Ball State University students returned this fall to electronic touch screens that have improved convenience, but presented problems for others.
Amy Shaw, co-president of Disabled Students in Action, said wheelchair-users, the visually-impaired and people who cannot control motor skills in their hands would all probably have difficulty using the touch screens.
Senior Brad Clark, who uses a wheelchair, said he doesn't think the screens are very accessible. He said it is hard for him to reach them because they move away from the edge of the counter when students push on the screens.
"It's next to impossible to reach them without assistance," Clark said.
Dining Director Jon Lewis said staff members are always available to accommodate students with disabilities.
"We have been trained to keep an eye out for them and help them in any way," an Atrium employee said.
Blind students usually walk into the Atrium with a friend or ask a cashier to call for another staff member to assist them, the employee said.
Larry Markle, director of Disabled Student Development, said he isn't worried about the touch screens.
"As long as somebody is there to provide assistance to someone who couldn't use the touch screen," Markle said, "I'm not really concerned with accessibility."
Clark said he doesn't mind getting others' help, but he knows that some students with disabilities would prefer something that allows for more independence.
Although Markle said he hasn't heard any complaints from students, he would work with Dining staff to develop a solution if a student said he or she was having difficulty using the equipment.
"[For outright violations of the students' rights] we would work with the appropriate personnel on campus," Markle said. "We could work with others to make sure that the appropriate things are enforced."
Shaw, however, said she is worried that some students might be afraid to complain.
Blind students are not able to use the touch screens without help, Carlos Taylor, an adaptive computer technology specialist, said. Taylor, who is blind, said any sort of touch screen system provides obstacles for the blind. Because the screens are flat, visually-impaired people have no way of knowing what buttons they are pushing, he said.
Lewis said students who have trouble with the touch screens could use a new service called Webfood to pre-order their food online and pick it up at either the Atrium or Woodworth Commons.
"So far, I have not had much success with the Web site [Webfood] being accessible," Taylor said. "I hope to work with somebody to get the online part a little more accessible. I just need more time to look at it [in order to] evaluate it."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
