As a supervisor for University Recreation and an employee for three years, I have seen on a close and personal basis the tenacity, dedication and eager spirit of The University of Alabama’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams. Whether it be right as the facility opens at 5:30 a.m. or near closing time at 11 p.m., our University’s adapted athletes come into the Student Recreation Center each and every day hungry for success. They inspire me not only by their resilience, but by their kindness towards me and my fellow supervisors as we must do tasks for them that they are able to do for themselves, yet cannot because the Student Recreation Center is not fully accessible to their needs.
There are no people more deserving of a facility on this campus than our adapted athletes, and it crushes me to know that some people find the new adapted athletics facility a poor allocation of funding for our University. While scrolling through Facebook one day, I saw that one of my friends had shared The Crimson White’s article on the announcement of a gift for the construction of the new athletics facility. This gift was $3 million dollars, given by Mike and Kathy Mouron of Mountain Brook, Alabama, in order to help adapted athletics meet the requirement of raising half of the $10 million budget through gifts. Underneath the article, there is a comment by an anonymous user which reads, “Great – another example of spending big money and resources to accommodate .0001% of the population! Can we get transgender bathrooms and locker rooms going as well?”
This commenter is, in one way, correct. The new facility is going to be great and for numerous reasons. Our competitive and noncompetitive adaptive athletic students deserve the same feeling of comfort, enjoyability, accessibility and security that students without such disabilities receive through the Student Recreation Center and the Witt Center on a daily basis. With the entire adapted athletics program winning seven national championships since 2009 (women’s basketball in 2009-2011, 2015, men’s basketball in 2015 and tennis in 2013 and 2015), these students have proven that their potential in athletics is limitless.
However, in order to fully meet their potential year after year, these students need a facility that accommodates to their needs and allows them to be self-sufficient. Currently, our storage facilities at the Student Recreation Center are too small for our adapted athletes. While they are physically capable of handling their equipment, the size of these units makes what should be an easy process a complete hassle. I have witnessed the frustration of these athletes firsthand as they realize the current facility isn’t properly equipped for students in wheelchairs. Even more so, I have felt frustrated alongside these students, as I know they deserve so much greater than what our current facilities can offer.
While this facility may be catering to what the commenter likes to call “.0001%” of our students (though this is not true), I believe this new facility will be an amazing step forward by The University of Alabama that continues making our campus inclusive and comfortable for all. Not only will it help our current adapted athletes, but it will also bring more attention to our school for prospective students with a disability. Being the first facility of its kind on a university campus, this is just another example of The University of Alabama setting the standard for universities across the nation.
I am prouder than ever to be a supervisor for University Recreation. I believe that healthy, active lifestyles encourage us to succeed in various facets of life, especially education. As a student, I am extremely grateful for the two recreation centers that I not only work at, but also use and enjoy on campus. But today, I am even more grateful that I attend a university that realizes the need to make all students feel heard and appreciated, especially those that bring home seven national championships.
And yes, we have gender neutral bathrooms at both the Student Recreation Center and the Witt Center. Feel free to come by and use one anytime.
Morgan Nicodemus is a senior majoring in public relations. Her column runs bi-weekly.
