BOISE -- We have an update to a story we brought you last week. Frustrated, a Star woman spoke out after attending a show at the Morrison Center on Boise State University's campus, where her crutches were taken away from her.
Morrison Center staff told her it was policy, because her crutches posed a safety hazard. Jennifer Ballard was born with spina bifida, and says her crutches are her legs.
After our story and Jennifer's advocacy - Boise State University changed their policy. BSU and leaders at the entertainment venues on campus met with the Idaho State Fire Marshal this week and in light of Jennifer's story, they decided to take a second look at their accessibility and assistive mobile device policy and revise it.
"Very deeply grateful that they were able to do it in such a timely fashion. I mean, it's only been a week and so I couldn't be happier for them doing that," Ballard said. "Just a great deal of understanding and empathy for what I had gone through so I feel very very much satisfied with the outcome."
Boise State and the Morrison Center reached out to Jennifer, apologetic for the inconvenience and for taking away what she calls her independence.
"My compliments to the staff here. They were incredible and the speed with which they were able to make these changes was just awesome," Ballard added.
At a show in April, Jennifer was escorted to her seat and told she couldn't keep her crutches with her because they were a fire hazard. When we brought this incident up to the State Fire Marshal, he was shocked and intervened.
"I was very surprised to even hear of such a thing concerning her crutches and it certainly got my attention," Idaho State Fire Marshal Knute Sandahl told KTVB.
"I think they were looking out for the best interest for all patrons there and they were not quite interpreting the code in the rules and providing a reasonable accommodation in an appropriate manner," Sandahl added, "and so that was a good opportunity to educate them and let them know the flexibility that is built into the fire code. Yes, the code does say you cannot obstruct aisle ways, but there also is a code that says use a reasonable interpretation of the code."
In a statement Boise State said, in part:
"Thanks to the concerns raised by Jennifer Ballard, the Morrison Center has worked with the Idaho State Fire Marshal to improve our policies and processes for working with patrons with crutches. Patrons who wish to keep their crutches with them will be allowed to safely store them behind the seats in front of them. Boise State University and Morrison Center officials have apologized to Jennifer Ballard for her experience and thanked her for bringing her concerns forward."
"Using a degree of reasonableness we don't believe it's going to cause a huge problem. And we want them to also be mobile if there is a need for evacuation," Sandahl said.
"I really believe a lot of people that have encountered this situation in the past will be extremely happy with the new policy," Ballard added. "Even though it was an unfortunate situation that happened, I really feel just a lot of good coming from it and I feel so much better about this place I live in and this community and it reinforces what a great place it is to live."
Ballard says she's very grateful for Sandahl's support as well, because if it weren't for him organizing the meetings, this may not have happened. She says it was extremely encouraging to hear from people who supported her cause and that's why she really advocated for this issue.
Boise State University says the changes were implemented at a show at the Morrison Center on Thursday. In the statement, the university said, in part:
"Boise State and the Morrison Center are committed to complying with the ADA and providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all patrons. We continually strive to maintain and improve our efforts and policies."
"I think it was a real team effort. Of course, with your story and your phone call that we had last week, it certainly sparked a lot of interest and are we doing this correctly? And so immediately phone calls started exchanging and then it was decided we needed to have a meeting," Sandahl said.