THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024
VOL. 107, ISSUE 19
Disability needs for students not fully met despite university efforts
Carolyn Dickte Guest Contributor
Southern Illinois University touts a long history of accessibility and accommodations around campus and in classes, even before the law required specific accommodations. But despite meeting federal requirements, SIU still does not provide a learning environment that meets what many students need to be successful. “‘You still have to attend, even if you can’t understand,’ is basically what I was told,” said Declan Smith, a Deaf student with ADHD and severe social anxiety. Smith said that sometimes his hearing implants, which he prefers over an American Sign Language interpreter, malfunction, but he is still required to go to class. “Having a way to have access to the slides from the professors or at least
notes would be extremely helpful,” he said. “I’ve missed tons of due dates or information I would have used. Almost missed an exam due to it not being written down or posted online.” Smith also referred to the required “Intro to Communications” course, which the university’s Disability Support Services (DSS) cannot accommodate for. The course’s abundance of presentations and speeches creates major difficulty for disabled students such as Smith. “I’ve had a trigger attack during a class speech and was marked down on my score and talked to privately after,” he said. Morgan VanMeter, another SIU student with ADHD, believes that the university should be more accommodating beyond what is
DISABILITY NEEDS | 4
A heavily used accessibility button sits outside of the front of the Communication Building on campus Jan. 29, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois. Simeon Hardley | @simshardphotography
Dorm maintenance issues raise concern on campus; bugs not a “priority”
Carly Gist | cgist@dailyegyptian.com
The start of a new semester brings new faces, experiences and new friends. But for some students, it introduces unwanted guests. “I came back from winter break to a dozen dead roaches and a couple alive roaches,” SIU freshman Justyce Petty said.
For Petty, it took contacting her RA, hall director and University Housing to get in touch with maintenance. “It was frustrating because our campus got shut down [due to snow] the day they were supposed to come so they couldn’t come. They came a couple of days after that, but I honestly feel as though the only
reason I got a response was because we went through [the assistant housing director,]” she said. Before maintenance came, Petty and her friends deep cleaned her room, bought roach traps and sprayed the walls with Raid. She said that maintenance has continued to reach out to her to check on the issue, but
that the response was much slower than her first time working with them, when her bathroom flooded shortly after Thanksgiving break. “I would recommend them [maintenance] for anything that isn’t bug related,” she said. “They came really quickly when my shower flooded, and they cleaned it and
washed our rugs for us because they got drenched. They were really quick about that, but I don’t know if I would suggest them for roach problems.” In a small, nonscientific survey conducted by the Daily Egyptian, 88.1% of students said they have had issues with their dorm that required
MAINTENANCE | 5
Salukis bark back, overcome 20-point deficit in win against Murray State Ryan Grieser rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com
Xavier Johnson (10) jumps up to shoot a layup for the Salukis as they face Murray State on the road Jan. 27, 2024 at CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphoto
A familiar sight for Saluki fans was on display with four seconds left on the clock. Star guard Xavier Johnson had the ball in his hands, and he would not be denied. Johnson, off a hesitation dribble, drove to the right side of the basket and kissed the ball off the top of the
glass to give the Salukis their only lead of the game. It proved to be the only lead that mattered. SIU held on, winning 60-58 against rival Murray State Racers while completing a 20-point comeback. “(Johnson’s) had a lot of great opportunities, he’s earned it. I trust his work, and he made a great finish,” Saluki head coach Bryan Mullins said.
The weight of the moment and completing the comeback was not lost on Johnson. “I appreciate Coach, I’m humbled that he gave me the opportunity to have the ball in my hands at the end of the shot clock, my teammates believing in me. Just grateful for that,” Johnson said. Senior Trent Brown came up big BARK BACK | 6
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