Injuries alone are already a strain on students, but they are even more arduous when students are slogging across Seminole High School’s enormous campus or being denied accessibility to use the elevator. Teenagers are injury-prone, and these bruises and sprains lead to struggles far beyond the injury.

These injuries can be a significant burden for the student and their family. Finding flexibility can be difficult when a student has to perform day-to-day activities, such as walking to class or using the restroom. Although SHS does its best to provide students with the assistance they need, attending school while injured brings a whole new set of challenges to face, and often times, students’ needs cannot be fulfilled by the school.

A student will be given privileges if they have an impairment, like struggling to reach destinations around the campus. School counselors give students extra time to walk to classes and allow them to use the elevator with an elevator pass. However, teachers also constantly use the elevator making it difficult for these students to promptly reach their class.

Senior Sakinah Dewji commented, “When the elevator was broken, my guidance counselor called my teachers, but I still had to climb the stairs on a fractured foot due to the fact that the elevator was occupied and took too long to return on time.”

Despite the help that fellow students provide to those who are injured, many students do not get enough assistance when attempting to open doors or enter classrooms, especially when using crutches or a knee scooter.

Senior Manisha Lingam commented, “One time, I got stuck in the elevator because the [one] in Tribe came down a little too low, which did not let me get out as I had a knee scooter. As I struggled to get out, an administrator walked right by me without aiding me.”

Furthermore, there are cases where the school completely ignores the pleas of students asking for an elevator pass.

Senior Tia Wilson commented, “I asked for an elevator pass and the front office told me that I would eventually receive one, but I never did. It created difficulties when I tried to use the elevators since teachers and administrators were questioning why I was using them.”

“I wish that when I returned from the hospital my teachers would have given me a grace period. I had to get on my work as soon as I returned,” commented senior Amanda Greenberg.

While the school does try to make for accommodations for students with injuries, these students are still inconvenienced while simply trying to attend school.