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Show Nov. 22, 1974 Signpost Page 11 Ramps for handicapped in college's future by Dorothy Montabano Staff reporter (Editor's note: This is the last of a series dealing with the problems faced by the handicapped of Weber State College and the solutions proposed by the college.) His deliverance is as strong as his figures, precise and just as forceful in conversation as the steel girders and concrete that he deals with daily. Director Of Campus Planning And Construction, Robert Folsom, is a man who is extremely interested and sympathetic to the needs of the handicapped on campus. Folsom told us what he and his fellow architects and the Planning Committee have on the blackboard in the way of construction plans for the physically handicapped, a few years hence. Presently there are four new ramps under planning. One will be to the entrance of the new addition of the library. The main entrance will be changed. When completed, students will enter via of a ramp that will take them from the east entrance and then up to the main floor, via elevator. The second will be in the vicinity of the Union Building, adjacent from the Fine Arts Foun-- tain. Vicinity of tower The third ramp will be in the vicinity of the Bell Tower, and the fourth, by the Technical Education Building. The construction of each ramp will have cost $40,000. On a temporary basis, the Union Building, the Technical-Education Building and Classroom Building Four will have wooden ramps to aid the handicapped to enter a building easily. When the permanent ramps are ready for use they will have the facade similar to that of the rear entrance of the Administration Building. One of the chronic complaints from the architects is that "Weber State is located on very hilly land and this makes any type of construction difficult," Folsom said. He explained that each building has its specifications to meet certain requirements. Since 1968, a law has originated - first starting on a national level than expanding to the state level whereby all architects had to explain in their plans for new construction what provisions have been made for the handicapped on campus. "What takes so long for construction," he said, "is that we must wait until funds are appropriated from the state legislature. Naturally the governor must consider in his fiscal budget what must have first and top prior ty." Increased budget At the present time there has been increase in the budget by 5 percent to help. This, Folsom calls the Capital Improvement Budget. His opinion is since the estimate of the cost of constructing a building is going up so to will the money allocated by the legislature. "Since funds are allocated to us on this basis, we can build only one ramp at a time," he said. Speaking of the blind students on campus, Folsom said, "All new buildings fabricated must meet and pass national standards. For this particular type of handicap it would be helpful if there were certain types of doorknobs, also engraved type numbers on doors." The one building on campus that seems to be the architects as well as the blind students nightmare is the Fine Arts Center. He said, "It probably would take about a quarter of a million dollars to bring the building up to specifications for the physically handicapped student," and that he added was only a rough figure. Few students Folsom said, "to his knowledge there are very few handicapped students on campus this quarter." (A figure was not available from any known source). He said he did not know what to attribute this to. It could be one of two things he theorized : that the accomodations for the handicapped on this campus was not sufficient to meet their requirements or that they just preferred some other college. He continued by saying, "If accomodations were better for the handicapped, an increase in attendance might be evident..." Asked if WSC President Joseph L. Bishop was aware of the handicapped problem on campus, he answered "Yes, I am sure that he is, but Dr. Clarke is my 'boss' and whenever or wherever he sees the need he tries to accomodate students in any way that he can, even if it may be on a temporary basis." Concluding he said, "I feveren-tly hope that the students, the staff and the public realize our awareness of their physical handicap problems and that we are not trying to overlook anyone in any way. We are trying to meet each and everyone of their needs while attending classes here on campus, but by the same token we are trying to have and show equal opportunity to each student." U Vlii JVJ UIAJ MM rrai d caw M0 " jl 1 OWN 11 k. III "It was last summer, and I was 18. Cathy was 18 too. It was the happiest summer of my life. I had never been that happy before. I haven't been that happy since. And I know I'll never be that happy again. It was warm and beautiful and so we bought a few bottles of wine and drove to the country to celebrate the night. We drank the wine and looked at the stars and held each other and laughed. It must have been the stars and the wine and the warm wind. Nobody else was on the road. The top was down, and we were singing and I didn't even see the tree until I hit it." Every year 8,000 American people between the ages of 15 and 25 are killed in alcohol related crashes. That's more than combat. More than drugs. More than suicide. More than cancer. The people on this page are not real. But what happened to them is very real. The automobile crash is the number one cause of death of people your age. And the ironic thing is that the drunk drivers responsible for killing young people are most often other young people. DRUNK DRIVER, DEPT. Y BOX 1969 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20013 I don't want to get killed and I don't want to kill anyone. Tell me how I can help. Youths Highway Safety Advisory Committee. My name is Address City .State. Zip ST0?EmiVIi:SB3ini!L STOP QUO EACH 0TEIHH. US. DEPARTMENT Of TRANSPORTATION NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION |