{"id":164843,"date":"2024-03-06T12:14:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T11:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=164843"},"modified":"2026-01-19T15:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:07:15","slug":"employees-in-wheelchairs-discuss-campus-adjustments-the-campus-should-be-accessible-for-everyone-not-just-for-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/03\/06\/employees-in-wheelchairs-discuss-campus-adjustments-the-campus-should-be-accessible-for-everyone-not-just-for-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Employees in wheelchairs discuss campus adjustments: ‘The campus should be accessible for everyone, not just for us’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the end of 2028, Erasmus University aims to have the campus accessibility in \u2018basic order\u2019. The project plan announces plans to address issues such as tactile paving, wheelchair-accessible toilets, heavy doors, steep ramps, fire alarms and more in the coming years. Adjustments are urgently needed, as employees Mike Duijn and Kristel de Groot know from personal experience. \u201cAccessibility currently falls short, to put it mildly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kristel and Mike hope the university will become more accessible to everyone: "The campus should be accessible not just for us, but for everyone."<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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The bathroom in question on the 18th floor of Mandeville.<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cSo, this is where I once fell flat on my face\u201d, Kristel de Groot, a PhD student at the Erasmus School of Economics and Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, points at the restroom on the eighteenth floor of the Mandeville building. Her workspace is just around the corner, making this the wheelchair-accessible restroom she uses on a daily basis. Due to a combination of rheumatism and an accident, she relies on a wheelchair. In the corner of the room is a shower. After a colleague had showered, the wet floor was slippery enough to cause Kristel to fall. \u201cThe feeling you get is that we need both an accessible toilet and a shower. Neither is a priority, so let\u2019s combine them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crossing a threshold<\/h2>

One floor below, Mike Duijn, managing director and researcher at Erasmus Business & Research Support, shares Kristel\u2019s sentiment. \u201cThe Board has good intentions to make the campus more inclusive, but the focus is on gender. They are a bit clumsy regarding accessibility.\u201d Mike has been in a wheelchair since a traffic accident at the age of four. Like Kristel, he can exert force with his upper body. They both emphasise that navigating this campus can be very different for wheelchair users without such strength or those in larger electric wheelchairs. \u201cMany toilets are already tight for me to manoeuvre into\u201d, Kristel gives as an example.<\/p>\n

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Kristel explains: "If the banister would start here already, I would be able to go down the stairs backwards. A trick I'm very proud of, and worked hard for. I just can't do that now. Is also not convenient for people with mobility problems."<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

With experienced individuals like Kristel, a team from Erasmus University conducted various audits across the campus. This resulted in a long list of points to improve. Changing the layout of some toilet spaces is also on the to-do list from the project plan. In the future, signage will be clarified, door swing directions changed, heavy doors lightened, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are making the campus accessible not just for us but for everyone\u201d, says Mike when discussing desired adjustments. The steps in front of the A-building, towards the aula \u2013 the elevator often doesn\u2019t work \u2013 are also challenging when your grandmother wants to attend your graduation, the revolving door is heavy if you\u2019re on crutches, climbing many stairs is a trial when you\u2019re pregnant.\u00a0 It\u2019s about universal design, designs that make the space accessible to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t