Fighting to Pee in Private: Lessons Learned as a University of Miami Student Part 1

It started with inaccessibility and ended in a lawsuit that reshaped Nathasha Alvarez’s life—and opened doors for others. In Part One of this gripping story, Nathasha shares the bold actions, the quiet injustices, and the moment she realized silence wasn’t an option. This episode is just the beginning. Hit subscribe so you don’t miss what happens next.

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Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:02):
Welcome, everyone, to a new episode of audaciously
speaking, this is actually goingto be the episode that will
start off a series of episodes.
I'm very excited about it. Andbefore I go any further, I want
to say hello to my niece, and mynephew, Luke, and my niece,

(00:23):
Bella, this is for you guys. Soin this episode, I'm gonna tell
you about an experience that Ihad at the University of Miami
as a freshman, and what Ilearned from it in hindsight,
and at that moment, so there arelessons that we learn when we

(00:47):
look back at things. And thereare lessons that we learn right
then and there as we'reexperiencing it. And these
lessons helped me way after theexperience. So I'm hoping it's
going to help you too. I wantedto talk about how at the
University of Miami, it was1988. That was before the

(01:09):
Americans with Disability Act.
And it's after theRehabilitation Act of Section
504. I went there, and I wasreally excited about it.
It's supposedto be the Harvard of the South.
That's what I was told in 1988,there were articles and

(01:32):
everyone's so excited that I wasgoing, it was really a big deal.
And I was the first person in myfamily to go to college, so it's
a bigger deal. And then ofcourse, we have to remember that
I'm disabled. And so that makesit even bigger, bigger deal. So
anyway, I was having a reallygood time there. You know, I

(01:53):
enjoyed learning, I enjoyed theprofessors, I enjoyed
everything. one day, I needed touse the bathroom, and I didn't
know where to go. So there's asign in the Eye, which by the
way, the building the StudentUnion, and everybody is there.
It's right next to thebookstore. It's in the eye, when

(02:13):
people buy their food, watch TV,there's a bowling alley, I mean,
it was the place to be. And inthe breezeway, that's where
you're going to find a lot ofpeople with tables set up,
always asking you to sign apetition or join the club or,
you know, really get involved inthe whole school college

(02:36):
environment. And I was soexcited about that. And it's
really . Does anybody know wherethe bathroom is? So these people
point to the door. And I'm like,Okay, great. So there's a door
for the men, there's a door forthe women. And then there are
water fountains. So I went aheadand I go into the female one.

(02:57):
And I noticed that there is nota single stall that I can use.
At the very, very end, though,there is a stall. That's not
really a stall. Yes, it has atoilet. But then it has a shower
curtain, any rod for the shower.

(03:21):
And I'm thinking to myself, noway. They really cannot think
that someone in a wheelchair isgoing to use that. How is that
right? So I thought there mustbe a mistake. And I go outside,
and I look to see who can giveme an explanation of it. And I
see somebody, one of thecustodians, and like excuse me,

(03:46):
I have to use the bathroom. Canyou tell me which one? So she
points to the same exact areaAnd I said to her, nope, it's
not there. I don't find one. Andshe looks at me like How can
that be? So she told me tofollow her. And you know what?
She pointed to that same stallwith nothing there except a

(04:10):
shower curtain. And I said toher, this can't be it. And she
spoke Spanish more than Englishso I told her in Spanish like
this is not it can't be it. Andshe said, yeah, that's what they
have. And I go, No, I can't goto the bathroom there. That's
not right. The woman said ifyou want I can stay there and
watch, make sure that nobodybothers you. And I really really

(04:33):
have to go. So I said okay,okay. now I'm taking a chance on
a stranger holding the door of ashower curtain door because not
even a door to make sure thatnobody invades my privacy. And I
was really upset. So I finishedI washing my hands.

(04:54):
I thank her. And I knew I had toget the bottom of this. I
thought this cannot Be it. And Ithought about it and go What
happened to the rest of thecampus. So, as time went on, I
started looking for morebathrooms, to see if there were
any for people who use wheelchars, nothing. And I went ahead, a

(05:19):
d I thought, This is so weird.
I'm 18 years old. And in my enire life, I have never had to g
to the bathroom without a doo. That is a shower curtain.
I went home, of course, on the dy that happened. And I told my m
m, and she was like, That's cazy. I got totally insane. I ha
to do something about this. AndI went ahead, and I asked Dr. f

(05:46):
ipsie, who is the personhat is supposedly the person t
at all disabled people went trough, during their time
at the University of Miami.
or any needs, or for any suggestons or anything at all. If

(06:06):
ou are disabled person, as Dr. fipsie, he is the man. I asked h
m, and he comes in, he meets meat the Eye. And he says to
e, oh, what's the problem? SoI told him, when he said,
ou can always go to the clinicif you have to use the bathro
m. And I'm thinking, Okay, wher's the clinic? And the clinic

(06:29):
is far away. So if I have tose the bathroom, I have to go fa
away. But everybody else getsto use all of these bathroo
s. Why don't they just fix the oe that has the shower curtain?
nd you know, Dr Flipsie if yu know him. He's only like a San
a Claus looking man, very joll, very happy. And everything

(06:52):
s pretty much laughed off orot a big deal kind of attitude
And I'm thinking, well, then nbody should have a door. If I
on't get a door, nobody else shuld. It's not fair. Now, mind
ou, this is before the ADA. Sno one is thinking. Oh, ye
h, we're doing something wrng. As a matter of fact, I di

(07:13):
n't even know that there was aaw in place before the ADA. That
was supposed to insure me ofhaving some kind of respect, you
know, to go to the bathroom. SoI went ahead and I'm like, Okay,
no problem. So I'm really havingan issue with this, because the

(07:34):
University of Miami campus isvery large. And to have to go to
the bathroom at the clinic wasnot something. I wanted. to te
l you this because right now I cn say it calmly that at the tim
, I was very angry. I mean, we'e talking very hot headed abo

(07:54):
t this. Because I couldn't beliee it. The University of Miami
s so expensive. How did they gt away with this? Why are th
y doing this to me? That's wht I'm thinking, why are they doi
g this? To me? I didn't ask toe humiliated this way. So I
m getting really upset about i. And then someone said, you kn

(08:17):
w what you should you should wrie a letter to the University
f Miami, newspaper, the hurrican. And I'm thinking, well, I don
t know how that's gonna help m. But okay. So I go ahead, and
I write it. And then te University of Miami says to m
, the hurricane, the newspapr says, Why don't you just write

(08:38):
a column on it? I thought, oka, I'll do that. So I went ahe
d and wrote a column because a lt of people with titles, we
e telling me how I was makinga big deal over nothing. As
a matter of fact, you're not gona believe this. But even oth

(08:58):
r students were like, well, its not a big deal to go to t
e clinic and come back, thenI found out that there w
s actually a bathroom I could ue on the second floor of t
e Student Union Building. ButI had to go, you know, push
a little farther than everyoe else. And no one thought th
t was a problem either. Im thinking in my brain. Why don

(09:23):
t you go a little further? Whydo I have to, I'm the one in
he wheelchair. Why do I have toake more steps more actions to
et what you get for nothing?
But you know, we'll let it go.
So I wrote an article in thenewspaper. And I remembered that
instead of getting all "good foryou, you know way to go". I

(09:45):
actually got more heat about it.
In the end, I had written surfsup dude, because I said I was
going to cause waves. Because bynow I'm really getting upset. I
started noticing how many othersthings on campus Were not
accessible to me. I was actuallystruggling. And I didn't even

(10:07):
know that I was struggling whenI didn't have to be, for
example, you know, slidingdoors, automatic doors, they
should be everywhere. Why do Ihave to struggle to open doors?
or Why do I have to walk slowlyso that when I see somebody who

(10:27):
can walk that's going in thesame direction, and hoping,
okay, they're going to open thedoor, the same time I get there,
and then the door for me. Yeah,that's what I'll do. And then I
realized now, decades later,that I was actually training
myself to do what I needed,based on the actions of others.

(10:52):
So it would be convenient forthem. So it's not about me
struggling opening that door,it's about me going slow enough.
And yet fast enough, sure thatwhoever gets to that door first,
will open it for me. Because thedoors was so heavy. Also, at the
University of Miami, there was ahuge drop, a long ramp made out

(11:17):
of like tile show, when itrains, it would be dangerous for
me to go down that. But onceagain, I did my very best to
avoid going down that area. Soin a way I was using these
outdoing actions that made mylife easier at the moment. But
also I was missing out onthings. Because because they

(11:41):
weren't available to me, likeeveryone else. Interesting, but
true. Then I said, You knowwhat, Nathash, just go have a
good time. Sure, go to afootball game. That's very cool.
I'm gonna go to a football game.
And I wanted to get a ticket. Isaw everybody lined up. So I got
on that line too. Because we'reall going to go to a football

(12:02):
game. When it was my turn. Firstof all, the counter is way up
there. so now, I feel like alittle girl asking for
permission to go to a footballgame. And the person says to me,
Oh, no, we don't have a ticketfor you. I'm like, What? Why
not? if you want a ticket, thenyou can go with your ID. But if

(12:26):
you want to bring someone youhave to give them a ticket, you
have to go all the way to the Ithink it was like the athletic
department building. And youactually have to take a car to
get there because no one canpush all that. well, I can't do
that. Why do I have to go allthe way over there? I'm gonna go

(12:47):
because you know, you need, youknow, special tickets. And I'm
thinking, why don't you have anyfor me there? And they go, No,
I'm so sorry. Now you can tell.
I'm not the happiest person. Itis my freshman year, I'm really
getting aggravated. And I don'tknow what to do about it. Well,

(13:11):
that's when I realized that themore I told people about the
situation. And the more I toldthe right people about the
situation, the more ideas agathering about what to do about
the situation, not aboutcomplaining. It's about telling
people what the circumstancesare, what the conflict is, and

(13:37):
that you have a desire to changethis. And I'm thinking I have
done this before. This is notthe first time that a school or
institution of education hasgiven me problems. Like Okay,
I'll handle it.
But I was angry. I'm going totell you that now, as a

(13:58):
freshman, I was . Well, lo andbehold, I go to my composition
writing course I think it'scalled. And it's a freshman
course. And my professor AdrianPeever. Goes ahead and tells the
class that we're going to do aresearch paper. And you know

(14:21):
what, I hate research papers.
And I hate them because I hateresearching. I just don't like
looking through all that stuff.
To this day. I avoid anythingthat had a lot of, you know,
forms to fill out and research.
Oh, I don't like it. When hesaid that. I'm like, Okay, this
is gonna be fun. not fun at all.

(14:43):
And I didn't know what to do iton. Because I was getting too
angry, having to deal with thebathroom issue and all the other
issues that I was finding. I wasactually starting to get worried
about Should I drink watershould I not drink water? Then I
have to leave the classroom. Andthen I have to go to the
bathroom. I've got to push allthe way to the Student Union,

(15:07):
because all the other buildingswere the same way with new
bathroom. So that was really onmy mind more than this research
paper. So I'm thinking, What amI gonna do? Well, Professor
Peter said to me, You know, I,you know, he told me he read the
article from the newspaper. AndI'm like, yeah, he said, you

(15:34):
know, that you can get theblueprints for the entire
college. And I'm like, really?
Because, yeah. I said, How? Sohe told me, you know, ask the
plantations on people like that.
And I go, Oh, okay. And then hesaid, you can do your research
paper, on the laws regardingthis. And I'm thinking which law

(16:01):
like, I have absolutely no ideawhich law he's talking about.
And he says, Go, research it,okay. And he lives and you can
do your paper on that. And I'mthinking, What? That is so
awesome. Because now, I'm goingto get a grade, the same time,

(16:25):
I'm going to find a way toresolve the situation. I loved
it also felt happy And I said,Yes. Great, fantastic. So here
we go. So I've got a doctorflipsie, who should have answers
for me. And I've got a writingprofessor who knows nothing

(16:46):
about the law, or my right. Andhe told me "go for it". "Here
you go. I'm giving you anopening, an opportunity to do
this". Amazing. The people thatenter your life when you need
them. I said, Okay, so wentahead, and I found out about
section 504 of theRehabilitation Act, which states

(17:11):
that any institution whetherit's private, or public, if they
receive federal money, they mustmake everything (back in the day
they said handicap) withhandicap accessible. Okay. And
I'm thinking, huh, University ofMiami's private, but they get

(17:32):
federal money. Well, we've got aproblem here, . And there was my
key, opening a door to get adoor so I may use the bathroom.
Like everyone else. It wasexhilarating. Because I was

(17:53):
empowered. I said, I'm takingaction. I'm doing this. Now, of
course, at the age of 18. I'mnot talking like that age 18.
I'm saying, Yes. I'm excited.
Now. Now they're gonna have togive me that door. Yeah, but not
to give me that door. The waythat my high school had to put
ramps everywhere. The way thatmy sixth grade elementary school

(18:17):
had to put me in the correctclassroom, Oh, my gosh, that all
I kept thinking, Why do I haveto fight for these things? Why
me? You know what? I don't knoweither. Why me? And that's
something that we all strugglewith. When we're giving a major

(18:38):
challenge. We started saying Whyme?
Now, story doesn't end. Althoughthe episode will soon. Because I
want you to think about a coupleof things. I want you to think
about how there's a status quoat this major educational

(19:00):
institution. And how no onebefore me was saying anything
about it. As a matter of fact,I'm not gonna throw anybody
under the bus. But there was avery famous spinal cord injury
person who was a student at theUniversity, and the person never

(19:25):
did anything to help theUniversity of Miami, become more
accessible. Now, that's for afuture episode. But I want you
to think why why did that personwho probably had more pull than
me do nothing? And why am Istruggling? Basically alone,

(19:50):
actually until there's a groupthat I gather, and I find a
little team who actually feelslike me. For now, this is my
takeaway. My takeaway is thatall status quo can be broken.
And while Dr. flipsie was areally nice guy, he wasn't doing

(20:13):
what I needed. For me. I don'tknow why. I know that you meet
unlikely allies, like ProfessorPeever, who come in at the right
time, and allow you to find theanswer. And they're willing to
help you in their own way.
Sometimes we want help frompeople, but we want it in our

(20:36):
way, we have to realize thatsometimes we're going to get
help from people, but not theway we think we're gonna get it.
Last thing that I want you tothink about for today, is that
this struggle that I'm going tobe telling you about isn't over.
There are still institutions allover the country, and maybe

(21:00):
around the world. But I'mspeaking about the United States
of America, where we havesection table four of the
Rehabilitation Act, and theAmericans with Disability Act.
Yet still, there are students oncampuses, all over the country,
who have to fight for just theidea of going to the bathroom.

(21:23):
This is today's episode, whatI'd like you to hear is, I would
like you to go toNathashaalvarez.com. and
download a free PDF of the fiveactions that I take when I'm
going through major struggles inlife. And I'm going to see

(21:46):
whether you can spot that I havedone those things in the story
that I'm telling you now.
Remember, I'm doing this, toleave something behind for my
nephew and my niece. And also tomake sure that there are other
people out there who understandthat they're not alone in the

(22:10):
struggles that they have.
understand. And I want to sharewith you what I did to get it
done. So until next time, whenwe continue this story, because
oh yeah, it's gonna get better.

(22:31):
And you're gonna hear how Iticked off a bunch of people.
And you're gonna find out what Idid get done, what I didn't get
done. Because that's the waylife goes. In the meantime, go
to Natashaalvarez.com and makesure that you are living your

(22:52):
life, one audacious moment at atime. Talk to you soon.