students who have mobility disabilities were admitted into the business school their freshman year, because that is the only campus building I have found enough winds up disabled sooner or later. While my disability experience happened at 19, I know I will continue to walk through life with a less ableist lens. walk from class to class normally — putting this experience behind me. with a ramp at the entrance.

Of course, it is not my hope that everyone breaks their ankle and is on crutches for months. But, I do hope everyone is able to open their eyes and see our societal structure benefiting those with full mobility and disadvantaging disabled individuals.

Students with permanent mobility disabilities must find on-campus housing accommodations. Beside university housing, the apartment options considered in bounds for the shuttle service are significantly more expensive than living slightly off campus. Some can afford this financial burden, but I sympathize with those who can’t.

For being a top ranked university, I expect more accessible campus buildings. However, this is something many donors and designers don’t consider when making new buildings because they are likely removed from disability in their functional lives. I was too, before Feb. 17.

Now, I realize how ableist our society is, and disability advocates predict just that — they believe everyone who lives long

I plan to turn this accident that has prompted pity from my peers into campus change. I began talking to our administration about the shuttle service boundaries with the hope that future students with temporary physical disabilities don’t have to undergo the same trudges through snow. I also plan to work with the student government sector that has contacts to make disability changes on campus.

Turning this challenge into an opportunity and eye-opening experience is what made an accidental fall down the stairs worthwhile, and maybe — just maybe — happen for a reason.

Anna Schulman is a sophomore at UW-Madison studying Journalism, Digital Studies and Social Justice in Education. Do you agree that campus is not accessible enough to those with physicaldisabilities?Letusknow atopinion@dailycardinal.com.