DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: April 17-30, 2016
From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring Sponsored by the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) and the National Center for College Students with Disabilities ------------------------------- Weekly Email Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education Week of April 17-30, 2016 ------------------------------- Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order): * The Epilepsy Foundation asked University of South Dakota senior Amelia Heiden to research the topic of epilepsy in higher education, and now her report is going to members of Congress in DC: http://volanteonline.com/2016/04/ideafest-one-students-pursuit-to-change-how-usd-handles-disabilities/ * Dean Carla Hesse wrote an op-ed about UC Berkeley’s recent troubles with sexual harassment and assault cases (http://www.dailycal.org/2016/04/12/352614/), but the Faculty Coalition for Disability Rights responded, saying her essay is harmful to people with disabilities and deflects attention away from the very issues she wanted to discuss: http://www.dailycal.org/2016/04/22/354162/ * Three students in the University of Michigan’s English 316 course (Disability Studies and Activism) tried to raise awareness of physical accessibility through a video project – you can watch the video here (captioned but no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP1L_mAWzDQ&app=desktop * Oral Roberts University requires all students to use Fitbits, but that’s coming under fire from the National Eating Disorder Association, which has over 1,300 signatures on a petition (video is captioned, but no audio description): http://www.wftv.com/news/trending-now/universitys-mandatory-fitbit-program-under-fire-from-national-eating-disorder-association/227856100 * Darren Brooks Colbourne wrote an op-ed last year on his experiences using mental health services at Columbia for depression and bipolar disorder, but he had to get over his own negative attitudes about the “D word” (“disability”) to utilize Disability Services – and now he is encouraging other students to do the same: http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2016/04/27/coming-grips-d-word * In honor of American Sign Language Day, the Burger King next to Gallaudet University transformed into a restaurant based in ASL, even changing the sign outside into fingerspelled words, but they realized they had no sign for the Whopper sandwich! (video captioned but no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkiwXm46S4k * The Syracuse University student newspaper published an article criticizing facilitated communication and SU’s Institute on Communication and Inclusion, and students and faculty both responded forcefully: student response by Katherine Vroman is at http://sports.dailyorange.com/2016/04/institute-on-communication-and-inclusion-student-critiques-the-d-o-s-facilitated-communication-reporting/, and faculty responded here http://dailyorange.com/2016/04/sus-institute-on-communication-and-inclusion-responds-to-do-facilitated-communication-reporting-editorial-board/ * “Other” – that’s the box Jaggar DeMarco had to check on a form appealing George Washington University’s suspension of his financial aid after he was hospitalized and took several incompletes; in checking that box, he reflected his “other” status at GW, and how the campus newspaper gave him a way to communicate about that experience: http://www.gwhatchet.com/2016/04/24/essay-my-disability-doesnt-make-me-an-other/ * An article from Gonzaga University in Washington state compares parental leave policies at various campuses, noting that sometimes maternity and paternity leaves do not exist in name, but are there as part of campus disability insurance or disability leave policies: http://www.gonzagabulletin.com/news/article_5aa1b4f0-07dd-11e6-b9d9-f74b4831ef64.html * Ben Alexander uses facilitated communication to attend Tulane University, with his father providing supports (video has no captioning or audio description): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/life-video/video-silenced-by-autism-young-man-finds-his-voice/article29747091/ * Last week, we shared news that the federal government was expanding plans to cancel student loan debt for people with permanent disabilities – here’s more history about that, and how it fits with other disability-related student loan initiatives that are still in the works: http://foreignaffairs.co.nz/2016/04/13/u-s-department-of-education-acts-to-protect-social-security-benefits-for-borrowers-with-disabilities/ * Drew University history professor Frances Bernstein is using a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study disability rights movements among Soviet WWII veterans: http://www.drew.edu/news/2016/04/26/neh-fellowship-inspires-drew-professor * Amanda Cachia is a little person writing her dissertation on disability and art at UC-San Diego; despite ableist language, this article explores her interest in disability activism in curating art exhibits: http://sdcitybeat.com/article-17366-little-person-amanda-cachia-takes-disability-to-new-artistic-heights.html * The Observer student newspaper did a six-part series on disability at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s campuses:
* Sara Groenwegan is a Type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump, and a Division 1 softball player for the University of Minnesota: http://www.mndaily.com/sports/softball/2016/04/21/groenewegen-undeterred-diabetes * The University of Nebraska Omaha has a new college wheelchair basketball team – one of only ten college teams in the U.S. (video has a transcript, but no captions or audio description): http://www.ketv.com/news/uno-scores-1-of-only-10-college-wheelchair-basketball-teams-in-the-us/39140974 * Northwest Arkansas Community College spent $1.8 million creating a college program for students with intellectual disabilities, and even hired a full-time director; they just announced the program is not moving forward due to concerns about long-term financial sustainability: http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2016/apr/24/abrupt-halt-to-northwest-arkansas-colle/ * ABLE accounts will help people with disabilities save money without losing other benefits, but no state is actually offering them yet; a new consortium of nine states is hoping to get things moving: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/04/20/states-band-together-able/22204/ * In Uganda, the Minister of State for Elderly and Disability Affairs gave a public update on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), including a brief statement about higher education: http://www.mediacentre.go.ug/press-release/progress-implementation-convention-rights-persons-disabilities * Southern Smash is doing its annual college tour to promote positive body image and eating disorder awareness: http://thedmonline.com/online-southern-smash-hosts-event-promoting-positive-body-image-draft/ * The University of Nebraska-Lincoln saw a 56% increase in students needing counseling services, with the number of visits increasing 105%, so they are building a new health center, hiring, and contracting out on-call and crisis services to address the need: http://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/caps-attempts-to-improve-lacking-resources-to-serve-growing-mental/article_023978b6-0837-11e6-b56b-23caa03deb63.html * Gerald Gold, professor emeritus at York University, passed away on March 9, after a distinguished career, including long-term projects studying disability initiated by his own experiences with multiple sclerosis: http://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2016/03/11/passings-professor-emeritus-gerald-gold-internationally-known-for-his-research/ * Ireland uses a points system to determine college eligibility, and phased-in new disability allowances and accommodations have led to a 20% jump in applicants using the “Disability Access Route to Education” (DARE) system: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/going-to-college/applications-rise-for-college-disability-route-34659522.html * Brandon Looney from Indiana University Southeast identifies as gay and “on the Asperger’s syndrome end of the autism spectrum;” he believes political correctness has no place on campus, and is not even possible when autism affects some students’ ability to be politically correct or follow emerging norms with groups like trans people: http://www.iushorizon.com/18982/opinions/autism-and-political-correctness/ * Reflective MedEd is a new blog focused on reflective pedagogy and care of people in medical education: https://reflectivemeded.org/ * There’s a mumps outbreak at Harvard University, and it may affect plans for graduation ceremonies: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/health/harvard-university-mumps-outbreak/index.html And a few related items of possible interest to college students: * Ecuador was hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake – learn more about the emergency response from Handicap International, including provision of rehabilitation care to the injured: http://www.handicap-international.us/ecuador * Ever heard of Tatyana McFadden? She’s one of the “greatest athletes of our time,” and she just got the grand slam of marathons – Boston, New York, Chicago, and London – competing as a wheelchair racer: https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/news-media/latest-news/item/women-s-wheelchair-race-report-mcfadden-makes-it-four-wins-in-a-row/ * Members of the Latino Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association in DC is working to connect members with Latino and Deaf cultures, families, and educational systems: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2016/04/25/deaf-latinos-struggle-to-connect-with-their-families-and-their-hispanic/ * International headlines shared the news that Prince died unexpectedly last week at the age of 57, and a few articles took a disability perspective on the news:
* #DeafBing is going viral as Deaf people joke about things that only Deaf people experience (heads up…many videos are only in ASL with no captions or audio for non-signers): https://twitter.com/hashtag/deafbing * Self-driving cars are about to become a reality, but activists are hoping policymakers and manufacturers include people with disabilities in the cars’ development: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/04/25/disability-self-driving-cars/22224/ * The FDA is accepting public comments on a proposed ban on devices that produce electric shock for behavior management – something that is only being used in the US with disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts; this has been condemned as torture by the United Nations: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/04/22/fda-moves-ban-shock-devices/22216/ with an opportunity to comment at https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2016-N-1111-0001 * On April 19, over a dozen deaf and hard-of-hearing lawyers were admitted to the Supreme Court bar en masse: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/04/19/chief-justice-swears-in-deaf-lawyers-to-supreme-court-bar/ * Frustrated by people not understanding ableism, Dominick Evans created #AbleismExists: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dominick-evans-ableismexists-twitter-discrimination-against-disabled-people_us_571902c9e4b0c9244a7b2eb9 * Author Susan Pinker describes getting a concussion, being handed an information sheet written for hockey players, and slowly realizing the long-term effects of concussions (including heightened suicidal risks) that medicine is only starting to understand: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-perilous-aftermath-of-a-simple-concussion-1459963724 * Amy Gravino bills herself as the “Dr. Ruth of the autism world,” and it all started with her own experiences as a person with autism trying to date and have a sex life: http://www.phillyvoice.com/dr-ruth-autism-world-wants-frank-conversations-around-sex-and-autism/ * Conservative news magazine Newsmax notes that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opposes changes to social security and federal disability programs, and he is winning big in states with high rates of disability, implying that people with disabilities favor Trump: http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/trump-wins-big-disability/2016/04/26/id/725936/ * Crutches have been the same for over 150 years, but a new company is re-designing the crutch (video has no captions or audio description, but does have text on the screen): http://www.techinsider.io/new-crutch-design-2016-4 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 ([email protected]). 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, AHEAD, or the National Center for College Students with Disabilities agree with everything in these links we send out - we're just passing along the information so you can form your own opinions. Thanks. |
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