By: Morgan Huizar
If you’re like most University of the Incarnate Word students, you have probably taken the elevator to get around campus. But what you may not realize is that you can be creating an obstacle for those of us who are disabled.
Ever since I have been at UIW, I have had trouble getting on the elevator, not because it is slow or because it does not work, but because able-bodied people were using it and not allowing people like myself with a disability to get onto the elevator.
I was born with a disability called spina bifida, a severe condition that occurs when a fetus’s spine does not close completely during embryonic development. It can lead to symptoms like incontinence, hypoesthesia (loss of feeling or numbness), and leg paralysis. Some babies need surgery after birth, and others may need lifelong care and support.
Three years ago, I arrived at UIW as a Communications Arts student, worked as a staff writer for The Logos and now sideline reporter for UIW Athletics while being wheelchair bound.
The elevator situation continued and I met more people with disabilities. They told me that they experience the same things I do – people ignoring signs, not moving out of the way to enter and people giving them dirty looks.
I joined the Student Government Association (SGA) in 2024 to try to fix the issue with the elevators, and I even started an awareness campaign.
We were going to put a wrap on the big elevator in the Administration (AD) Building, but facilities management deemed it “not necessary” because they did not see the issue we were describing.
After our idea was shot down, I lost all hope that this situation would ever be resolved.
As a Senator of Special Interest at that time, I was able to organize an event called Infinity in Unity, where the SGA brought out 10 wheelchairs to Dubis Lawn for the entire UIW community to experience life in a wheelchair and help others become mindful of those who have disabilities.
Although the event was fun, there was no real traction with people being mindful of the use of the elevator and the situation had gotten worse. I constantly had to wait for two elevator turns just to get on and began to be late for classes.
Luckily, my professors understood my situation and had no problem with me being late, knowing it was out of my control.
A few years passed and I just got used to it, but one instance that put me over the edge this semester wasn’t affecting me; it was my colleague Sydney Dungan and her service dog Reba.
They were not allowed in the elevator.
I spoke up and nobody moved. Instead, we waited for it to be cleared for about 15 minutes.
Dungan is a senior at UIW studying music composition, and she has been dealing with the elevator issues longer than I have.
“Frankly, it’s been awful,” Dungan said.
She has severe mobility issues due to spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease, which requires Reba to be near her at all times.
“I’m physically incapable of going up and downstairs most days,” Dungan said. “Trying to get to my classes on time is basically like going into a melee.”
Dungan believes UIW students should be more considerate of individuals with disabilities.
“When riding public transport, people move for those who need the seat. Why can’t the same principle be applied to elevators?” Dungan said.
Dungan states that a simple issue in bottlenecked elevators can be solved if UIW could improve awareness of disabilities and for students to develop consideration for others.
“I know most people don’t really have to think this way… but being able to walk without crippling pain every day and without the need of assistance of some kind… Saying it’s taken for granted is an extreme understatement,” Dungan said.
Dungan and I went to the Student Disability Services (SDS) office to air our grievances, and fortunately, they listened.
Shortly after, they created a sign that said, “Show your Cardinal love. Before entering elevator, look around you, give priority entrance to: Disabled Persons, Service Animals, Pregnant Women, and Elderly.”
Maria Robledo, an advisor to the SDS office, stated students with mobility-related disabilities should feel safe in their community and that students who don’t have disabilities need to keep in mind that historically, elevators were put in place for those in need.
“The challenge we are facing now with the elevators is relatively new,” Robledo said. “Having two elevators is helpful…However, students and the public in general with disabilities that are not visible should have access to the elevator as well.”
Robledo calls for students who do not have a disability to use the stairs and consider doing the right thing to allow disabled individuals, pregnant, elderly and service dogs priority use.
“Bottom line is students must have access to programs, services and opportunities at UIW,” Robledo said.
UIW professors seem to acknowledge this issue and hope that fellow students will become more empathetic.
Gabriel Saxton-Ruiz is one of those professors. He’s approaching 10 years of teaching modern languages at UIW and doesn’t have a good relationship with elevators – he’s claustrophobic.
Saxton-Ruiz regularly avoids elevators, except when hauling heavy boxes or visiting Incarnate Word Sisters in the Agnese Sosa building.
His office is next to an elevator in the AD Building and has a front row seat for large groups of students who congregate to only ride a floor or two.
“To be honest, it doesn’t make much sense to me for students or staff without mobility issues or without heavy equipment to rely on elevators in a building that is decidedly not a skyscraper,” Saxton-Ruiz said. “A cultural shift toward courtesy and common sense would go a long way.”
Another common issue I face is the constant “out of service” sign posted on the entrance. Even though the AD building was built in 1922, it’s fair for elevators to inevitably get stuck, but Saxton-Ruiz speculates the problem could stem from chronic overcrowding.
“People [are] packed in there like sardines,” Saxton-Ruiz said.
“It’s deeply frustrating to know that disabled students often have no control over this situation. Elevators aren’t a convenience for them; they’re a necessity. When elevators are overcrowded, out of service, or treated as optional escalators, the burden falls disproportionately on those who already face access barriers.”
I want to be an advocate for those who may be afraid to speak up, and hope people will think twice before using the elevator.
Wellness encompasses many dimensions, but I’m focusing on physical, and encouraging stair use when appropriate is one of the simplest, most practical ways to support it.
A campuswide initiative promoting this, paired with explicit messaging about elevator priority, would be a meaningful step.
But perhaps some folks prefer to discuss wellness in abstract terms rather than taking concrete steps to improve daily practices. Pun fully intended.
it’s not just a “courtesy” issue, it’s an access issue. Elevators aren’t a convenience for disabled students, they’re a necessity, and too many people still treat them like a personal shortcut instead of shared accessibility infrastructure.
What really stood out to me is how long advocacy has been happening here SGA campaigns, awareness events, lived experience and still being dismissed as “not necessary.” That part is infuriating, because accessibility doesn’t become real only when it inconveniences able-bodied people. It becomes real when disabled students say there’s a problem. Period.
The Sydney and Reba moment is especially unacceptable. A service dog and their handler being blocked from an elevator shouldn’t even be a conversation that’s basic decency and basic access.
This isn’t about shaming people for using elevators it’s about building a culture of awareness, respect, and priority. Small choices add up. If you’re able-bodied and can take the stairs, you should. If you see someone who needs the elevator, you make space. That’s community. That’s humanity.
Thank you for writing this and for continuing to advocate even when you’ve been ignored. Voices like this matter and so do the students who rely on access every single day just to get to class.
Thank you guys for the opportunity
As an administrator and faculty member at UIW, the experience of Morgan and of other students with disabilities, is in many ways disappointing. It is disappointing to think that the rest of our students are not aware that their own peers around them with different needs might need to have priority on use of the elevator. Another student of mine with a disability has expressed to me the exact same frustrations concerning elevators that Morgan talks about in his article. As an institution whose name invokes The Incarnate Word, Morgan’s article reminds us that charity calls for self-sacrifice. In the case of students who must use the elevator, it is a challenge to simply let them use the elevator first. I hope that more students will listen to Morgan.