Despite a Mountain of Challeges, Lehigh "Handicapped Friendly"

Michael Fusco L-SAW 2006

The summer after his sophomore year at Lehigh, Brian Kaplun '06 was speeding down a trail in New Jersey's Chimney Rock Park on his mountain bike when he hit a rock, hurling him over the handlebars.

He sustained permanent injuries to his spine and Kaplun would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

After two weeks in the hospital, he began two months of rehabilitation, regaining strength to return to Lehigh. Kaplun was taking things one day at a time. He wanted to return to school to finish his degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Kaplun didn't seriously consider the idea of transferring to a school that might be easier to navigate on two wheels.

"This is where my friends are and I wanted to finish my degree, so that's what I wanted to do," said Kaplun. "It's really just where I feel comfortable, I wanted to come back to where my friends are because it's who I wanted to graduate college with."

Now, 17 months after the accident, Kaplun is scheduled to graduate on time this June. He has already landed a job in composite engineering with Lockheed Martin in Owego, N.Y.

Kaplun's success can be attributed in part to the help he has had from Lehigh's staff, who have afforded him the same educational opportunities other students are given. From renovating antiquated entrances to relocating classes, Lehigh has a team of experts working to make sure that the college perched on the side of a mountain is "handicapped friendly."

A.D.A. Advisory Committee

Fourteen years prior to Kaplun's accident, President H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Landmark legislation, it required most public facilities to be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs.

Under the new law, buildings at undergraduate institutions like Lehigh became defined as "public accommodations." This means Lehigh could not deny activities like classroom learning to handicapped students.

Lehigh responded by identifying a group of campus administrators and support staff who would become responsible for making sure Lehigh was "handicapped friendly," as the law required.

The committee included: Pat Chase, director of Facilities Planning and Renovations; Dean Cheryl Ashcroft, assistant dean for Support Services for Students with Disabilities; Dean Susan Lantz, associate dean of students; representatives from each college and support personnel including the registrar and media services.

"We just started convening on our own, it's sort of a phone network," said Chase. "As soon as anyone hears of anyone with any kind of disability they immediately call a group of about three or four of us to say 'did you know, what are you doing about it and what can I do to help.'"

One of the first things the committee did when it got word of Kaplun's return was to find him suitable housing. Kaplun wished to remain in Brodhead House.

"I was there sophomore year and I wanted to go back because that is where my friends are," said Kaplun, who lives in a quadruple suite with three other roommates.

Lehigh has a select number of residence halls that are wheelchair accessible. This can be an inconvenience for handicapped students wishing to visit friends in residence halls that are not accessible.

"If a student in a wheelchair is say in Brodhead House but he or she wants to go visit a friend in Dravo and that friend is on the fifth floor, they're not going to get there," said Chase. "We're honest with people about that and so far it hasn't seemed to be a problem."

The Greek Life Issue

Lehigh has tried to accommodate physically challenged students involved in Greek life in the past, but "the hill" presents challenges.

For example, in the early 1990's, a fraternity brother fell, had a spinal cord injury and returned to school paralyzed.

"He worked it out with his brothers," explained Chase. "He would show up at the house and they would pick him up and carry him in and he said that was fine."

Although Lehigh was not required by law to make the house accessible, the university offered to provide a ramp or comparable housing but the student declined.

Kaplun never had an interest in joining a fraternity, even before his injury, so it did not present a problem for him.

"To be honest with you, I never went to fraternities before; I ain't going to do it now," said Kaplun. "Would you be able to do it? Sure. Would it be inconvenient as all freaking hell? Yeah."

Chase said that students who are physically disabled typically don't choose to live in Greek housing because they know it is difficult. Handicapped students often need special shower facilities and ramps at entrances that Lehigh's Greek houses do not have. Also, in many of the houses the dining room is not on the same floor as the bedrooms.

Currently no Greek houses are entirely handicapped accessible, however accessibility features have been added to houses that have had recent major renovations including Chi Psi, Delta Gamma, Alpha Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi and Alpha Gamma Delta. Lehigh is considering making Alpha Phi sorority completely handicapped accessible to comply with standards set by the Pennsylvania Governors School, which uses the facility during the summertime.

"If a student were to ever wish to live in Greek housing, we would do our best to accommodate them," said Dean Lantz. "My guess is that most handicapped students would prefer the residence halls on account of their easy accessibility."

The Academic Issue

Kaplun also met with Chase and Dean Lantz last winter to determine what needed to be done to make sure he had access to all of his academic classes. This meant priority registration and checking to make sure that all of his classes were in handicapped accessible rooms.

"We meet with the student to determine what his or her needs are and try to make sure that they have access to all of their classes," said Lantz.

Lehigh works with handicapped students individually to determine what they need, according to Chase.

"We try to meet with them as early as possible to assess what their physical capabilities are and what their major is and where does that mean their classes are likely to be and can we get them easily in to those buildings and if not can we change the locations of their classes," said Chase. "What we don't do is ever deny them access to a class. You can't discriminate against them."

Certain academic buildings are not handicapped accessible at all while others have been renovated and now comply.

Drown Hall, home of the English Department and the Learning Center, has at least three steps at every entrance and no elevator access to the different floors. In comparison, Coppee Hall, home of the Journalism Department and The Brown and White, underwent a major renovation in 2003 and now is completely handicapped accessible. The $3 million renovation of Coppee included adding a $200,000 elevator, access ramps, bathroom access and other details.

"Elevators will make it more costly but I think we're doing that anyway more and more," said Chase. "Just because we are lugging more equipment and it is the law."

Because of his major, Kaplun spends most of his time in Packard Laboratory, home of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. The building is handicapped accessible and has an elevator that was renovated 5 years ago at a price tag of $250,000 to allow handicapped access. The handicapped entrance, however, is not through the main doors facing the University Center.

"I don't want to have to bust balls because I have to go around to the side of the building," said Kaplun. "I don't want people knocking down walls and stuff. It's just not worth it. You just go around the building, and that's what you do. I mean it takes an extra 30 seconds but I don't want to cause major headaches with people just for that."

Other Campus Buildings

Linderman Library has presented problems for handicapped students in the past, but those problems will be resolved when the university completes a $17 million renovation in January of 2007.

"There's like one building on campus, Linderman Library, that I don't think I can get to," said Kaplun. "But I believe they're even fixing that now."

Bruce Taggart, Vice Provost of Library and Technology Services, is pleased that the building will be completely accessible to the physically disabled.

"Before if you were physically disabled you couldn't even know how to get in to Linderman," said Taggart. "Now that will be taken care of and there will be a working elevator that goes to all floors."

Taggart feels that it will make Lehigh a more attractive choice for prospective students with disabilities, resulting in a more diverse student body.

"The world we live in has a number of people with physical challenges and we want to be as open and accommodating as possible," said Taggart. "Making all of campus and our buildings accessible is overall a good philosophy."

Other major campus renovations including the Lamberton Diner and the Alumni Memorial Parking Deck will also have complete handicapped access.

The University Center remains an area of concern for Kaplun, however, because of the awkward wheelchair entrance.

"Getting in and out of the U.C. could be better," said Kaplun. "I've got to go all the way around to the back of Pandini's. I don't eat at the U.C. dining hall just because it takes freakin' half an hour to get up there!"

Temporarily Handicapped Students

Every year Lehigh has a number of students who become temporarily injured and are on crutches or in wheelchairs for a short period time. More often than not, according to administrators, they are athletes with sports-related injuries.

"We are not required to do anything for people with temporary disabilities, like if someone breaks a leg," said Dean Lantz. "But we still try to make some arrangements."

Not surprisingly, one of the most requested arrangements for temporarily disabled students is access to handicapped parking. The university sometimes grants students temporary parking passes if a physician recommends it.

Kaplun has a handicapped-parking pass and uses it to park his GMC Sierra pickup truck near his classes and dorm.

"People are like, 'well how are you going to be able to drive?'" said Kaplun, whose truck has hand controlled accelerator and break pedals. "Well I can drive, I have a truck and I drive all the time."

Kaplun admits that he finds himself to be one of the few students on campus who has no complaints about parking. He jokes that his friends always try to borrow his truck in order to avoid getting fines from ticket-happy Parking Services.

Other Physical Disabilities

Members of the A.D.A. Advisory Committee also seek to help students with physical disabilities beyond those in wheelchairs.

"You also have to remember the law covers more than just people in wheelchairs, it also covers the visually impaired and hearing impaired," said Chase.

Improvements for the visually impaired include installing room number tags that can be read by touch with both Braille as well as raised letters and numbers. Also, most fire alarms now are equipped with flashing strobes to alert those who are hearing impaired.

Library and Technology Services has committed to trying to make sure that the physically challenged have access to their collections as well. This has involved a major investment in new technologies that facilitate access for the disabled, including adaptive technology devices that allow voice recognition as well as drag-and-dictate.

Taggart says that one of the latest purchases is a Kurtzweil reader for the Fairchild-Martindale Library that will dictate any scanned text to someone who is visually impaired.

"As different students with different needs come along there may be other technologies that are needed," said Taggart. "If there was I'd be getting it."

"Handicapped Friendly" Mountain

Administrators realize that Lehigh can be a difficult place for students with disabilities because of the terrain.

"Built on the side of a mountain, it is difficult," said Chase. "They know it is going to be a difficult campus. The side of a hill, we're not going to level the mountain, and in the winter it is pretty treacherous."

Kaplun is very reasonable about the efforts Lehigh makes to help handicapped students.

"Me going from Brodhead to Ulrich is a pain in the ass," he says. "But you're not going to level a mountain. That's just the reality of the situation; going up hill is a pain in the butt for me."

Chase sympathizes with Kaplun.

"You hate to even complain when it is raining when somebody is in a wheelchair and you realize that every day they have to get up and slide on the leaves and try to figure out how to get to class and where am I going to put my books," said Chase. "Life is so much more challenging that you hate to complain about when you have a bad day."

The Reality of Being Disabled: The Daily Routine

Kaplun feels one of the only major differences in his life now is the amount of time it takes to do everyday tasks.

"The thing is that you can make the case that it didn't really change my life-I can do more or less anything that I used to be able to do," said Kaplun. "There are a couple of things that just to be realistic I can't, like walking down the stairs for example. There's no big thing."

However, Kaplun admits that certain activities in his daily routine, like getting coffee from Wawa, take much longer than they used to.

"For me to get in to my truck is about three minutes and to get out is about two and a half," said Kaplun. "So, could I drive to Wawa, hop out, get a cup of coffee, get back in to the truck and drive away? Sure. But now it's like a half an hour to forty-minute exercise that before was just five minutes."

Kaplun has cut coffee runs out of his routine because of the amount of time it would take him, but he takes pride in the fact that he could if he wanted to.

"It's very much the same thing getting around on Lehigh's campus and just in daily life," said Kaplun. "I can do more or less everything that I used to be able to do, it's just for a lot of it just takes a lot longer."

Sense of Humor

Kaplun, as well as friends and family, have been upbeat about the process of learning to adapt to his new condition. If anything, Kaplun himself seems to have the best sense of humor about it.

When asked about the reaction of friends to his condition after returning last spring he said, "the first words out of their mouths were generally were something like, 'what the hell did you do to yourself?'"

Kaplun and his friends enjoy making "politically incorrect jokes" about his physical disability. In particular, Kaplun has become a fan of the handicapped jokes on the popular animated television shows "South Park" and "The Family Guy."

"I think it's freaking hysterical," said Kaplun. "You know you got to laugh at things, because if you don't you are going to be miserable whether you are sitting in a corner because you can walk or sitting in the corner in a wheelchair and you are depressed. It's the same thing either way-you're depressed."

Chase admires Kaplun's motivation and spirit.

"He was great to work with and has a good sense of humor," she said. "It really teaches you something."

As Kaplun prepares to graduate, he has been approached by the university to make plans for commencement. The university offered to build a special ramp on to stage in order for Kaplun to receive his diploma but he refused the offer.

"I was like I'm going to sit on the field with everybody else, I'll go up like everybody else and I won't take it in the slightest as a slight to me if the dean or whoever is shaking hands walks down three steps to shake mine and walks back up," said Kaplun. "I could care less that he has to do that. I'd turn around, get my diploma, and go back."

As Kaplun begins to prepare for the working world, he is thankful for the support Lehigh has given him.

"Everyone (at Lehigh) has been very nice, everything has worked out very well and it hasn't been a problem," he said. "I can't say enough, they've all been very, very understanding."