Whaley added that he had heard the elevator had caused some problems, but didn't know they were still going on. Jesse said attempts to fix the elevator have had limited success. Alliance for Disability and Students of UM member Lincoln Bauer said he wonders if the elevator would even pass a safety inspection in its current state. Jesse said the elevator, though it shakes and grinds due to the leaking oil, is perfectly safe for students to use. Marks said that 5 percent of UM students have a disability, and a high number of those involve mobility impairments.
Disability discrimination means limitation or denial to equal access.
Moving next semester's classes to buildings with disability access would be extremely difficult, since there are about 25 students affected, Marks said. Also, accessibility in the rest of the buildings on campus is marginal as well, he said. The best bet is just to fix the elevator, Marks said. Jesse said that if the student building fee request does not go through, they will look for alternative ways to fund the repairs. Please include you full name, address, and current phone number so that we can verify the letter's authenticity.