My name is Brittany, and I am legally blind. There’s an issue happening in the cafeteria at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus that I want to bring to your attention. (I am sure it is happening at MATC’s other campuses as well.)

Many people are creating a dangerous situation for students and staff with disabilities by not pushing their chairs in. People will sit at a table that seats four and pull up an extra chair at the end. They will leave chairs out that block the pathway for individuals who are blind or in a wheelchair.

Do any of you know how dangerous this is? I am walking in the cafeteria with my white cane, and it doesn’t always catch a chair because I only go shoulder-length apart with my cane to keep it safe for everyone. Otherwise, I could hit people if I swept it in a wider path.

Because of this, my cane doesn’t always hit a chair and I either trip or run into it. Not pushing in your chairs is creating an environment that is NOT SAFE. When you pull up a chair to a table that seats only four people it’s dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, you’re in the walkway and it is hard for somebody to get through. Second, if the fire alarm goes off it is dangerous because you don’t have time to move a chair when people need to get out of the building.

To make things safer, if there are more than four of you sitting at a table, please find one that will seat all of you for everyone’s safety. If you don’t think this is a big deal, then you need to walk in my shoes because then you will understand what I am saying. Please push your chairs in at all times, whether in the cafeteria, library, classroom, or anywhere there are chairs. We want MATC’s campuses safe for everyone on campus.