Joe Hodge, a Ball State University junior, is working with the university to put Braille signs on rooms all around campus. The signs would help blind students find the right room when they get into buildings on campus.
Some doors on campus, such as those in the Art and Journalism building, already have Braille on the plates that identify room numbers for every room. Only room numbers are identified, and even then, few students take time to memorize the room number of every room and bathroom on campus.
Older buildings, however, don't have any of the Braille that is necessary for blind people to know what room they're entering.
Ball State has a program, Disabled Student Development, that helps students with all types of disabilities on campus. Unless the program is capable of providing an escort for all blind students on campus, Braille on each door is necessary.
Imagine going to class and finding the right room with your eyes closed the entire way. People who take their vision for granted might think they know exactly where the room is, but in reality it is difficult to navigate through people and cross streets to find the right room.
Navigating around campus and to specific rooms without sight is a challenge some students have to deal with on a daily basis. If Braille isn't on every door in the university, walking into the wrong room - or restroom - is a very real possibility.
Ball State has shown it wants to help disabled students with their program, but the help won't be complete until all students can find their way around campus on their own.
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