THE PUBLIC MIND: WHY DIDN'T THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY 20 YEARS AGO?

Dear Editor:

In reading your opinion column "~Southeast should not be penali~zed for elevators," I think another column needs to say "Disabled students should not be penali~zed~ for lack of elevators at Southeast."

I cannot understand why so many people bemoan the plight of the "poor university" as opposed to bemoaning the plight of the disabled. Students seeking financial aid are not just poor students, disabled students are among ~those who seek financial aid. The Catch-~~22 there is that able-bodied students can get a job and pay for their education, disabled students must get a degree before they can go out and earn. Service jobs for physically challenged people are few an~d far between, they must get a job behind a desk, which usually requires a degree.

Why is it SIU boasts a disabled student population of over 200? Why is it that in the 20 years since the first civil rights act mandating universities be accessible to the disabled, Southeast Missouri students must go over the river for an education? Why is it they received funding over t~he years? It isn't because they have more money, it's because their administration asked for monies for accessibility over 20 years. It may also be that their administration is more sensitive to the needs of the disabled. You state the university has a "good record of handicapped accessibility." If you know that they have a good record, then where were state appropriations applied to over the past 20 years if Southeast ~Missouri State University actively pursued making their college accessible? If they were so accessible, why did it take an action to force their hand? In short, where did the money go to make the campus accessible over the past 20 years?

Private money comes in weekly for every conceivable program at the University, yet not one private dollar comes in to make the campus accessible. University alumni rally to raise money for expanding programs, but most disabled students will not benefit from these expanded~ pro~grams. Because no monies are raised to make the expanded programs accessible to "everyone." Why does it take a tragedy in someone's family to make them aware of the needs of the disabled? James Brady was not aware of the plight of the disabled until he himself became disabled. That's logical. Nobody thought so much about gun control until James Brady was shot. It takes somebody important for people to ~take notice That's logical also. What is not logical is why it always takes a tragedy to open people's eyes, and yet how soon these open eyes close up again.

The bottom line is, "who made campus accessibility is priority 20 years ago?" If it was a priority where did the money go that was to be used for it? Why was so little done in so long of a time? Why is it that there is always private money available for certain priorities and not others? Questions can go on and on and on. So do the years disabled people have waited for colleges to become accessible and still wait. Southeast and its students should not be further penalized for the state's financial woes, but neither should th~e disabled students. Forgive me, because my heart does not share in the University's plight. Time was on their side 20 years ago, it is not on the side of the disabled students who were and still will be deprived of a college education because the administration procrastinated. The clock still ticks....who is time and money really running out for?

Respectfully,

Maryann "Miki" Gudermuth

Cape Girardeau