For many students, the DRC (Disability Resource Center) is known for their testing accommodations for students who need to take their exams in a quieter environment or with more time allocated. The DRC is also where students request ESAs. However, the DRC has a variety of other services, such as the Mosaic Program. With new construction in the works, DRC renovations plan to better accommodate students with physical disabilities.
“Right now one of the biggest projects is the UC renovation. We’re on the third floor, we work with disabled students, and the elevator breaks occasionally,” Michelle Rigler, Executive Director of the DRC and Mosaic Program said. “With the UC renovation, they’re putting us on the second floor with a ramp that goes right into the space where we’re going to be.”
In addition to this change, all auditorium spaces are going to be flattened and made fully accessible for students who use wheelchairs.
“The Mosaic program also falls under the disability resource center. It has four main components that [the students] participate in.” Rigler said. “They take a class that has a letter grade attached to it, and they have to participate in all four components to earn that letter grade. ”
One component is the peer mentor program, where another UTC student is paired with a student in the Mosaic program.
“A peer mentor is someone who’s a social leader, someone who’s kind of comfortable with the social nature of college. “They pair up and they do stuff like go have coffee, go to the library together, sometimes they go off campus and go hiking,” Rigler explained. “It’s just someone who can practice social skills with the students.”
Freshman and Mosaic student Will Kelly said, “I can tell you firsthand that it’s not just about making sure you can do your work effectively. We have people on leadership that plan very fun activities for us to participate in.”
In addition to peer mentorship, students work alongside a professional staff member to go over their progress in classes and other aspects of life.
“It’s not counseling, but it’s coaching,” Rigler explained.
Freshman Luc Sun, a student in the Mosaic program, said, “The organizations help me with schooling and education, but are also a great resource for helping me study for my classes.”
To address student feedback, the DRC plans to expand their services.
“We had a few students come to us and say that they wanted to have some sensory friendly spaces on campus,” Rigler explained. “We have our sensory tent, which we’re planning to replace because it’s old, and we do have sensory rooms in a lot of the residence halls.”
Conversations between students and staff members also help indicate needs and create action.
“We partner with other departments. We do something called neurodiversity chats, and we gather over lunch and talk about our experiences as neurodivergent individuals,” Rigler said. “Another student brought to us the idea of mental health chats. Talking about (mental health) with other people who share your situation helps to build that community.”
The DRC is more limited in what they can do for students with physical disabilities, due to time consuming renovations. However, they work to support students by providing passes that allow them extra time to make it to their classes as well as parking accommodations for people who qualify.
Sophomore Bug Williams, who utilizes DRC services said, “(The DRC) has allowed me to not worry constantly about making it to class on time. I have a class that takes me 12-14 minutes to walk with only 10 minutes in between that class and another before.”
For Williams, having accommodations has had a positive impact on their college experience. They’d like to see services expand to include a UTC specific disability parking pass for students who can’t get an official pass.
“I feel like UTC should be able to give specific parking passes for us,” Williams added. “I’ve had some things come up that prevented me from getting (an official pass) right now”
Still, the DRC services that are provided give students like Williams peace of mind.
“I feel like I can do most days, but there’s no need to worry about what to do on the days I can’t, because I have the DRC,” Williams said.
According to Kelly, some students who use the DRC still face issues with other students not understanding the services offered as well as people jumping to conclusions.
“Somebody (on YikYak) said they were displeased with the DRC, saying all these negative things. I think it was the end of last month,” Kelly said.
According to Kelly, it’s not about whether the statements made about the DRC are right or wrong, but that those saying them are usually ill-informed.
“They don’t know because most of these people on YikYak are just running their mouths,” said Kelly.
As someone who is actively involved in Mosaic, he wants to set the record straight.
“The DRC has allowed me to personally grow as a student and live my life the way I choose to,” Kelly said. “Just because you are a part of the DRC doesn’t mean you cannot be a normal person on campus. I think people should give it a chance before making all these statements on YikYak.”
For more information about the DRC, visit the following link: https://www.utc.edu/enrollment-management-and-student-affairs/disability-resource-center