Over the course of two semesters at The University of Akron, I have encountered numerous friends and students that are unable to fully participate in or efficiently get to class.

The realization that some people struggle with these various tasks came to me when I had to help a friend on crutches make the trek from the CBA to Ayer. She could not carry her own backpack and we had to make at least five stops each time to allow her to catch her breath.

If one were to look at the “Akron wind tunnel” from the Polymer building to Bierce Library, that person would probably see a gentle incline on a brick road. What people do not see is that getting to class on campus is a real problem for those who are injured.

For my friend on crutches, the gentle, brick road was no walk to Oz for her. Not only did she have the arm workout of her life, but she had to do the same thing every day for the following two weeks.

The majority of people on campus choose not to take the elevators in the buildings; either because one does not want to look lazy, or more likely because of the sensation that your final moments might be in the old elevators as it feels like they could give way at any time. However, those who are injured are forced to wait the strenuous time it takes for some elevators to arrive at your floor.

Fortunately there was no snow while I was helping my friend, but unfortunately the only flat surfaces there are to walk on campus are the sports fields she physically could not play on. From the brick roads, to the uneven sidewalks, to the risky elevators her time on crutches was a battle against the campus.

It is already difficult to be on crutches, but add a treacherous campus into the situation and the motivation to climb to class is lost. The Roo Express cannot help everyone. When you can, help those who have it harder than you.