Our Accessible Adventure - Jennifer Fowler, Kori Clay, Jessica Ferguson

PART 1: Dining at Ingredient True Eatery

My date and I ventured to Ingredient True Eatery to begin what would be a remarkable evening. As I loped beside them, I noticed that they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the unforgiving nature of Columbia city sidewalks. We walked down Ninth street - an overwhelming focal point of hurried students dashing to class with Starbucks or Chipotle in tow. In spite of the constant bustling of rushing students and the inconsistency of the pavement, my date stayed in good spirits. We arrived at Ingredient and took a moment to scan the area, considering which spots were the most convenient and comfortable. We immediately ruled out booths, large or small. I sat our things on a nearby table and shuffled a few chairs over, so my date could sit without hassle. They wheeled through a wide walkway to reach the order station, which was low enough to where the cashier could see my date, and vice versa. After ordering our salmon flat salads, we went to the drink station, which proved to a bit more tricky. My date relented to hand me their cup to fill up with their fountain drink of choice, as we made our way back over to our table. While the restaurant was comfortable for me to maneuver, it was not as spacious for my date. The walkways between tables and booths were narrow and tight, so I made the choice to scoot tables and chairs over so my date wouldn’t feel squeezed in. From then on, we leaned into one another and talked throughout dinner.

PART 2: A Screening of the Florida Project

The walk from Ingredient to Memorial seemed longer than normal due to the fact that we couldn’t enter through the entrance by the steps. We entered through the back entrance of Memorial because we didn’t know what room the movie screening would be held in. After entering through the North entrance we found that the movie screening was in Memorial South. Our instinct reaction was to walk through the archway in order to transition into the South entrance; however, to be accommodating to our date it wouldn’t be possible to enter through the archway. We had to take the elevator, which was small and smelled,  to the bottom level of Memorial. After exiting the elevator we had to find an elevator that would be under the South side of Memorial Union. After finding the final elevator we were then in Memorial. It was different to take in account how difficult it is to transition from the different sides of Memorial. We watched ‘The Florida Movie Project’ in Wrench Auditorium. We initially wanted to sit in the back of the auditorium but found it the only accessible seats were in the front. And the seat consisted of a desk for an automated or manual chair. I did not feel at ease sitting in the front of the auditorium as I wanted to sit in the middle. I noticed that the reality of using a wheelchair leaves those wheelchair users without an option or choice. It takes away their right to pick where they want to sit while watching the movie and positions them in a way that seems as if they aren’t apart of the experience of watching the movie. We also found that the chair in Memorial was also extremely narrow. The auditorium is used for multipurpose use; therefore, if this was used for a classroom a wheelchair user would automatically have to sit in the front.

PART 3: Talk in the Dorm

After leaving the Florida Project in Memorial, we headed to my dorm for dessert and alone time to further get to know each other.  During our journey on the sidewalk I became anxious because I wasn’t sure what the most convenient way to get to a wheelchair accessible entrance was because I never gave it much thought. Finding a way for Michael to get into the movie was enough of a challenge, I was hoping for a smooth transition entering the next building. The steps that I walk up and down to enter and exit the Gillett, Hudson, and Rollins Residence Halls for the first time ever became an obstacle. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a ramp going along the side of the building at the main entrance, something Memorial Union should also consider as an effort to make everyday experiences on Mizzou’s campus easier. Once we entered the building I again came to the realization that Rollins has so many stairs! The elevator was conveniently placed right at the entrance, and we took it to the top to order a slice of cheesecake from the dining hall. I managed to clear a path amongst the scattered chairs and tables that were very close together to a spot for us to sit and wait for our order to be called. Once, we received our dessert we went down the elevator to ride another elevator to the third floor. I regretted not staying in the spacious community area that had a table, couches, and chairs that we passed in the hallway on the way to my bed-room because we would’ve had more space. Usually, when I have guest we sit on my bed, but considering it was elevated a little higher off of the ground for storage purposes I sat in my desk chair as we ate are pieces of cheesecake at my desk.