Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill Campus is a hub of academic and social activity, but for students with disabilities, navigating its spaces can sometimes present unexpected challenges.
While efforts are made to ensure accessibility, some students and faculty say recent incidents have highlighted the need for better communication and proactive measures.
DJ Rosado, a student who uses a wheelchair to get around at NECC, shared his experiences with accessibility on the campus, emphasizing both positives and areas for improvement.
“My experience with accessibility on the campus is OK, but there are times when I feel like they should’ve done stuff sooner,” Rosado remarked.
Rosado went on to say, he recounted an incident where he was stuck in an elevator, the elevator just stopped working. This underscores the need of how important it is for the elevators to work properly and when concerns are reported, that timely assistance and support from campus facilities are addressed.
Rosado’s concerns extend beyond isolated incidents. “Last year, when I was taking two theater classes, they wanted to fix the elevator and without prior warning, they disrupted me in class to inform me that they would be shutting the elevator down and I had to leave the class. It upsets me because I wasn’t given advanced warning, and I lost valuable class time,” Rosado said. The lack of communication left him and his peers feeling frustrated and inconvenienced. I myself rely on the use of elevators for accessibility. The elevators in the C building and the Student Center are unreliable and at times hinder my ability to get to class.
My class had to be moved in the fall of 2023, because of the elevator not working, and I didn’t get notified until the last minute. So you can see that these issues have been going on for a while. Rosado and my experience further emphasizes the critical need for improved facilities, communication, and proactive measures to address accessibility concerns on campus. Northern Essex Community College is a great school with many great faculty members that want to see all students succeed. By fostering collaboration between students, faculty, and administration, we can continue to make NECC a campus environment that prioritizes accessibility and inclusivity.
