The Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) conducted an audit in collaboration with Accessibility Resource Services (ARS) evaluating accessibility around campus on Oct. 20 and 22. This action was sparked by a student concern emailed to ASPC’s president, which prompted further conversation on how to make Pomona more accessible for all.
A student with a hip injury reached out to ASPC president Grace Zheng PO ’26 on Sept. 4, expressing the difficulty they experienced in getting around campus. At the Sept. 11 ASPC meeting, Zheng said it became clear ASPC needed to do more to address accessibility.
In addition to the email complaint, Zheng said senate members brought up other accessibility concerns like elevator issues in Alexander Hall or how “students on crutches are showing up late to classes.”
ASPC also discussed how some buttons for accessible entrances are not reliable, according to Zheng. She said she thinks the issue has worsened since Oct. 7, 2024, when protesters calling for Pomona to divest from companies and manufacturers supporting the Israeli government occupied Carnegie Hall.
Since then, according to Zheng, tap access to some buildings such as Carnegie has varied, resulting in unintended malfunctions in some accessibility features; she said that she thinks “departments have been more cautious about access to buildings.”
“Sometimes doors are closed and we don’t know why,” Zheng said. “We’ve talked to facilities and they said that it’s a departmental issue.”
During the audit, ASPC Senate Aide Samarah Lunde PO ’29 and an ARS student assistant walked around Pomona, assessing every elevator and entrance meant to be accessible in each academic and athletic building. They also checked features like ramps and door handles.
According to Lunde, although most elevators and automated doors were working, some buildings lacked adequate signage that would clearly show where elevators and accessible entrances are located.
“We ran into issues where we would follow all the signs at the building but we’d be confused,” Lunde said. “We’d be like ‘Is it this door? Is it farther down?’”
Additionally, Lunde found that some buildings like Lebus Court were especially inaccessible, which she attributed to buildings being older.
In an email to TSL, a Pomona College spokesperson said the college is working to address these issues.
“While older buildings may present challenges due to their original design; the College actively addresses these through retrofitting and upgrades,” the email said.
Following the audit, the identified issues were submitted to the Office of Facilities and Campus Services via work orders. The email stated that many of the work orders, “including wave-to-open buttons and automatic doors, have already been completed.”
Max Zonana PO ’26 is pursuing a career in disability rights advocacy and has had quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy since birth. He said in an email to TSL that he mostly agrees with Pomona’s approach to accessibility. However, he said that some buildings like residential halls are inaccessible, which is his biggest concern.
“Very few of my friends have rooms that are accessible because of stairs, which I think is unfair since Pomona is a residential college where dorm life is a big part of the experience,” Zonana said.
He also said he has been trapped in basements and second floors of other buildings at night because some elevators turn off after a certain time. After calling Campus Safety, he had to wait for them to turn the elevator back on.
“I commend ASPC for opening up a conversation around accessibility, but I doubt the audit will be effective with systemic change,” Zonana said in his email.
Although he’s skeptical about the audit, Zonana said that he remains positive about accessibility at Pomona.
“No place is perfect and there are many ways to improve, but I believe Pomona is one of the best colleges for people with physical disabilities, and the best one for me,” Zonana said.
“No place is perfect and there are many ways to improve, but I believe Pomona is one of the best colleges for people with physical disabilities, and the best one for me,” Zonana said.
In the future, when working to improve accessibility around Pomona’s campus as a whole, Lunde said she wants to bring more of the student body into the conversation.
“I’m still thinking of ways that we can be more active in involving Pomona students with accessibility,” she said.
In an email Lunde sent on Nov. 3 to the Pomona student body, she said that students with accessibility concerns can fill out an Accessibility Barrier Report Form, which brings digital or physical barriers directly to ARS’ attention.
Lunde said she wants to continue collaborative efforts with ARS, which Pomona’s spokesperson said “reflect our proactive approach to maintaining an inclusive environment where all students can navigate campus safely and comfortably.”
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