Harvard May Renovate Weld For More Handicapped Access

University officials are considering renovating Weld Hall to make it the first freshman dormitory that is completely accessible to the handicapped, members of a student-faculty committee on the handicapped said yesterday.

The $500,000 project, which would entail putting elevators into Weld and general renovations, awaits the approval of Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence. If Spence supports the proposal, construction would begin within a year and a half, said committee member Amy B. Zegart '89.

Spence was out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment, but committee members said they expect him to reach a decision within the next four weeks.

If the renovations are approved, the project will be the first major handicapped access construction the University has undertaken in the past five years, said committee member Guy B. Wallace '88.

Although three freshmen suites in Canaday are already accessible to wheelchairs, Zegart said that "is access in name only" because handicapped students cannot visit friends in their dormitories.

"It's going to let disabled people behave like a normal freshman, and it's a good socialization experience," said Wallace, who heads the disabled students group, Advocacy for a Better Learning Environment (ABLE).

"It's going to make an enormous difference to disabled students who come to Harvard as freshmen, " he said. "Right now, [disabled students] basically have no social life."

Harvard officials have already agreed to set aside $15,000 for smaller projects to improve handicapped access, committee members said. The money will pay for projects such as lowering public telephones and widening doors to make them accessible for people in wheelchairs, said Celia M. Kent, a member of the handicapped committee.

These projects will mark the first time that money has been budgeted specifically to improving handicapped access, said Thomas E. Crooks, special assistant for the disabled to the dean of the College.

Under a 1977 federal law, universities are required to make their programs handicapped-accessible.

Wallace hailed the Weld elevator project as an important move for Harvard.

"It's an unbelievable step as compared with past years," said Wallace, who last year wrote a highly critical report on Harvard's efforts to accommodate the handicapped.

Assistant Dean for Physical Resources Philip Parsons, who chairs the handicapped committee could not be reached for comment.