The Undergraduate Student Government established a committee in December 2006 to look into possible problems handicapped students may have on campus. The report found multiple barriers to campus accessibility for handicapped students and faculty alike.

The report found multiple cracks in the pavement that students using a wheelchair or crutch would find difficult when moving about. In particular, it found the path between the Physics building and the Earth and Space Science building steeped with several large cracks that some students using wheelchairs have reported to be ‘uncomfortable.’

Some buildings have limited accessibility to wheelchair users, such as containing only one door that can be opened electronically, which the report stated as ‘clearly inhibits accessibility.’

Photos in the report indicated the limited accessibility of the sidewalks and streets of the University. While this may not affect the average student, the safety of handicapped students, such as wheelchair is severely endangered. For instance, one photo read with the caption, ‘This raised ground in front of Life Sciences is extremely dangerous for wheelchairs to go over because the chair could actually flip over.’

The West Apartments, some of the newest buildings on campus, do not have wheelchair access or elevators.

In March, multiple handicapped parking spots were blocked from the Feb. snowstorms. This issue went unresolved for weeks until the USG sent a resolution to the Administration threatening to contact outside authorities if the handicapped spots were not cleared. In an interview with Trevor Hirst, the Vice-President of Student Life, Hirst assured the Statesman that the spots were unblocked within hours after the resolution was passed.

After the report, the USG Senate requested from the University for all these problems to be addressed in consideration of the Disability Support Services, which serves over 600 students in Stony Brook.