The WKU Student Government Association passed a resolution to support the installation of elevators in Gordon Wilson Hall during Tuesday’s weekly meeting.
Author and “honorary SGA member” Kiersten Washington shared how her personal experience sparked the conversation of Resolution 2-25-S. Washington, who is a wheelchair user, checked her spring classes to find her dance appreciation class to be located on the third floor of Gordon Wilson Hall. The building, built in 1927 and converted to classrooms in 1965, does not have an elevator.
“I was like, ‘What do I do?’” Washington said.
According to the University ADA Services, “Students with disabilities, who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in and access University programs, should register with the Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC).”
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair Megan Farmer said Washington would have to request reasonable accommodation for her class to be moved and become accessible to her.
“You’re not getting the full range of your education experience if not every student is able to be in the space that it is held in,” Farmer said. “I think it’s incredibly important for the university to see this resolution and actually take the students’ concerns about it seriously.”
Several other buildings, including residence halls McLean Hall, Bates-Runner Hall and Gilbert Hall do not have elevators.
“I think there should be an elevator in every building, regardless of if you have a disability or not,” Washington said.
SGA also passed Resolution 1-25-S, written by senators Jakob Barker and Cayden Bailey, in support of extending the hours of operation of The Commons at Helm Library to 24/7 during finals week.
“One of the things I ran on in the fall (election) is wanting to have additional study spaces at more flexible hours,” Barker said. “Western is the third largest public university in Kentucky and doesn’t offer a single 24-hour library space for students.”
Bill 7-25-S also passed after heavy debate when Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Chair Sophia Bryant proposed an amendment that the Subs and Scholarships workshop should be held on March 27 rather than March 13 due to the SGA March Madness event happening on the same day.
The Senate voted to keep the event on March 13, allocating $115 for the workshop. The event will include senators assisting students seeking to apply for SGA scholarships.
Student Body President Sam Kurtz also announced that the SGA executive board will be working on an event called “POLLapalooza” to increase voter turnout for the upcoming elections in April.
“My goal is that 3,000 students vote in our election,” Kurtz said. “I hope that every student wants to voice their opinion in their student government that represents them.”
