Navigating Blair while physically disabled

Freely and comfortably navigating the world, regardless of ability, is a right that everyone is entitled to. Nonetheless, barriers remain to the full expression of that right. At Blair, students with physical disabilities encounter exhausting hurdles as they pursue their education, particularly in attempting to move from class to class.

Blair is a notoriously overcrowded school, the largest in Maryland. It may be no surprise then that crowded hallways pose one of the biggest obstacles to disability access. Senior Leia Bowers shared that, while on crutches after an ankle injury, she had to strategically plan around the waves of students following the sound of the bell. “I’d have to leave all my classes five to ten minutes early to avoid the rush of the hallways, and even then I’d still get stuck in them,” she said. “I found myself sometimes preferring to wait out the passing period and then get a pass from my teacher afterward to go to my next class.”

Senior Salem Tadesse, who recently transitioned from using a wheelchair to a cane, shared that she has had a similar, though slightly easier experience. “It was hard at first, but I had very understanding teachers who were patient with me,” she said. “[Hallway traffic] is because of students who linger in the middle of the hallways or rapidly walk past us, causing imbalance or even us getting stuck in a corner.”

Tadesse expressed that fixing hallway traffic would not just better support students with visible disabilities, but those with hidden ones. “I have something called [Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness] where I get dizzy, and on those days, the rapid hallways definitely impact the rest of my day,” she said.

In tandem with hallway crowding, elevator access and policies are imperative to easy movement around the school for disabled students. Bowers expressed that having only one elevator on campus significantly delayed her numerous times. “Once, I had to go from Room 16 to the elevator to get to the third floor, and then all the way to Room 310,” she said. “The room in theory is close-by since it's on the same side of the school, but since it was my first day on crutches, it ended up taking me 30 minutes to get to class. I had to take frequent breaks and carry my own bag.”

Abled students have also been seen using the elevator for fun, without consideration for those who need it. “When we try to use an elevator to get to class, we find other students who don't need to use the elevator hoarding it,” Tadesse said. “I had a lot of incidents where I was late for class specifically because of this.”

A recent rule states that students must have identification from the office to use the elevator, but this well-intentioned policy has serious drawbacks. Bowers expressed that, while some people may have been exploiting the elevator to ride with friends, those who need it also often need help with carrying their belongings, rendering the new policy ultimately harmful. “Honestly, [the policy] has been doing nothing but giving problems for students who are disabled,” Tadesse agreed.

Teachers play a crucial role in relieving the stress of tardiness for disabled students. Bowers shared that she received lunch detention due to receiving late passes while still adjusting to crutches. Tadesse shared that her counselor gave her a pass in case she had a “hard case” teacher, or ever needed to use the bathroom in the counseling office—a measure she said was especially helpful while in a wheelchair.

Campus navigation does not need to be this difficult. We all have an obligation to hold our school accountable to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act’s compliance standards, consider different elevator placement or a new elevator, and manage hallway crowding.

But student attitudes matter just as much as these formal measures. “People in the hallways aren’t mindful at all,” Bowers expressed. Tadesse added, “It all honestly starts from simple awareness and respect for peers.” In other words, kindness and consideration are key.