Disabled Student Criticizes University For Being Inaccessible To Wheelchair Users In Viral Video [Watch]

A video of a wheel-chair bound New England University student criticizing her school for being inaccessible to disabled pupils has gone viral on social media. The student also exposed several open violations of disability rules at her institute.

The Tiktoker Amy, known by the handle @dark.moon.witch, revealed the ordeal in a video captioned: "Love taking an 8 min route that takes an abled person 2 mins." The video has fetched more than 2.2 million views since it was shared earlier this week.

“Follow a disabled college student to class,” the overlay reads as the video begins by showing Amy seated in her wheelchair. The camera then spans to show a flight of stairs while the caption reads: “ADA violation #1. My class is up there. Only stairs and no sign directing you to the accessible route." Amy then takes another route to her class in her wheelchair while the caption reads: "Gotta take a long way."

American with Disability's Act ( ADA )was a landmark piece of legislation passed in 1990 to ensure the inclusiveness of people with disabilities and to provide equal opportunity for them “to participate in the mainstream of American society.”

As Amy takes the long route, she shows another hindrance on her way, a broken “Push to Open” button meant for wheelchair users in one of the doors. "ADA violation #2," she says. Amy is then forced to take another way out through a parking lot. "The only route out is so bumpy I almost tipped over," she adds. Before she finally reaches her class, she also shows a steep ramp that she calls "ADA violation #3."

The video sparked serious debates online about inclusiveness and accessibility issues in public spaces. Many viewers were infuriated after seeing the disregard by the institute, and they shared similar experiences from their campuses. "This made me think about my campus and realize how inaccessible it is," a viewer commented.

After repeated requests from several viewers to reveal the name of the university she attends, the Tiktoker revealed the name in a follow-up video. “I attend Salem State University. They are completely inaccessible,” she added. However, Amy said she has not registered with the institute's disability services for reasons she did not want to discuss at this time, Washington News Day reported.

Meanwhile, Sаlem Stаte University in Mаssаchusetts sаid in а stаtement to Newsweek, “We tаke very seriously our commitment to providing а cаmpus thаt is аccessible to аll students аnd we аre working to mаke improvements to our cаmpus on а regulаr bаsis.”