Disabled students at UMKC still navigate issues that shouldn’t exist.
Accessibility isn’t a bonus feature of campus life. It’s the baseline for equity.
As a student in a wheelchair at UMKC, I face barriers that make life harder than it needs to be. My chair is not the issue. The campus was designed in ways that overlook students like me.
Many sidewalks, crosswalks and entrances to buildings are not necessarily inaccessible, but inconvenient. Buttons are often broken, doors get stuck and elevators are down with no forewarning. Ramps are placed out of the way, as if access is an afterthought.
While this may seem nitpicky, imagine as an able-bodied student, one day on your way to class, a stairwell taken routinely is suddenly blocked off. It’s not devastating, but a new path must now be found. Class starts in 10 minutes. The only stairwell is in an opposite building that connects to a different building on the second floor.
This is a reality. One day, on my way to class, an elevator was out of order in Haag Hall. I planned to make it 10 minutes early. Now I was left hurriedly finding a different working elevator, dashing across the building, only to arrive late.
Of course, professors understand, and there is so much grace given to me, as many can sympathize with the inconveniences of this campus.
Grace is always appreciated, but it’s not equity. Accessibility shouldn’t rely on exceptions. It should be built into the campus itself.
These small inconveniences add up. They aren’t nitpicks. They’re barriers that remind disabled students daily that this university wasn’t designed with realistic accessibility. Without systemic change, UMKC risks creating a culture of exclusion.
That’s where students are stepping in. A new student-led political group, Young Democratic Socialists of America, has made accessibility the focus of its first campaign.
“The (UMKC) ADA advisor does not have a budget,” said YDSA president Samuel Lamar. “Right now, I’m focused on petitioning. I want to figure out what kind of budget an ADA advisor should have. Mizzou’s ADA coordinator has one. I’m not going to be satisfied until we do too.” To help this effort, you can sign the petition here.
For Lamar, the issue goes further than ramps or elevators.
“The left movement is one of inclusivity,” he said. “Getting into college is already such a great journey. If you’re disabled, you have to go even further. You’re not only worrying about getting into college, but ‘Can I even get to my class?’ Education is one of the ways the working class is able to wrest some vestige away from the elite. So opening that as wide as possible is important to me, and disabled people are part of the working class.”
Lamar hopes the campaign will also show students the power they hold. “[Students] have much more power than they tend to think they have when it comes to campus policy,” he said. “People are people. You should be advocating for them to get an education and be able to do so comfortably.”
Accessibility is only one issue, but it’s a starting point for something bigger. As Lamar put it, there are countless other struggles on campus, in Kansas City, and beyond. It requires solidarity and collective action. If you want to be a part of that push, you can join UMKC YDSA here.
As a disabled person, I’ve learned that community is essential. UMKC may be slow to fix a door or fund an office, but real support comes first from peers. YDSA’s campaign is one example of students fighting for change and showing what real inclusion looks like.
It shouldn’t fall on students, but it often does. And that’s the point. True accessibility isn’t just in policy. It’s people willing to band together and demand it.
