Five students have spearheaded a project to update the handicap access map at Brown. The map, a tool that helps disabled individuals navigate around campus, had last been updated in 2003.
The new map is the culmination of the students' final project for PHP 1680I: "Pathology to Power: Disability, Health and Community." The course is taught by Bruce Becker, professor of emergency medicine, and Sarah Skeels, teaching associate in community health.
The project's aim is to have a map available online and handed out to visitors and students with disabilities on campus, said Joshua Deshaies '12, one of the project's leaders.
The project was completely student-driven, Skeels said. "I wanted them to take ownership of this," she said.
The team of five tried to keep expectations of their final results realistic, said Deshaies, who noted the complexity of the process. The team tried to factor in disabilities, such as color-blindness, which are less commonly thought of, he said.
Skeels said she hopes that the University may use the map as a basis to build a more accessible campus in the future.
"What I'm personally hoping is, down the road, the University can look at it and use it as a marker when they have time, and money, and all the things they don't have now," she said.
Becker said he was proud of the team's results. "I'm very excited about the project. It demonstrates to me that the goals of the course … are being carried forward by the students," he said.
The idea was born from a meeting last spring between Skeels and Cathie Axe, director of Disability Support Services. Axe brought up the need to recreate the map, Skeels said.
"The overall plan of the project was to contribute something to the University from a disability perspective," Skeels said. "Instead of pointing out the problem, we wanted to be a part of the solution."
Skeels had students apply to become apart of the team, she said. Five students were selected from 15 applications. Other classmates helped with the project for course credit. Selections were based on ability to make the necessary time commitment for the project and diversity of academic interests.
Deshaies, Julia Duch '12, Daniel Patterson '12.5, Heather Bennett '11 and Jennifer Stone '11 were chosen to lead the effort.
Deshaies registered for the class to augment his engineering concentration with an understanding of the "human side of buildings," he said.
"In the (School of Engineering), you get all of the building codes … the structural stuff, but you don't get what people actually need," Deshais said.
The project was broken down into small steps. The students worked on finding the most navigable pathways throughout campus, Skeels said. Other measures included rating buildings on their accessibility to handicapped students, she said.
Currently, the students are working with Axe to finalize the details of the their project, and are presenting their findings at the Campus Disability Committee meeting on Thursday, Skeels said. The students are hoping to get the committee's approval to help push for the University to adopt the map.
