UNM student Paul Smith doesn't have things easy when it comes to getting around campus.
In the place he used to park near his class in the Center for the Arts sits a big hole in the ground where UNM is building the Cornell parking structure. Smith now has to resort to parking much further away from his class.
This wouldn't be a problem for the average UNM student, but for Smith who is disabled and in a wheelchair, it is a huge frustration.
And parking isn't the only problem.
Once Smith gets all the way to the west doors of Popejoy Hall, he has to take an elevator to the second floor and go through two sets of doors that aren't automatic. The thresholds at the bottom of the doors make Smith's wheels skid, sometimes smashing his hand between the door and his wheels.
"Sometimes I feel like the thresholds are like Mount Everest," Smith said.
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After that, Smith travels the length of the Center for the Arts to an elevator that takes him to the first floor. Smith's journey, from car to class -- about 25 minutes, he said.
"We are trying to pay attention because we know how hard it is," Sabra Basler of UNM's Transportation Information Department said. When students, disabled or not, have trouble getting around campus, Basler's office and Parking Services try to help. Basler's office, which has only been open for two years at UNM, has a Web site to help those who need to stay informed about transportation on campus through daily reports.
"For someone who uses a wheelchair, they need to plug into that information," said Juan Candelaria, director of Accessibility Services and Upward Bound. "It's not easy for them."
Candelaria's office can't provide any help about handicap parking, but it can help make classroom accommodations for disabled people.
However, Smith's efforts to get help from other campus departments have been unsuccessful.
Smith asked Parking and Transportation services if he could park in one of the two loading spaces on the east end of Popejoy Hall and they said yes. The problem is that if UNM is loading there, Smith can't park, and if Smith is parked, UNM can't load. Candelaria blames this problem on UNM workers not knowing they are blocking places where handicapped students can park.
Smith also said that he tried to explain his problems with the doors and the thresholds to an administrator in the Art Building. Smith said the administrator told him that UNM is well aware of the problem. As for the aluminum thresholds, UNM can't take them out because wind would get into the buildings.
"My problem is insignificant because I only go for one class at a time," Smith said. "Anyone there for 12 credits must be going mad."
Brian Eagan of the Transportation Information Department said handicapped students don't have to buy parking passes, pay for campus meters or even travel the complete campus alone because of UNM's perimeter shuttle. The shuttle, which runs 6:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, circles the entire campus so students can better access campus. The department has even made wheelchair bags, available in the Accessibility Services Office, with the department's phone number on it so disabled students can call Basler and Eagan if they need help getting around.
"No one has been complaining to us," Basler said. In fact, UNM, according to ADA laws, has 250 more handicap parking spaces than are required by law, said Joe McKinney, University planner in the Department of Facility Planning. The University lost 17 spaces because of the construction near Popejoy, but has added more in other areas like the law school, he said.
Basler said she is committed to doing whatever it takes to help disabled students get around campus. She will go to places to open doors, give directions and even give complete tours of campus if a student needs her to.
"It's not all in my job description, but I do it," she said.
