MAKING CAMPUS ACCESSIBLE FOR DISABLED STUDENTS 435
Making Campus Accessible for Disabled Students
1 I’d like to ask you to use your imaginations and think how it would feel if you’d spent an
evening studying for an exam. You get up in the morning all set to go to classes, you go down,
you get to your door, and it won’t open. You think, “Oh, I can just use my back door.” But you
go to your back door, and that won’t open either.
2 It would be pretty frustrating, wouldn’t it? That’s the kind of frustration handicapped stu-
dents feel when they can’t get to class because of the snow. And that’s the same kind of frustra-
tion I found when I tried to get my scooter through the snow and it short–circuited because it got
so wet from the snow.
3 Now there are many reasons that campuses could be inaccessible, but what I would like
to address today is the inaccessibility of this campus due to the uncleared snow. You may think,
“This is never going to affect me,” but sadly it could. By accident or illness, it could become a
problem for you.
6 A fellow handicapped student shared his story with me. He is a quadriplegic; he has no
use of his arms or his legs. He directs his scooter with a wand by his chin. He tried to get through
the snow this winter, and he tipped over and was hurt. This is unfair, and it’s dangerous. Why
should he have to jeopardize his life just to try to get to class? And why is it fair for him to be
kept out of class when he has paid for classes out of his pocket just like you and just like me? I’ve
heard the same kinds of horror stories from several handicapped students. The fact remains that
the snow creates a barrier that we just cannot pass through, and that barrier really creates a signif-
icant problem for us.
7 The second component of this problem is that the Americans with Disabilities Act, a civil
rights act that was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 1990, prohibits discrimi-
nation and requires that barrier–free access to any public accommodation be given to the handi-
capped students. The university is in violation of this act. Let me read part of it for you: “People
with disabilities have the right to full and equal access to any facility or accommodation of any
436 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
public place. They have the right to make a request for acceptable services by that public accom-
modation.” I believe that language is clear: “full and equal access.” And we’re not getting that.
That’s why I believe the university is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
9 Second, the university should set priorities to the areas that the handicapped students
need. In an interview with Gene Turk of the Grounds Department, I learned of the university’s
priorities. He says that first the stairs and the hills are taken care of. Then the parking lots and the
sidewalks are cleared by the plows. There was never any mention of the ramps or the curb cuta-
ways that we handicapped students need. We’re not getting a fair deal here. That’s why I think
the university is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The university needs to set as
priorities the areas that we need—the ramps and the curb cutaways.
10 The third component of my solution would address the lack of personnel in the Grounds
Department. The university should hire a staff member who could focus on those areas that hand-
icapped individuals need to get around. Some of you may be wondering, “How much would this
cost?” A forty–hour week, at eight dollars an hour, would be $15,000 dollars a year, plus benefits.
The official published university budget is $1 billion. Surely, they can find, in a budget that big,
funding for $15,000 to hire someone who could make this campus accessible to all of us.
11 In closing, I really believe this is a workable solution. If the university were to go ahead
and adopt this policy, it would fulfill the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and
make this campus accessible, providing full and equal enjoyment for those of us who are the
handicapped students. Won’t you help me effectuate this change? Please consider signing a peti-
MAKING CAMPUS ACCESSIBLE FOR DISABLED STUDENTS 437
Making Campus Accessible for Disabled Students
Commentary
“Making Campus Accessible for Disabled Students” shows how students can construct speeches on
matters of local concern. The speaker, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, addressed the audience while
seated in her scooter. Here is a synopsis of the speech, with special attention to how it utilizes the meth-
ods of persuasion discussed in Chapter 17 of the textbook.
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the University of Wisconsin–Madison should change
its snow removal policy to make campus more accessible to handicapped students.
Central Idea: The University of Wisconsin should change its snow removal policies to solve the prob-
lem of inaccessibility to handicapped students.
Method of Organization: Problem-solution
Introduction: Consisting of paragraphs 1–4, the introduction begins with a hypothetical scenario that
allows students who are not disabled to imagine themselves in a situation akin to that of a hand-
icapped student who cannot get to class because of the snow. The speaker then tells her audi-
ence: “You might think this never is going to affect you, but, sadly, it could. By accident or
Body: Organized in problem–solution order, the body of this speech contains two main points. The first
details the problem of inaccessibility to campus for handicapped students because of the un-
cleared snow (paragraphs 5–7). The second presents the speaker’s solution to the problem (par-
agraphs 8–10).
Both points are amply supported with evidence. In the problem section, the speaker uses
statistics and examples to demonstrate that there is a need to change the university’s snow re-
moval priorities. In the solution section, she uses testimony from a member of the Grounds De-
438 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The speaker also makes effective use of reasoning in both main points. In the first, she rea-
sons from principle in arguing that the university is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Her reasoning is as follows:
a. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires equal access to all public facilities for
people with physical disabilities.
b. The university’s policy of snow removal does not provide equal access for students
with physical disabilities.
c. Therefore, the university’s policy of snow removal violates the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
In her second main point, the speaker reasons from analogy by contending that the city of
Madison’s snow removal policy is also appropriate for the university. If that policy works in the