I have always had a disability (or what ever the “P.C.” term is), but I use to be able to walk. Fifteen months ago I had a head-on collision just a few hours after paying off my car. Although I'm slowly getting back on my feet, my wheelchair will close by from now on. I decided to return to MSU, after graduating two years ago, to keep my brain from rotting as the rest of me is rehabilitating. Silly me, I thought navigating the campus was going to be easier on wheels. Although some progress has been made in the area of disability accommodations, it's been slow. So, I have compiled a modest list of tips on how to navigate the campus on wheels for those of you . . . well, for all of you, because you never know when you might need it.
1. Schedule as many of your classes as possible in the Liberal Arts building. In regard to accessibility, it's perfect. The elevator is centrally located, saving travel time between classes. ALL the restrooms are properly wheelchair accessible, and spaced efficiently around the building so there's no need to make an out of the way trip to find one that will work for you. Accessible parking is also adequate and the ramps are safe. Clark Student Center is great too, for all the same reasons.
2. If you have professors with offices in the Fowler building, be prepared to communicate with them chiefly by phone, e-mail, smoke signals or any other method that doesn't require getting to their offices, because if your chair is any bigger than mine, and most are, you'll have a hard time fitting into the elevator. If you are new to Fowler, the entrance ramp is not too obvious, but it's there in the rear. Remember, backdoor guests are best.
3. If you have to get from the Liberal Arts building to Fain Fine Arts, find ways to make yourself as visible to motorists as possible while you cut through the Liberal Arts parking lot, as there are no ramps to allow you to cross the street directly. Otherwise, I suggest wearing bright colors, flairs, bells, whistles, sirens, or whatever makes you feel safer. Another option is to go through the student center, cross the street at Killingsworth, and trek back down the block. Moving at 4.5 M.P.H., it takes me about seven minutes longer to take that route in good weather, so allow extra time.
4. If you have business to tend to with the office of Institutional Research, you will need to resort to the communication tactics mentioned in tip No. 1, because they are located on the little-known third floor of the Hardin building. The elevator doesn't go up there.
5. If you have classes in Fain, use the restroom before you go. There are no stalls your chair will fit into there. There are handrails on some stalls, but if you aren't able to stand and take a few steps or at least put weight on your legs to transfer, it won't work. The same is true of the library.
6. You may have noticed, on the Bea Wood side of the Liberal Arts parking lot, a very nice, new ramp that goes up onto the median. It goes no where. It looks like it might lead to a good place to cross the street and stay out of parking lot traffic, but once you're on the median there is no way off the other side.
7. If you use a manual wheelchair, you have my utmost respect and admiration. I advise you to take as many internet courses as possible. Since that isn't a realistic option, I want to warn about the following ramps: the corner of Wigwam and Tepee streets, the middle of Comanche between CSC and the Ferguson building, on Caddo Street near the Fowler building and behind Bolin going to the rear parking lot. Theses ramps are dangerously steep. The one on Caddo Street has a hole at the bottom of it roughly the size of a compact car.
8. Going to the library? The doors are HEAVY; you may want to take a friend.
9. Have you noticed the “wheelchair crossing” on the corner of Nocona Street and Louis J. R. Drive ? I'm not sure motorists will pay more attention to it than a regular crosswalk, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'd like to see these crossing spread to heavy traffic areas. The existing one is at a busy intersection, but out of the way for most students trying to get around between classes. Anyway, it's was a nice thought.
10. It has recently been called to my attention that the MSU shuttle bus is now equipped with a chair lift. I haven't had the opportunity to try it for myself yet, but I can't wait to do so. I want to encourage all of you wheelchair occupants to give it a try. The university is trying to help us out.
These are just some obstacles I encounter in my own routine at MSU. This list is by no means a definitive wheelchair user's guide to the campus. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I would also like to acknowledge the ramp on the corner of Council and Caddo. The recent resurfacing of Council Drive has moved that ramp off my “most hazardous” list, and made the Hardin building safer and easier to access. The progress has not gone unappreciated.

Being around idiots leads to accidents
Camron Rushin | Managing Editor

When I was a kid, I used to be very accident prone. Now you might think that I was a klutz or something, but I was not. I was so well balanced, I could stand on my head for several minutes. I could probably still do this; I just haven't tried it in a while.
I used to climb all over the kitchen cabinets and around the sink. I would drive my mother crazy. She always said I was going to fall and hurt myself, but I never did.
One story my parents always like to tell, was about the time they were unable to find me when I was 2-years-old. Being an expert climber that I was, I had climbed on top of the refrigerator and was hiding. They finally found me and had no idea how I got up there. I have no idea how I got there either, I don't even remember it happening.
Of all the crazy things I did, I can't remember once when I actually hurt myself. There always seemed to be some dummy around who inflicted pain on me and caused several hospital visits.
Like this one time when I was six. My brother who was 10 was showing off how strong he was by picking me up with one hand. I probably weighed 20 lbs, so this was no spectacular feat. Anyway, he was holding me above his head and I began to tip forward. He lost balance of me and I fell on my head. I didn't stop crying until I noticed the inch-long gash missing from my ankle.
My ankle had hit a metal ceiling fan during the fall and my leg was sliced open. I actually thought this was pretty cool, my mom became so hysterical she had to get my aunt to drive us to the hospital. (Oh yeah, my mom got hysterical in every one of these situations and someone else had to drive me to the hospital.) I was then the proud owner of seven stitches.
On another occasion, one of my friends put me in a rabbit cage. (Now you might get an idea of how small I was.) Like an idiot, he picked up the cage and began to shake it around. He stopped when he saw blood gushing from my forehead. My eyebrow had been sliced open by a piece of wire. I probably needed stitches, but we opted for butterfly tape. I still have a huge scar on my eyebrow.
The first time I had been knocked out, I was playing Nerf basketball on our solid wood door. I was jumping off the couch so I could dunk. My brother thought he would be clever and grabbed my foot when I jumped. I don't really remember the rest, but I know it hurt when I returned to consciousness.
Another time, I was playing baseball in one of my friend's swimming pools. We were using one of those plastic Nerf, popping guns as a bat. (It seems like those safe, Nerf toys had a lot to do with my pain as well.) My friend swung the gun around and the end of it flew off and hit me in the mouth. It felt like I had just busted my lip, I had in fact split my lip in half. That was three stitches.
When I was in high school, I had to take a P.E. class because I was on the golf team. P.E. pretty much consisted of the kids too skinny or too lazy to play football, and all the thugs.
We were playing basketball on the day before Friday the 13th and as I was going for a lay-up a round mound of rebound straight-up pushed me while I was in the air. I came down on both my hands. I could hear the crunch of my wrists against the floor.
I lifted my left hand so I could look at it. My wrist was somewhere near my metacarpals. I was scared to look at my right wrist. I just kept thinking that if it were broken as well, how was I going to use the restroom? Luckily, it wasn't broken.
So, the moral of my story is, stay away from people and Nerf toys, or hang out with people you can mangle.