Overall, the ISU community (offices, professors, scheduling) is extremely good at understanding and accommodating people with disabilities, but today I am writing to you about students who fail to respect the wide range of disabilities that classmates have. I have severe scoliosis, much worse than the usual “slightly bent backbone.”

Because I was not treated for my scoliosis at any early age, I now have difficulty bending over, running and pushing open doors and holding heavy bags. I am incapable of carrying a backpack on my back, but luckily Iowa State has many great solutions such as wheelchair-accessible entrances and elevators that make it easy to use my rolling backpack.

Unfortunately, I increasingly come across students who only think about disabilities that are the most visible to others, such as people in wheelchairs. Students in wheelchairs definitely deserve respect, but what non-disabled students don’t realize is that a person does not have to look disabled to be disabled.

This morning when I was waving my hand at the sensor of a wheelchair-accessible entrance, a girl passed me, stared at me and “tisked” me as she opened the door and slammed it behind her. Does waiting three seconds for the door to open make me lazy?

On a blue route bus today, I waited around five minutes while the bus was parked for a normal pause in the route at the stop before the one I needed. I don’t mind doing that. It’s my decision and the bus seats are so comfortable anyway. When the bus did start moving again, I pulled the cord for my stop. Two girls also sitting in the almost-empty bus were commenting to each other about my wait. “I could have walked to the next bus stop and back in those five minutes.” One laughed, then the other. “No, I could have walked there, back, and there again. That girl was so dumb to wait.” Really? Maybe the plastic bag “the girl” was carrying was quite heavy. Or maybe she sprained her ankle that morning. Or, maybe she was disabled.

The impatience of others doesn’t bother me so much until I stop to think about how often it happens. I am happy to be at a school where many students are very kind, but I’d like to remind the rest that some students are different and in the blink of an eye when you judge them, they are unable to stop you and explain because you have already left.