I’m hard of hearing. This means that I need accommodations inside and outside the classroom, and I work with accessibility services to get my needs met. Or, at least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. That hasn’t been the case.
Last year as a freshman, I completed the accessibility request form over the summer. I didn’t get a response until I showed up in front of accessibility services physically the day before classes. Then I got my accommodations after classes started. These include using a microphone in class that connects directly to my hearing aids and a flashing doorbell and fire alarm for my dorm room.
During the spring semester of 2026, a professor denied my accommodations in front of a full lecture hall. He turned to the class and asked, “Can anybody help her?” Beyond being incredibly insulting, it denied the effort and time I had taken to set up a learning system that worked for me. I had been using a microphone in the classroom for more than a decade at that point. His comfort denied my access to education.
It took me until the end of that semester to work up the courage to report him. I was afraid of the repercussions; this professor was known to be retaliatory. All I wanted was a written apology and an understanding of what he had done wrong.
I went to accessibility services, and they sent me to civil rights. Civil rights closed my case due to “lack of severity.” I emailed the Dean of the sociology department. He still hasn’t been able to get me an apology. I’m now preparing to speak to this professor in a meeting.
Why has this become my responsibility? I have gone through every avenue possible, and I have been failed by each one. It has been months, and this particular professor is now joking about being reported during his lectures. I should have been better supported, and I should have felt safe enough to report the man before the end of the semester.
This year, my doorbell never got installed. I’m writing this in week four of the semester. This is beyond being a doorbell; its primary purpose is a fire alarm. This is a safety issue. My roommate doesn’t sleep in my dorm every night. What happens when I don't hear a fire alarm? Or my resident assistant knocking? I’ve already missed multiple knocks from friends.
I’ve spoken to other students as an organizer, and they’ve been having the same issues. One hasn’t been able to go to class because they need permission to use the CatCab service, and accessibility services hasn’t granted it. Their access to education has been denied due to bureaucracy and a lack of support for their mobility issues. Another one waited weeks for a response to an email about housing. A third, like me, still doesn’t have her doorbell.
It’s a rare feat when someone brings up the accessibility services office in a positive manner.
This is not a malicious choice by accessibility services. It’s a decision being made by the Ohio University administration. Accessibility services is incredibly understaffed and underfunded. My accommodations advisor isn’t making the choice to ignore me; she doesn’t have enough time in the day to treat all of her students with the respect that they deserve.
I want to remind students that when the university fails them, it is not the fault of the faculty or the offices that have not been up to par. It is a fundamental lack in infrastructure, due to decisions that Ohio University Administration has made. There are names and faces behind your woes, and they should understand the harm that they have caused.
The Board of Trustees and President Gonzalez are denying my access to safety and education. They’re putting profit over students, and that’s manifesting in multiple ways. One is the lack of negotiation with the faculty union; the other is underfunding critical student services. The faculty union is ultimately driven for better student conditions. The Dean of Sociology can’t give me his full effort to resolve accommodations issues when he’s worried about his contract or is severely underpaid. When I speak to my professors, they are outraged by the treatment of both their coworkers and their students.
I am a student organizer because I want students to understand who the people are who are making decisions about your future. They are not invincible. Students need to show up, stay loud, and make these decision-makers uncomfortable. Administration’s comfort is our pain. Get involved, and remember that you pay the administration’s salaries. They work for you. Organizing is how we make change on this campus, and it’s how we are heard (pun intended).
Tess Warren
Honors Tutorial College, Sociology
Ohio Student Association
