By VALERIE METREJEAN

Staff Writer

Tech's administration plans to make the campus more accessible to all students after being approached by concerned Student Government Association members.

Lindsey Mencacci, SGA vice president and a senior biology major, said Damien Delrie, director of technology for SGA and president of the Association of Students with Disabilities, petitioned the SGA for funds to finance the installation of a push-button handicap accessible door in Hale Hall.

"After going to the administration and getting no response, it is refreshing to know the SGA will stand up and back the [ASD]," Delrie, a junior computer information systems major, said.

"Dr. [Dee Dee] Anderson made it clear that she is there to help, but had not been addressed about this issue yet," Mindy Nunez, a committee member and liberal arts senator for SGA, said.

Delrie said according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, any government, state or educational building must meet requirements to comply with any American with a disability.

"It should not be a matter of whether it is a law or not," Delrie said. "It is a matter of providing facilities for all students to use."

Shortly after approaching Anderson, the committee will be getting results.

"Since the meeting, Anderson has requested a proposal to find the high traffic areas around campus to find out where [push-button] handicap accessible doors are most needed," Nunez, a senior political science major, said.

Nunez said there is money in the SGA's budget for a push-button handicap accessible door, but it is simply a matter of figuring out where it would be most useful.

"The plans for Hale Hall were laid out years ago and to change them would be more costly than to change it after it was built," Nunez said.

Eric Jackson, a senior political science major and a member of the committee, said if there is a great enough need, then Tech is more than willing to see that it is fixed.

The administration and SGA are trying to reach a solution for this situation and no terms have been met yet.

Brandon Davis, a committee member and sophomore electrical engineering major, said the committee discussed that Hale Hall is an unlikely spot to put in a push-button handicap accessible door because it would benefit few students.

Delrie said he believes the entrance will help Tech be seen as a more respected university.