I had a little too much fun on Super Bowl Sunday and broke my foot. I thought nothing of it at first; “I have crutches for a few weeks, this can’t be too terrible.”

I was so wrong.   As of right now I have been in a brace and crutches for three weeks. The hardest part about having anything broken is the inconvenience. Central has never seemed so big until it takes you 20 minutes to hobble to class.

Let me quickly walk you through my daily life the past week…I wake up and have to stumble down the stairs on my butt, I get ready and crutch out the door. Now, I have to rely on rides from friends, because screw walking to class with a broken foot. After my class at Shaw-Smyser, I have 10 minutes to walk to the second floor of the Science Building. It usually takes me around 20 minutes and by that time I’m exhausted, my foot hurts and my professor is mad because I am late yet again. I go home, climb up the stairs on my knees, prop my foot up and be lazy for the rest of the day. I’m going crazy.

Even though the broken foot is awful, I’ve been surprised at how helpful people have been and at how disability-accessible buildings on campus are. All of my classes are on the second or third floor of the building. I was dreading the climb until I realized that there are elevators in every building (except for the basetties). Not only does every building have elevators but they have automatic front entrance doors. So instead of wobbling up stairs and trying to wiggle through doors with crutches, the campus has made it easy on me by being up to date with handicapped accessibility.

I took it upon myself to put Central to the test. I contacted Disabilities Services to see exactly what the office does to help the disabled students on campus. Disability Services (DS) is there to make the lives easier for disabled students. DS helps with academic accommodations. I found that on the DS website there was a lot of helpful information for students with all different kinds of disabilities; there is even a disabled parking request form if you have a parking pass. Hallelujah.

Not only is the campus itself equipped, but students are eager to help. Not five minutes goes by when I’m walking through campus when I don’t hear “Hey, do you need help?” or a “would you like help walking to class?” People are eager to open doors and help me carry things. I’m thankful for the outpouring of consideration for just a little broken foot.

This campus and the students on it have made me even more proud to be a Wildcat.