Alumni

STUDENT | EXTRA CREDIT

Opening Doors
David Kuriniec '08 sits in a wheelchair but stands up for disability rights by improving access and changing attitudes.

By Lindsay Beller

After David Kuriniec '08 documented inaccessible areas on campus, his efforts led to the installation of a button that opens the heavy doors on the library's second floor. (Photo by Chip Williams)

David Kuriniec ’08 sits in the Donnelley and Lee Library coffee shop, eating lunch and studying for an upcoming communications quiz with his aide, Katie Fitzgerald. Twenty minutes before his constitutional law class begins on the ground level of Young Hall, they get ready to go. Fitzgerald puts Kuriniec’s books in the backpack that hangs off his wheelchair and helps thread his arms through a denim jacket.

Kuriniec then maneuvers the joystick on the right side of his chair to propel himself toward the door, stopping along the way to talk with friends in the coffee line. Another student approaches to ask him about an assignment. “This is how it always is,” Fitzgerald says, as she waits for him by the door. Finally, they leave for class, where Kuriniec will contribute often to a lively classroom discussion about three U.S. Supreme Court cases.

Kuriniec has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects muscle coordination and body movement. He spends a lot of time studying and socializing on the first floor of the library where he can enter and exit through automatic doors with the push of a button. But until recently, he had limited access on the second floor. An elevator could take him upstairs, but he was unable to open the double doors that lead to several classrooms, computer labs, and study areas.

For Kuriniec, who has spent his life navigating buildings and other facilities in a wheelchair, this was unacceptable. While Lake Forest College accommodates his academic needs — moving his classes to accessible locations and allowing more time on tests — he cannot go everywhere he wants on campus and is now working with school officials to change that.

Last April, Kuriniec identified the inaccessible areas at Lake Forest and submitted a report to President Stephen D. Schutt. In September, the College installed automatic buttons in the library and the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel, a chair lift by the bookstore, and grab bars in bathrooms around campus. Kuriniec was also appointed as the student representative to the Board of Trustees Property and Operations Committee and the newly formed Ad Hoc Campus Accessibility Committee, which he hopes will make the College a more accessible place for the physically disabled. “There is a unique history of people with disabilities,” Kuriniec says. “By having a campus that is moderately accessible you miss out on an entire culture that can contribute a valuable perspective.”

Kuriniec has served as a disability rights advocate since he entered Stevenson High School in nearby Lincolnshire. “The first day of school I couldn’t get in the door,” he recalls. “There was a huge ramp but no button or mechanism to get inside.” He invited the school superintendent to sit in his wheelchair and try himself. Soon after, a button was installed.

His interest in disability issues was sparked in 2001 when he saw a news report about a lawsuit filed by professional golfer Casey Martin against the PGA Tour. Martin had poor circulation in his legs and requested a golf cart, but the PGA refused to accommodate his request. “I thought, the law is supposed to provide for equal protection,” says Kuriniec, a politics and communications double major who plans on attending law school and running for political office. “Why isn’t he being given this protection?”

The U.S. Supreme Court favored Martin, spurring Kuriniec to brainstorm ways to improve societal attitudes and physical access for the disabled. He contacted U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk’s office in Highland Park and asked the congressman to, among other things, work to improve access and increase the number of state driver’s license testing facilities for the disabled. Kuriniec, who got his license three years ago, also started www.differentability.org to raise disability awareness. He has spoken to groups around the country and received awards and recognition, although that is not why Kuriniec became an advocate. “I’m doing this because I feel something needs to be done and I’m stepping up,” he says. “I just care if things are made better for the greater number of people.”

Kuriniec is working to achieve this goal by gaining more political experience in preparation for an eventual run for office (he doesn’t know which one). Over the summer, he interned with Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, a national disability rights organization. He learned that the best way to make improvements is to work within the agendas of politicians and now interns with State Rep. Kathy Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, to develop her disability agenda. Through these efforts on and off campus, he has come a long way since first hearing about Casey Martin. “We need an accessible community,” he says. “That is the bottom line.”

Lake Forest College has become a more accessible place thanks to Kuriniec’s efforts. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed 16 years ago, colleges and universities have struggled to finance facilities upgrades and respond to the needs of their students. But with the formation of the Ad Hoc Campus Accessibility Committee, which will start meeting regularly in December, the College will become better equipped to address such issues proactively rather than reactively, says learning support specialist Teryn Robinson, who works with physical and learning disabled students. Kuriniec will be integral to that process. “His voice is very important on campus,” Robinson says. “He speaks in such a way that people will listen.” 

Lindsay Beller is the editor of Spectrum.