The cost of architectural excellence on campus

Walking up the stairs to Doheny Memorial Library, decades of history hang thick in the air around the grand staircases, high-rise ceilings and Italian Romanesque Revival structure; it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the building’s beauty.

Doheny is one of 13 buildings at the University Park Campus recognized by the city of Los Angeles as historic cultural monuments, each having been built anywhere from 50 years to a century ago. Other historic cultural monuments include Widney Alumni House, Bovard Administration Building and Mudd Hall of Philosophy.

Because of their recognition as being historically significant for their architectural achievements, the buildings are protected from significant reconstruction that could damage their architectural identity — something that presents a major roadblock to accessibility adjustments, such as adding ramps and automatic doors, which were not considered in the original design.

This became clear to Rachel Miller, a senior majoring in biochemistry and co-executive director of the Student Assembly for Accessibility, from the moment she first toured campus. While she immediately noticed and appreciated the campus’ flat terrain as a wheelchair user, she later encountered its drawbacks.

“Because it’s such an old campus, I didn’t take into consideration that the buildings, even though they were flat, they’re not necessarily accessible,” Miller said. “They don’t have an elevator. They don’t have an accessible door. They don’t have an accessible bathroom. So I would say, being an old campus, understandably, it has its challenges, but [the University does] try to do the best that they can.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990 and amended in 2008, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in both everyday life, as well as in architecture. USC, being a private educational institution that receives federal funding, is required to ensure accessibility in accordance with the ADA.

Christine Street, USC’s associate vice president for disability access and ADA compliance, said the University falls under the jurisdiction of two parts of the ADA: Title II, which applies to entities that receive federal funding, and Title III, since the University is a “place of public accommodation” despite being a private institution. The latter requires it to engage in the ongoing removal of barriers that prevent access to people with disabilities.

“The University has been doing that work since the early ’90s — and even in our historic buildings, even where they’re not perfect because of their historic or older nature — usually we can find ways for individuals with disabilities to access the service in those buildings,” Street said.

The CDC, as of July 2024, estimated that more than one in four adults in the U.S. lived with a disability, and 12.2% of U.S. adults “had a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.”

Geoffrey von Oeyen, associate professor of practice at the School of Architecture, is currently teaching a course on how architecture creates and serves communities. In a lecture on Sept. 16, he said passing the ADA was a long time coming.

“It was a civil rights struggle,” von Oeyen said. “We designed buildings with steps. This is seen as quite typical. But what if 31 million people just simply can’t do that? … Prior to 1990, there wasn’t federal legislation that protected folks who had needs that were different than what were considered normative needs in society.”

Although the ADA seeks to make buildings more accessible, Street said there is a difference between being ADA compliant and truly being accessible. 

“Even if a building isn’t completely compliant because it’s old, have we made enough improvements that people can access what they need?” Street said. “Oftentimes with a historic building or historic facility … it’s not going to be possible to bring it up to current standards just because it’s architecturally not feasible.” 

While there is no specific part of the ADA that waives requirements on older buildings for being constructed before the law was passed, known as a “grandfather clause,” there are fewer accessibility requirements for historic buildings: There must be at least one accessible entrance on the ground level, at least one accessible toilet and written information or displays must be viewable for a seated person. Access to all levels of the building is not required.

This isn’t only an issue for recognized historic cultural monuments. Stabler Memorial Hall, a research building, poses similar accessibility issues for those with disabilities.

“There’s no elevator, and I had to go to the third floor, and there’s just stairs,” Miller said. “Luckily, I’m very thankful that I have amazing friends and they can carry me up the stairs, but I’ve had instances where I’m in a classroom with stairs, and the whole process of moving the classroom is difficult.”

Renovating older buildings

Much of the process of renovating these older buildings is attempting to remove barriers to follow the ADA’s Title III requirements. This includes widening doors, installing grab bars in toilet stalls, creating designated parking spaces and even rearranging furniture to make rooms more wheelchair-friendly.

Wilson Student Union, which opened in 1928, was one of USC’s buildings that had some barriers removed during a major accessibility improvement plan several years ago, Street said. While the building itself was not reconstructed, the University focuses on changes like accessible entrances, restroom remodeling and water fountain access to make the building in line with the ADA.

“We also look at two things,” she said, “horizontal circulation and vertical circulation. Vertical circulation would be like your elevators or lifts: Can you get from floor to floor? The bigger wrinkle is horizontal circulation: If you’re on a floor, can you access everything on that floor?”

Another key factor to take into consideration is the issue of resources. Renovating historic monuments in ways that protect its architectural significance can be costly. 

Budget strains seem to be an unfortunate theme as of late for college campuses across the nation. As of publication, USC has reportedly laid off at least 692 employees since interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced the University’s operating deficit of more than $200 million in July. That’s in addition to fears of potentially losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding under recent executive orders by the Trump administration.

“A lot of the accessibility issues that I’ve had on campus quite frankly come down to, ‘We don’t have the resources to get this door to be an automatic door,’” Miller said. “‘We don’t have the resources to put an elevator into this building.’ … You understand you have to allocate your budget accordingly, but then to find an alternate solution that works also can be quite difficult.”

While some buildings may be too old and too costly to renovate, this does not make universities exempt from finding ways to make even these buildings more accessible, Street said. 

“There’s an obligation for Title III institutions … to engage in ongoing barrier removal,” Street said. “It may not be practical or cost effective to do everything all at once, but you can make meaningful improvements over time.”

With this comes the question: Will USC continue its efforts to make the campus barrier free?

“[The Office of Institutional Accessibility] doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and accessibility doesn’t exist in a vacuum and absolutely every part of the University has seen budget cuts,” Street said. “We might be in an environment where it hampers the ability to do all capital construction projects. We may not be doing as many huge projects right now, but we’re still focused. I feel like we’re very supported by institutional leadership.”

Despite budget restraints, Street said the Office of Institutional Accessibility assures students that the University remains committed to becoming barrier-free, including features like the Digital Course Materials Program and the Office of Institutional Accessibility and ADA Compliance’s Report a Barrier form.

“[USC] is doing a really excellent job [with] physical accessibility,” said von Oeyen. “I think they’re really committed to fulfilling the ADA and making sure that they can remove barriers and make things accessible.” 

The University has other accommodations for inaccessible buildings aside from construction. Street, who also serves as a supervisor for the Office of Student Accessibility and Services, said the department offers the opportunity to move classrooms for students with mobility impairments. But Miller said these accommodations are sometimes taken as inconveniences by other students.

“When I have stairs in my classroom, it’s a whole process to move the classroom. And oftentimes, the professor is like ‘We’re moving the classroom because of accessibility needs or whatever,’ which is fine, but people get mad because they’re like, ‘This classroom is right next to my next classroom or something,’” Miller said. “Your inconvenience is my inability to even learn.”

The Student Assembly for Accessibility

For Miller this proved to be a call to arms. During her junior year, she joined the Student Assembly for Accessibility, a programming assembly of the Undergraduate Student Government that focuses on providing a platform to students with disabilities on campus.

“One of the reasons why I joined SAA was to give myself a voice, because a lot of the time I would go up to OSAS or the ADA compliance office, and I [felt] like I wasn’t able to make that much of an impact,” Miller said. “And then once I joined student government, I was like, ‘This is how I’m going to get the power. This is how I’m going to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.’”

Although small in number, SAA seeks to make a real change on campus toward inclusivity in partnership with the University. Milan Mullen, SAA’s advocacy liaison, said this partnership means that the outcomes may not always be what was envisioned. 

“You think about starting small, the little different things around campus that we can do. I’d say that those little initiatives are what we really prioritize here in SAA,” Mullen said. “And on the opposing end, I feel like those little changes are a lot easier for the administration to respond to.”

Community is built into the very architecture of this school, but it is important that even the oldest buildings on campus reflect the University’s dedication to building and protecting all communities on campus. Miller said the key is listening to disabled students on their needs rather than assuming.

“[Include] disabled people in legislation or making decisions, just hearing us out, asking for what we need, what we think is best,” Miller said. “They can only know so much about textbook definition that doesn’t take away from life experience. You can only know that from living with it and experiencing it every single day.”