DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: February 28-March 5, 2016
From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring Sponsored by the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) ------------------------------- Weekly Email Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education Week of February 28-March 5, 2016 ------------------------------- ** NEXT WEEK WE ARE ON SPRING BREAK, ENJOYING SUNNY WEATHER – WE’LL BE BACK IN TWO WEEKS! ** ------------------------------- Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order): * More colleges require the SAT or ACT, but there are increasing complaints about the College Board and ACT Inc. denying basic test accommodations to students with disabilities, so the U.S. Department of Justice is stepping in to figure out what’s going on: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/24/feds-eye-disparities-in-supports-for-sat.html * On March 1, the national Day of Mourning remembered people with disabilities killed by caregivers and family members, with vigils on many campuses; a complete list of the 224 names is available online at http://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/tag/day-of-mourning/ and to learn more about the event and sites of vigils go to http://autisticadvocacy.org/2016/01/2016-day-of-mourning-vigils/ * Gallaudet University architects are defining DeafSpace and a new architectural movement: http://www.curbed.com/2016/3/2/11140210/gallaudet-deafspace-washington-dc * An editorial at Oberlin College suggests the college needs to do better with approving emotional support animals supporting students who need them, using the example of Hazel the Hamster and what was necessary for her to be on campus: http://oberlinreview.org/9779/opinions/office-of-disability-services-should-improve-access-to-emotional-support-animals/ * Can a university use universal design to reduce stigma and limit the use of accommodation letters? Graduate student Emily Ehlinger at the University of Minnesota is researching that very question: http://mndaily.com/news/campus/2016/03/02/u-mulls-universal-accommodation * Brittni Wendling started using a three-wheeled scooter to get around campus, but then she experienced bullying about it, so she responded in an open letter to the bullies: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/29/iowa-state-student-disability-battles-bullying-open-letter * A new survey of 4,000 community college students across the U.S. found that nearly 50% had a current or recent mental health problem, and less than half had sought out treatment: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/03/02/survey-half-community-college-students-report-mental-health-problems * Simon Newman, president of Mount St. Mary’s University, has resigned after a national backlash to “weed out” students with an academic or emotional issues and firing any faculty who protested: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/01/president-quits-mount-st-marys?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=9445c47e2c-WNU20160304&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-9445c47e2c-198891893 * Columbia University’s biennial survey of students found the two most dissatisfied groups were students with disabilities and transgender and genderqueer students (many of whom also reported mental health issues): http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/03/01/2015-quality-life-survey-scrutinizes-experiences-students-disabilities-and * Website accessibility doesn’t have to involve expensive or time-consuming fixes – here’s some short-term and long-term solutions: http://www.educationdive.com/news/website-accessibility-is-a-solvable-problem-for-cios/414570/ * Ivy league campuses are now banning full-contact tackles during practice to prevent long-term brain injuries in football players: http://www.techinsider.io/ivy-league-colleges-to-stop-tackling-during-practice-2016-3 * Set Jarrell at West Virginia University Institute of Technology became ineligible to play basketball after his grades fell and he was suspended; in a new lawsuit, he alleges that the problems occurred because the university failed to provide accommodations for his learning disabilities: http://wvrecord.com/stories/510698428-dyslexic-student-accuses-wvu-tech-of-disability-discrimination * Dr. Joshua Miele works on innovative accessible technologies for blind people at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, but he says his career started when he met other blind students at UC Berkeley and gained a new perspective on blindness: http://kalw.org/post/berkeley-scientist-designs-tools-visually-impaired#stream/0 * What do campus athletic officers need the most – trainers, coaches, medical staff? No – learning specialists for athletes with learning disabilities are “The Hottest Hire in Athletics” (note this article is only available to Chronicle of Higher Education subscribers, but your campus library should have copies online and in print): http://chronicle.com/article/The-Hottest-Hire-in-Athletics-/235513 * Belgian mathematics professor Dimitri Leemans was refused a permanent residency visa to stay in New Zealand and teach because his son is autistic and would be a “health burden” on the country: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11597481 * Having multiple mental and physical disabilities can complicate life as a student and lead other people to make judgments about things they don’t understand, says Elicia Tillis, a graduate student at Western Kentucky University: http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/wku-student-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-world-of-invisible/article_dfd13cf4-c7a9-5a33-9fc7-65d1678e75e5.html * Atlantic Cape Community College will spend $500,000 in a settlement with two blind students and the National Federation of the Blind, while also approving $274,000 to improve digital access on campus: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/atlantic-cape-allocates-for-ada-settlement/article_9f607c7a-dcd1-11e5-81dc-53323f09c06f.html * The newly-crowned Miss Philadelphia Holly Harrar has a platform of disability rights and is pursuing a minor in disability studies at Shippensburg University: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160229_miss_philadelphia_focus_disability_rights.html * Outbreaks of norovirus and mumps are hitting campuses across the country; while most nondisabled healthy students may not worry, students with disabilities or compromised immune systems might want to take preventative measures when possible: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/02/outbreaks-norovirus-hit-college-campuses-around-country?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=9445c47e2c-WNU20160304&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-9445c47e2c-198891893 * ABLE accounts are open to any person with a disability of any age, as long as the disability was acquired before age 26; funds can be used on higher education, and now there’s one central website for ABLE accounts, where you can compare plans in different states (you can apply in any state and don’t have to live there): https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/03/03/new-able-account-clearinghouse/21993/ * A new $2.5 million gift to Boston University will establish a new professorship in health and rehabilitation sciences, in honor of Travis Roy, a BU hockey player who was paralyzed 20 years ago in an accident on the ice: http://www.bu.edu/today/2015/travis-roy-20-years-later/ * Laura Lee, disability activist and first person with an intellectual disability to attend George Mason University, died unexpectedly in her sleep this past week (slide show is not captioned for people with visual disabilities): http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/virginia/down-syndrome-activist-remembered-for-the-life-she-lived/66692384 * A shortage of home care workers is creating a crisis in Minnesota, leaving children and adults in dire straits, including Linda Wolford, a manager in the University of Minnesota’s Disability Resource Center who has a spinal muscular condition: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/03/04/shortage-caregivers-scrambling/22000/ * An employee at the University of Sydney in Australia brought home a laptop with personal information about all the students with disabilities, and then lost the laptop, creating a potential massive breach of privacy: http://honisoit.com/2016/03/uni-loses-laptop-containing-confidential-disability-services-information/ * Vancouver Island University in Canada is the latest campus to adopt a new updated disability accessibility icon of a figure leaning forward in a wheelchair: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/viu-updated-accessible-icon-1.3467042 And a few related items of possible interest to college students: * Did you watch the GOP debate on CNN? If so, you may have noticed the person providing closed captioning got pretty fed up with the candidates, calling their discussion “unintelligible yelling” at one point: http://www.salon.com/2016/02/26/unintelligible_yelling_cnns_closed_captioner_is_fed_up_with_tonights_gop_debate_and_doesnt_care_who_knows_it/ * Disabled voters are feeling ignored by candidates, but some are working to improve things and encourage people with disabilities to vote: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/01/3755032/disability-voter-election/ * For this blog’s author, Queer fashion and disability fashion helped her look at her body and say “yes” to finding her own style, noting that it’s counterintuitive to give a disabled body what it wants and to feel good about it: http://www.autostraddle.com/i-looked-at-my-body-and-said-yes-where-disability-and-style-meet-326851/ * Pilar Lima will be taking her seat as Spain’s first Deaf senator: http://www.west-info.eu/podemos-activist-is-spains-first-deaf-senator/ * Whether you have a disability or not, don’t tell other people they have to use person-first language, says Amy Sequenzia: http://ollibean.com/2016/03/03/person-first-language-and-ableism/ * In 2015, more than one-third of the people shot by the LA police department were mentally ill, says a new report recommending greater use of non-lethal weapons and training to de-escalate situations involving people with mental illness: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-losangeles-idUSKCN0W35QG This week’s issue of the DREAM weekly e-mail is available at the DREAM website, with archived back issues available, as well (http://www.dreamcollegedisability.org). For more information about DREAM or AHEAD contact Wendy Harbour (wendy@ahead.org). To subscribe or unsubscribe, please go to http://ahead-listserve.org/mailman/listinfo/dream_ahead-listserve.org. Wendy Harbour can also handle requests to subscribe or unsubscribe. By the way, please don't presume DREAM or AHEAD agree with everything in these links we send out - we're just passing along the information so you can form your own opinions. Thanks. |
DREAM Weekly NewsThe DREAM newsletter is published every Friday during the academic year.
Let your friends, colleagues and especially your schools know about us! To subscribe or unsubscribe to the email version of this newsletter, go to http://ahead-listserve.org/mailman/listinfo/dream_ahead-listserve.org
Archives
March 2021
|