Whether on foot, by bus, by car or by bike, navigating a campus like NC State’s can take effort. With increased construction and transportation challenges on campus, students face new difficulties getting to classes.
For students who have temporary and permanent disabilities, these day-to-day challenges are only exacerbated. However, Mark Newmiller, the director of the Disability Resources Office, said he believes NC State has accommodated well so far despite its size.
“I think it depends on the mobility aid, but there are accessible paths across campus, and we have a map that highlights those,” Newmiller said. “And then there’s some signage as well. So they would just follow the accessible path, whether that be a wheelchair, motorized wheelchair, scooter or whatever mobility device that they’re using.”
Kimberly Montalban, a first-year doctoral student studying plant pathology, said NC State’s size contributes to difficulties getting around campus.
“Because the plant pathology department is spread into a lot of different buildings, I think it would make it just a little bit easier to not have to get a bus to move to a different campus to get to take classes,” Montalban said. “If everything was here in the main campus and not spread out, it might be nicer.”
While the Wolfline is open to all students and has accessibility features, students have become frustrated with long wait times and crowded buses.
Kaitlyn Inglett, a second-year studying mechanical engineering, said that commuting time, especially between Main Campus and Centennial Campus, has been an issue.
“I feel like more bus routes would be helpful,” Inglett said. “And I understand that might be a challenge for staffing because oftentimes bus routes are changing or altered because of staffing issues. So definitely supporting staff, whether it’s giving them more funding, wages or something to help the bus drivers to stay in the jobs.”
NC State Transportation requested a $4 fee increase for the 2024-25 academic year, and at the Oct. 4 Student Senate meeting, Director of Transportation Than Austin said this money will go to increase driver wages.
Besides the Wolfline, students can utilize the Wolfpack Pick Up Service, which was started by Paige Maxon, a former NC State student who also had a physical disability.
“Wolfpack Pick Up is a golf cart service with a few different golf carts, which are accessible,” Newmiller said. “And so they can point-to-point pick up students who either temporarily are having, you know, mobility difficulties, like they broke their leg or something like that, to long-term chronic conditions. So they go [online] and schedule appointments or rides from point A to point B.”
Newmiller said such innovations have a positive impact on the campus and its students.
“As the campus becomes more accessible, we’ll see a larger number of students who utilize mobility devices,” Newmiller said. “A student who may travel by wheelchair or use an assistive device may not choose NC State because of how it’s built. And so, once the campus is much more accessible, easy to get from point A to point B, more and more students will choose to come to NC State because they don’t have the topography as a barrier.”
