VIEWPOINTS
ENTERTAINMENT
THE QUICKIE
HEALTH & FITNESS
SPORTS
We’re always watching. Feminista returns this issue to throw some wrath at “Glee” for recent trend of sexism.
“Allegiant” YA novel “Allegiant” ‘diverges’ from trilogy.
Tale of a Triton: Geoffrey Fella
Stressed out? Learn how to handle final exam anxiety.
Kat Milojevic
page 6
An interesting Fella around Eckerd’s campus. page 12
page 10
Junior’s strong defense drives team onward to NCAA tournament. page 15
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Vol. 5, Issue 6 Dec. 6, 2013
Wheelchair user frustrated with accommodations By Teresa Young & Greg Reilly Staff Writer & Associate Editor Exchange student Simon Scheidegger has been frustrated with the lack of handicap accessibility in his native Switzerland for most of his life. Scheidegger, assistant health and fitness editor for The Current and the only student wheelchair user on campus, is not impressed with his experience at Eckerd, either. The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities and to allow these individuals full participation in all aspects of society. In the college setting, this law ensures that all people with disabilities have equal opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. While all students are responsible for their own academic status, the ADA requires schools to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. “Although our campus and some of our older buildings can be difficult to navigate for some of our students who are physically other-abled, the college makes every reasonable effort to provide these students access to the college’s programs and facilities,” Dean of Students James Annarelli said in an email. Director of Planning, Development and Construction Bill McKenna said his office works with the college to accommodate student needs. “We work with the registrar’s office to find out what buildings and what classrooms they’ll be using to see if we have to retrofit anything and it’s almost always the case we do.” While many of the dorms on campus were built in the late 1950s when Eckerd was founded, all of the dorms have a ramp or an elevator to
photo by Alex Zielinski Simon Scheidegger’s shower prior to recent seat adjustments.
provide access to at least the first floor. Showers seats and automatic door openers can be installed in the traditional dorms if requested. Eckerd even installed a bed rattler for a student who was hearing-impaired once, in case of a fire alarm. When new students with disabilities consider attending Eckerd, they are able to work with the college to accommodate their needs. Dean of Admissions John Sullivan said Eckerd has switched classrooms in the past to make them more accessible for disabled
students. He encourages those who can to visit campus to get a better feel for the layout of the school. Scheidegger was placed in Sigma upon recommendation from Director of Counseling and Disability Support Services Scott Strader because the rooms are bigger and they have easily accessible showers. However, upon arriving at Eckerd, Scheidegger found the ledge in front of his shower to be higher than he thought. He previously had to lift himself about 14 inches from his wheelchair to the shower
seat, which he feels is dangerous. “There’s a ledge like this high [4.5 inches according to Simon], which means I can’t really pull the wheelchair close enough to move securely from the seat to the wheelchair,” Scheidegger said, referring to how he gets out of the shower. McKenna was surprised to learn that Scheidegger’s did not have a roll-in shower. “My involvement in the project goes back three or four years, was when facilities was going to do the modifications in there I was re-
sponsible for suggesting that they make it roll-in shower,” he said. “I haven’t checked them myself so I can only assume that they did it. But if they didn’t I could imagine it would be a real problem.” According to section 4.21.8 of the ADA regarding shower enclosures, “If provided, enclosures for shower stalls shall not obstruct controls or obstruct transfer from wheelchairs onto shower seats.” “If he needs it to be a roll-in shower, then Eckerd needs to take See SHOWERS, page 3
Preparation in practice: Behind the scenes with Adam Colby By Aaron Levy News Editor Sitting and waiting for my first of three meetings with Director of Emergency Management and Campus Safety Adam Colby, my eyes dart around the main Campus Safety office. Lined with shift schedules, posters identifying drug paraphernalia, a list of the active RAs who are on rounds and three large TV security monitors, I sit and wait. I have never met with Colby one-on-one before, but am already starting to piece together the man responsible for all of this. President Donald Eastman describes Colby as “easily the most professional person we’ve had at that position.” Assistant Director of Campus Safety Tonya Womack explains his management style as Please Recycle
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“very different from my past supervisors,” and feels that he has taught her to “see the bigger picture of what is occurring” when dealing with difficult situations and the resulting impact on the community. As I step into his office, my eyes are immediately drawn to the accomplishments on the walls. Several are from the St. Petersburg Police Department. One is a framed Army uniform with medals and a patch that reads “Airborne.” Colby is a veteran. Despite being offered Division I scholarships to play soccer, Colby says he joined the army after graduating high school in Atlanta because he was “bored” and didn’t know what else to do. He enlisted in July 2001. “Before Sept. 11, I thought it’d be a fun way to see the world,” he says with a few laughs. VIEWPOINTS 5-8
“I saw plenty of the world.” Isolated at infantry training, Colby says he didn’t find out about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks until two months later, a fact that floors me. “A significant number of people in my generation know where they were on Sept. 11, 2001,” he says. “I have no clue. One of our people in our platoon ended up getting a piece of mail that had a newspaper clipping about [Sept. 11]. It was like middle of November.” Colby spent four years as a paratrooper in the airborne infantry serving in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant and received the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the Purple Heart which he says his comrades refer to as the
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“Enemy Marksmanship Badge” or the “Forgot to Duck Medal.” “They are nothing special, a lot of us have them,” he says. “Its part of the conflicts.” After dabbling briefly in VIP protection for a private security firm, Colby found his way to Eckerd through a client who was also an alumnus.“Soon after, I was a student here, 22-years-old coming into Autumn Term, living on campus and using the GI Bill to pay for most of college here,” he says That was in 2005. Four years later, after graduating with a degree in International Relations, Colby was appointed Director of Campus Safety. The rest is history.
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It’s 2 p.m. on a warm November Wednesday and I’m in the
passenger seat of a golf cart driven by Colby. He is on one of his monthly “hot spot” checkup rides and has already scanned Dorm Drive for any visibility issues arising from overgrown vegetation. “There are big studies having to do with people’s perception of safety, and a lot of it has to do with visibility and how well you can see,” he says, as we continue down the road, past the waterfront. “The thing about campus is that it’s continually evolving,” he says as we approach the back gate. “When you think you’ve fixed one problem, the unintended consequences of another problem pop up because of the one thing you were trying to fix.” He notes the progress of projects and work
THE QUICKIE 11-12 HEALTH & FITNESS 13-14 SPORTS 15-16
See COLBY, page 4
The Current is a free, biweekly student newspaper produced at Eckerd College. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers.