Is UT Austin the most ableist campus in the United States, or the most disability friendly? In 2022, The Daily Texan reported that "Disabled UT students’ struggles to access campus is an ongoing issue as many have difficulty finding accessible routes and entries to their classes, issues with scooters obstructing sidewalks and problems with construction and events blocking their fixed routes to class." The university currently has 12 pending cases related to disability discrimination -- the most of any campus -- currently under investigation with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. All twelve cases have been opened within the past four years.
Somewhat paradoxically, this could be why so much positive change has been happening on UT Austin's campus in recent years, making it appear, on paper at least, to be a disability-friendly campus. UT Austin's Disability Cultural Center, for example, opened in 2023. That same year, the UT Senate of College Councils introduced a resolution in support of establishing a campus shuttle service for disabled students, an accessibility feature that many top-ranked universities already have. A student comments in The Daily Texan that "the golf carts that currently drive down Speedway require students to wave them down, and there’s no guarantee that a golf cart will be there when a disabled student needs it."
Students continue to push for change while encountering additional barriers on campus. In 2024, The Daily Texan reported that a student started a petition, which has gathered over 800 signatures to date, demanding that all accessible campus restrooms be renovated to meet ADA standards.
"It’s important to push advocacy at all times," remarked the co-director of the Disabilities Inclusion Agency in The Daily Texan. "Change is spurred from outside forces upon an institution that is hesitant towards changing the status quo. … We have the things we do now because of advocates in the past, at UT and around the nation. It’s the responsibility of all of us to continue those changes for a better future, for the students of today and the students of tomorrow."
UT Austin is currently ranked 30th among national universities by U.S. News. It was ranked 32nd in 2024.
A.J. Walker, a media studies master’s student, said she feels Disability and Access hasn’t supported students in the way it claims. Walker suffered a leg injury in January that has left her in a walking boot for the last nine months. Having already had accommodations for two other preexisting medical conditions through the office, Walker went to her coordinator to receive additional services for her leg injury.
But rather than receiving assistance, Walker said she felt ignored. It took several days for Walker’s coordinator to respond to her, though she recognizes this is likely due to the coordinator being overloaded with too many students. Walker said her coordinator told her this was the reason for her delayed responses and unavailability to meet with her to discuss ways to offer aid.
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Walker already makes a 20-minute commute to campus, and her parking spot is a 40-minute walk from where her classes are located. Before her injury, Walker said navigating campus was already difficult with two legs, so it became extremely inaccessible for her with one. This caused her to drop one of her classes last spring which was located at the Robert L. Patton Hall, which she said was incredibly inaccessible to her.
“I have been a strong Black woman all my life,” Walker said. “My foot injury made me realize I can’t be strong all day. I had to have a moment of weakness because if I don’t, this is literally going to break me, and I don’t want my foot to be the end of me.”
Walker said it’s been especially hard for her to navigate her injury with no support from the University. Her injury has made getting around campus physically exhausting, which flares up her two preexisting medical conditions and causes her body to shut down the next day.
“My department was the one who helped me by getting students to help me from my car to my classes. It wasn’t the University,” she said. “The University didn’t listen. I tried to fight the system, the system fought me back, and I lost.”
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