Dear Next President,

I’m a high school senior who is a registered voter that is considering college options. I am excited about the opportunity to attend college, but I have a disability and I have a few ideas on how to make my life easier on campus with the challenges I might face.

Physical access to the buildings such as the classroom and dorms is very important because according to NCES eleven percent of students in any college has some kind of disability and will benefit from it. If we can’t even get to the classroom to learn then we shouldn’t be charged tuition.

Access to not only the classrooms and dorms but also access to the education, such as accommodation is important because if we don’t understand what is going on then we can’t succeed. Colleges need to have a better system to help young adults like me. Most colleges don’t have accommodation and what they do have isn’t help to all students with disabilities.

Technology access such as text to speech, could help people like me understand what is going on in the classroom. Technology in the college classroom can help people that are not fast typers, not fast readers or need to hear information again. For example, I’m not a fast writer to take notes and taking a classmates notes isn’t always that helpful.

Since I can’t drive myself yet and don’t know if I ever would, I have to take public transportation to college. Public transportation doesn’t go by every college, so if I wanted to go to a college like that, how would I get there?

During the day I need assistants with daily living activities. Would the school be able to provide with someone or would I need to do that myself. If I did provide them myself, would they be allowed to come and go as I need them.

Sincerely,

A concerned voter