According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the goal of the American Disability Act is the equal participation of individuals with disabilities in the “mainstream” of American society.In November 1996, about 100 buildings on campus did not meet the ADA requirements, said Al Mathews, assistant vice president of the Department of Physical Facilities management office. When OSU officials were asked how many buildings on campus do not meet ADA guidelines, no one could answer.Jill Morelli, assistant vice president and university architect, Thomas Heretta, a university architect, and Mathews did not know how many campus buildings meet the ADA guidelines.”You’re asking people who are busy, and you’re asking for a story,” said James E. Stevens, associate vice president of Physical Facilities. “It’s just an academic exercise.”Many things can keep a building from being ADA compliant, such as not having braille room-number signs, said Warren King, ADA access coordinator.Phillip T. Soule, of the university engineers office, and King said every academic building on campus is accessible to the first floor, but they don’t know how many buildings on campus are not accessible beyond the first floor.”We do what needs to be done,” Stevens said. “We don’t work off lists. It’s just the way we do business.”Compliance means ongoing performance should be evaluated and problems identified and corrected as they arise, according to the ADA Title 2 Action Guide, published by Adaptive Environments Center, Inc., a national institute on disability and rehabilitation research. “I don’t think we have a problem,” Stevens said. “We don’t ever pass up the opportunity to make space accessible.”If a program can be moved to an accessible building, the university is still in compliance with the regulations, said David Sweet, marketing and communications administrator of Physical Facilities.”You don’t have to change every building on campus,” he said.The disability act requires an individual be designated to oversee ADA compliance, according toThe American with Disabilities Act Title II Technical Assistance Manual, from the Department of Justice.”The university doesn’t have an ADA compliance officer,” said Ann Yerkenson, director of Disability Services. “OSU has a lot of people who really care, but something or someone could fall through the cracks.”Helen Ninos, associate general council of Human Resource Administration, agrees.”OSU doesn’t have a single compliance officer,” she said. “I don’t think it’s illegal, we’ve never gotten in trouble for it.””I assumed the university had an ADA compliance officer,” Stevens said.”In most organizations, it would be difficult for any one individual to carry out all of the required tasks,” according to theADA Title 2 Action Guide. “The role of the ADA coordinator is to coordinate the teamwork needed to achieve compliance.”One person should have ultimate responsibility over everyone, said Barbara Uniek, technical assistance specialist, Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, Department of Education.”The left hand must know what the right hand is doing,” she said.Willliam J. Napier, executive assistant to the president, was asked to comment on the lack of a single person responsible for ensuring OSU is following the ADA guidelines in an efficient manner.”I’m not familiar with the disability program,” Napier said.