The University of Houston Police Department partnered with the university’s Justin Dart Jr., Student Accessibility Center, and Facilities Services to host the first Cougar Walk & Roll, an event modeled on the annual Walk in the Dark event.

While UHPD’s Walk in the Dark event focuses on identifying areas that could benefit from increased lightning, the Cougar Walk & Roll asks participants to locate accessibility concerns on campus.

DART Center Director Kyle Mutz said UHPD Chief Ceaser Moore initiated discussions to develop the Walk & Roll.

“Chief Moore talked about it and Mike Oestereicher [Assistant Vice President, Facilities Services] and his team were on board with that,” said Mutz. “So, they were both instrumental in getting it done.”

UHPD officer Amir Watkins said it was beneficial to have the Walk & Roll be a separate event from Walk in the Dark so that each event can focus on its primary objective. For Oestereicher, holding the walk is a continuation of his department’s work with the DART Center.

“We’re trying to make the campus as safe and accessible as possible. So, we work closely with Kyle to identify areas where we’re not meeting the intent and we’re not helping students thrive,” said Oestereicher.

The Cougar Walk & Roll Event had a group of 20 attendees composed of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, divided into two groups. Fliers were distributed to participants that displayed facility items to identify, including cracked or even sidewalks, inoperable wheelchair accessible doors, out-of-service elevators, inaccessible restrooms, and water fountains positioned too high.

UH Alumni Shinku Rivenbark, a 2023 graduate, made sure to be part of the Cougar Walk & Roll. Rivenbark uses a wheelchair and said he appreciated administrators participating in the walk with so administrators can experience, and see, a different perspective while walking the campus.

“I hope that more students will come to participate because it’s not just students in wheelchairs that need accessibility. It’s blind students, deaf students, every disabled need student needs to have an opinion because accessibility is not just for one or two people. It’s for everyone,” said Rivenbark.

Mutz noted the first Cougar Walk & Roll provided a strong foundation for future events, aimed at raising awareness.