Still disenfranchised
In the early years of the building, the third floor of Oscar Ritchie Hall was dedicated to Queen Mother Audley Moore, a black civil rights leader, who was a wheelchair-user when she came to see the dedication of the floor that was named after her. She had to be carried up the stairs in her wheelchair.
Oscar Ritchie Hall was formerly used as the Student Center, containing a Hub and a bowling alley. (Archive photo from the 1958 Chestnut Burr)
A task like climbing three flights of stairs is not easy for senior general studies major Kimberly Tutstone, either. She had a liver transplant and has to take a lot of medications that fatigue her. She wishes Oscar Ritchie Hall had an elevator like other academic buildings.
Tutstone, who says she has not seen a single wheelchair-using student in the building, is displeased that the university has yet to make the third floor of the building handicapped accessible. “It’s sad to say, but it leads me to believe that it’s prejudice,” she says. “It has always been a little hard for me here.”
In addition to an elevator, Tutstone also hopes the university revamps the bathrooms. “I’ve never been to prison, but I think it’s probably the same experience,” she says and laughs, calling them “very ancient.”
During the course of Tutstone’s illness, she had to drop out in 1984 and returned to school just a few years ago. “The building looks exactly the same as when I was here before,” she says. “That’s not good.”
“The building looks exactly the same as when I was here before. That’s not good.”
One custodian cleans the entire building. Black United Students and other students occasionally volunteer their time to help clean the building. On the first floor, a hand-written sign on the bulletin board makes it clear to respect the hall’s limited resources: “Oscar Ritchie is yours. Do your chores. Keep it nice. You know what’s right.”
Tim Moore, the associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and a former president of Black United Students, says the university always said renovations were in their long-term plan, always insisting that they were not neglecting the building.
“There is an understanding here,” Vice President for Administration David Creamer says, “that we have not achieved enough, and we are continuing to move forward to a place where there is increased respect for and understanding of our differences.”
Edward Crosby, the founder of the Pan-African Studies program, says he fears the university is out to accomplish one thing only: “to reclaim its turf,” incorporating classes from outside the department in the cultural center of the building.
But Creamer seems to understand the role of the building.
“It is a very important facility,” Creamer says. “Because it not only serves academic activities, but it also functions as a multicultural center for our students and the entire community.”
The Burr is produced by students at Kent State University twice per academic year.No part of The Burr may be reprinted without permission.