Our Accessible Date

Fun and accessible: our date in downtown Columbia

By Veronica Mohesky, Nicole Schroeder and Abby Mauer

As we went about finding locations for our assignment, our group encountered many instances of both accessibility and inaccessibility around Columbia. Although we started out with ideas of places that might be easily accessible to someone in a wheelchair, we quickly realized that there were often a host of other factors that could come into play in determining one’s access to a building. Even in locations where buildings’ entrances were initially accessible, we encountered situations of floors that were not flat, elevators or ramps that were hard to find without an employee’s help and counters or tables that were too tall to be accessible for someone in a wheelchair. The fact that our “date” took place on the same weekend as the True/False Film Fest only added to the challenge with larger crowds and more congested sidewalks than usual.

Part 1: Dinner

We decided we would begin our evening at Glenn’s Café, where we planned to meet our date and have dinner together. We chose Glenn’s after considering other restaurants downtown like Pizza Tree and Geisha Sushi Bar. As we walked into Glenn’s, we liked that the main entrance to the building was wide enough for a person in a wheelchair to pass through and that the pavement was relatively flat and even compared with some of the brick-paved entrances to other businesses. Once inside, the dining room was flat and open, which meant that maneuvering around chairs and other guests would be relatively easy. Tables were lower and had pull-away chairs to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. Although we didn’t look at them specifically during our visit, we remembered from earlier visits to Glenn’s that the bathrooms down the hall included accessible stalls.

Glenn’s wasn’t entirely perfect — at first glance, it seemed that the restaurant’s bar was inaccessible thanks to a step up into that half of the building. It was only after speaking with an employee that we learned a side door could be opened from the inside to allow access to a ramp for that section of the restaurant. However, compared with the other restaurants we tried, this was a relatively minor issue, as Geisha Sushi Bar’s door frame appeared too narrow for a wheelchair-user to enter the building and Pizza Tree’s main entrance included a step and take-out windows that were too high for someone in a wheelchair to easily reach. Although we later learned Pizza Tree did include an accessible entrance in the alleyway, this was so tucked away that we did not see this when we were originally looking at the restaurant. Ultimately, we decided to eat at Glenn’s thanks to the openness of the building and the ambience of the restaurant —after all, we were wanting to impress!

Part 2: Entertainment

As dinner came to a close, we walked and rolled to Ragtag Cinema to catch a movie. We chose Ragtag because their space is a bit more inclusive compared to meeting the bare minimum or not at all accessible. Many places I suggested for the date either had an accessible entrance in a sketchy side alley like The Mud Room, or half of the building was on a second floor and the business had no elevator like Skylark Bookstore. At Ragtag the ticket counter, water cooler, restrooms, and both theaters are easily accessible for wheelchair users with lots of seating options, not just one wheelchair space in the front or back of the theater. When we made it there we were in the mood to laugh, so we purchased tickets to the humorous ‘80s film starring Jackie Chan, Police Story. My date purchased the tickets and I grabbed the wine and popcorn. We did this because the ticket counter is wheelchair accessible while the high bartop is not (and I have specific taste in wine!). After that we chose our seats and chatted until the film began.

Part 3: Private time

After an exciting but exhausting day, we decided to go somewhere more private. We went back to a residence hall, because they are much more accessible than most apartments and houses in the area. Some apartments and houses that are not near campus require the use of buses, which aren’t always accessible for someone using a wheelchair. Many apartments and homes downtown tend to to be older and unrenovated, which means they are less accessible. Dorm rooms at MU, however, are surprisingly accessible! All of the residence halls are supposed to be accessible, so they have ramps and buttons to press to push open doors. They all also have elevators to get to higher floors. There are also accessible bathrooms and dorm rooms for wheelchair users. We could choose to go to the dorm room, if they do not have roommates. If roommates are in the way, then we can go to a study room for “studying”. Once we pick our location, we can cuddle, watch movies, talk or have consensual, protected sex. There are some downsides to dorm rooms, however. Thin walls, roommates and RAs can lead to a lack of privacy. If we wish to engage in more intimate activities, it could be difficult to do so privately. Residence halls are some of the more accessible places in Columbia, though, so we thought they would be the best.

Out total travel time was 22 minutes. It was a 5 minute walk/roll from Glenn’s to Ragtag, and then a 17 minute walk/roll home. Overall, the date went well and we learned which places we will and won’t go for our second date next week.