The University of Minnesota is not your average campus. It's home to over 54 thousand students, each with different backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities, capabilities, and everything else under the sun. People come to Minnesota from all over the world. You never know what kind of new perspective someone next to you in class can bring to the table. Thanks to that diversity, the University of Minnesota also boasts the many resources on campus for students if they are having any issue at all with their time in the Twin Cities.

However, if you are a student with a physical disability, you might feel a little more overwhelmed than everybody else. The university's disability resource center does a great job of advising and addressing most issues, however there's a bit of a slight exception when it comes to those who need help getting around campus through means of a wheelchair.

My girlfriend has a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS, which negatively affects the collagen production in the human body. That means that her body doesn't develop connective tissue properly, leading to symptoms like joint pain after normal amounts of walking. She also has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS for short. This condition affects her heart, the main symptom being a large jump in her heartrate when she stands up or does something too physical. If she stands up too quickly or climb some steep stairs, she could pass out. So it comes as no surprise that she would opt to get around campus in her wheelchair rather than walk.

Since we commute to school together, we walk to and from classes together nearly everyday in the morning and afternoon. It's during this time that I really had the time to see just how hard it was for her to get around. Accessibility entrances for buildings are sometimes really difficult to find. The newer buildings like Coffman Union and Bruininks are wonderful, but a majority of buildings that host classes, particularly the ones in the Mall have entrances that are pretty hidden, often times leading to a basement level where construction is underway and there are pallets and equipment blocking the hallway.

Another complaint is that in the winter, the wheelchair ramps are luckily shoveled, but they aren't salted. The slightest patch of slush or ice along the ramp makes the entire thing impossible for a wheelchair to go up or down safely. Buses are also really difficult to use. Almost every time we've gone on a bus together, the bus driver seems to have difficulty figuring out how to work the clamps. The whole situation turns into a scene that ends up costing everyone on the bus valuable time.

A lot of study rooms and tables in various lobbies aren't wheelchair accessible either. You'd be damned if you wanted to maneuver a wheelchair into the Taylor Center in Lind Hall to study. You'd have to go to go to a completely different building if you wanted desk space that was easy to get to in a chair.

In conclusion, no one should have to do more work than the average person to access the same resources and buildings, especially if they are disabled and in a wheelchair. EDS affects 1 in 5000 people, while POTS can develop in anyone, though it is most common among women (75-80% of people with POTS) between ages 15-50. This doesn't even include other situations that would result in people using wheelchairs to get around. My girlfriend is not going to be the first and last person to rely on the university for help with access the school. More attention in the matter is due and I hope this reaches the right people.