LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The recent shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has prompted concerns among students, especially those with physical impairments, about their safety during emergencies.
Natalie Matarazzo, a junior at UNLV, shared her experience, stating, "I had nothing. I had no idea what to do in that situation. I've never been in any situation like this, and I can only imagine what it was like for other people with disabilities."
Natalie emphasized the need for proactive steps and preparation, particularly for individuals with disabilities. Reflecting on the incident, she expressed, "You always think like it's not going to happen to you. Like, I don't need to worry until it happens. Like, we need to take steps to prepare for it. Especially people with disabilities like myself need to actually have like a plan and a prepared escape plan."
Despite having accommodations such as class breaks and notifying professors about her mobility aid usage, Natalie pointed out the absence of communication from UNLV regarding emergency procedures for individuals with disabilities. She remarked, "I never had sort of an evacuation plan, and should I have had that, I feel like it just would have made it a little bit smoother."
Bryan Hilbert, Director of the Disability Resource Center at UNLV, explained their approach to disability needs, stating, "We do yearly training with police services and on a variety of disability needs to understand disability and how to serve and work with them. And then those experts are taking that back and building in accessibility and thoughtfulness into those responsibilities."
However, despite these efforts, there is currently no individual evacuation plan in place for students with disabilities at UNLV. Hilbert emphasized, "We'll certainly consider something like that. But what I would really love to see is educating and empowering students to use the services and resources that are available."
Marcie Lipsitt, a disability advocate from Michigan, underscored the issue, stating, "Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act are about discrimination. If there isn't an evacuation plan for students that have a mobility impairment, a vision impairment, a hearing impairment. That's discrimination. That's blatant discrimination. And the Federal Office for Civil Rights will open that complaint for investigation."
Natalie reiterated the importance of addressing the unique challenges faced by individuals with disabilities during emergencies. She stated, "I think that the solutions are hard. Like you can't, like, accommodate every single person and their disability. But I think that we need to take higher steps to do that."
