Quinnipiac University’s Student Government Association collaborated with the Disability Student Union to host an Accessibility Town Hall Wednesday, as a continuation of SGA’s State of the QUnion Feb. 21.
Moderated by SGA Vice President Julianna Mazzella, the event allowed students to interact with the panelists — Assistant Director of the Office of Student Accessibility Ted Czepiga and Vice President of Inclusive Excellence John Armendariz — in an open discussion about campus accessibility. Students asked questions, shared personal stories and proposed new measures they hope to see implemented.
DSU’s President and founder Adeline Colciaghi, a junior interdisciplinary studies major, shared opening remarks to kick off the event.
“I grew up in a very small town where there were not many people like me for much of my early life,” Colciaghi said. “Accessibility was something that I always had to think about constantly. It shaped where I could go… however, the first time I stepped onto campus at Quinnipiac, I felt something I hadn’t felt before. I felt hope. I felt that I wasn’t defined to find my physical limitations, and I felt empowered.”
Colciaghi created the DSU just under a year ago and has seen large growth as well as awareness, leading to events like Wednesday’s Town Hall.
“As the whole starter of this club, (it) feels incredible,” Colciaghi said in an interview with The Chronicle. “I think we just need to continue what we’re doing and just raise awareness. And it feels astonishing.”
The discussion opened with several questions posed by Mazzella and began with a discussion on how the university ensures students with disabilities have equal opportunities as peers, especially with accessibility barriers.
Czepiga noted that the “scope” of OSA is to remove barriers, however they are sometimes unaware one exists until it is brought to their attention. He urged students to speak up if they notice those barriers and advocate for accessibility, even if it does not affect them directly.
As for what OSA is working on, Czepiga nodded to a new testing center expected to be up and running in fall 2026, which will expand the office’s operations and data.
Amendariz highlighted that for him, Wednesday’s event was personal.
“I would be legally deaf, and there was a definition for that,” Amendariz said.
Amendariz is fairly new to Quinnipiac and is still navigating what the school does well and what it doesn’t.
“It’s really coming upon you helping us find where we’re not meeting our legal obligations or a moral obligation,” Amendariz said.
The discussion also touched on several different areas of concern for students, including consistency, transparency, parking spaces, housing accommodations, faculty training, as well as suggested procedures.
In particular, Amendariz cited that Quinnipiac complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act’s requirements for accessible parking spaces, but it still might not be enough. This occurs in instances like students using those spaces without a permit, or snow being plowed into the spots.
In the past, students have drawn attention to residence halls that lack accessibility, like dorms that don’t have elevators for example. This concern was brought up again during the open discussion.
Czepiga explained that things like putting elevators into old buildings goes beyond OSA, but they work to help students as best they can when housing barriers arise.
Some students in the audience also shared personal stories regarding barriers they’ve faced on campus.
Scarlett Fulton, a first-year law in society and political science major, addressed “discriminatory culture of… students to each other” in regard to non-visible disabilities.
“It’s been a constant struggle, how do you get people to be cognizant and respectful of other people, whether it’s disability, whether it’s race, whether it’s gender identity, whatever it is, we constantly have that challenge,” Amendariz said. “…It’s something that we talked about. How do we, for you as young adults, start to make you aware of these things and how to be more respectful towards each other.”
Fulton suggested education or programs for students to better understand disabilities.
Adding on to Fulton’s point, Victor Constanza, a junior behavioral neuroscience major, raised the issue of some professors not being understanding of a student’s academic accommodation.
“I had a lab professor who said something like, ‘I don’t believe in an accommodation extension,’” Constanza said. “…That just tells me that the person doesn’t even know what the disorders are even like, how they work.”
Czepiga explained that professors do go through training with OSA. However, if problems still arise, students should bring them to OSA for more measures to be taken.
DSU’s secretary and junior psychology major Delilah Papka drew attention to accessibility on the York Hill Campus.
“I feel like York, when it comes to not just accessibility, but also safety for some students, it isn’t treated the same as main campus,” Papka said.
Papka called for more monitoring by the university in regard to accessibility and safety.
The discussion overall, largely centered around the need for advocacy to make change.
“Progress may not happen overnight, but progress requires commitment, and commitment begins with conversations like this,” Colciaghi said.
