DREAM Weekly: April 16-22, 2017

​DREAM Weekly, Disability and Higher Education in the News: April 16-22, 2017
 
From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring
Sponsored by the National Center for College Students with Disabilities and the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
 
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Weekly Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education 
Week of April 16-22, 2017
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Princeton University has created a new “AccessAbility Center” for students, to provide a gathering space and function as a change agent for students with disabilities on campus, working in collaboration with other campus groups, including the Office of Disability Services: https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S49/25/36Q83/?section=topstories
 
* Juan Manuel Montes is the first DREAMer with protected immigrant status to be deported under new immigration policies; he is also a Souther California community college student with learning disabilities and a traumatic brain injury: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/04/18/first-protected-dreamer-deported-under-trump/100583274/
 
* Believing that universities should do more to improve the college-to-work transition, a new pilot program in Boston is testing out strategies for connecting students to employers: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-boston-can-help-americas-college-grads-with-disabilities_us_58f66a9be4b0f5cf16c7ba0a
 
* Last week a professor wrote how she “dreaded” the “accommodations talk” when students show up with letters from disability services, but one activist says the professor’s approach is anything but helpful and may encourage students to hide their disabilities: https://robinmeames.org/blog/
 
* Gallaudet University has a new exhibit highlighting another NASA group of “hidden figures” – deaf men and Gallaudet alumni who were test subjects for the early space program: http://wjla.com/news/local/gallaudet-university-highlights-nasas-deaf-hidden-figures
 
* University of Minnesota students say accommodations aren’t enough when faculty are skeptical about disabilities and student needs, and protesting that 16-minute online disability trainings are too long: http://www.mndaily.com/article/2017/04/despite-accommodations-some-umn-students-clash-with-professors-over-unseen-disabilities
 
* Students experiencing sexual assault often distrust the system and make reports to counseling or disability services offices instead of the Department of Public Safety, says an article in the Southeast Missouri State University student newspaper: http://www.southeastarrow.com/story/2404219.html
 
* On the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, several articles reflect on the impact for those who experienced it and higher education across the U.S.:

• Kristina Anderson was shot in her French class, and now she is works to improve campus safety and workplace violence: http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Arc-of-Her-Survival/239744?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=39886654d38f4d41809ae1e16c284a25&elq=477d5b187f884e0684ec8e5d22dc4462&elqaid=13399&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5560
• One mom explains how the shooting affected approaches to mental health, but why Virginia is still falling short: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/10-years-after-virginia-tech-virginia-still-falls-short-on-mental-health-care/2017/04/14/52b3b6a4-1a14-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?utm_term=.0f87bf9b6e5e
• The shooting also raised questions about gun violence and gun control: http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/the-virginia-tech-massacre-years-out/article_bda787bc-26ce-11e7-853d-9fc75ac89f5f.html
• A reporter and former Governor Tim Kaine recall events of the day (video is captioned without audio description): http://wavy.com/2017/04/09/the-virginia-tech-tragedy-10-years-later/

 
* Facebook has a new group called “Network of PhDs who are Blind or Low Vision”: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blindphd/
 
* The University of Minnesota has funded a new student-based Organization for Graduate and Professional Students with Disabilities, which will work with the disability services office to improve experiences of graduate students with disabilities: http://www.mndaily.com/article/2017/04/group-graduate-students-with-disabilities
 
* Dance Magazine profiled Annie Hanauer, who has a prosthetic arm, and how college faculty provided accommodations and gave her strategies for the job search: http://www.dancemagazine.com/meet-the-dancer-whos-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-disabled-2367224206.html
 
* Winona State junior Stephanie Shaw has Type 1 diabetes, and is now an activist and advocate for diabetics on campus and across the U.S.: http://thewinonan.winonastateu.com/student-advocates-for-diabetes-awareness/
 
* Will Moore identified as an “aspie” and was a professor of political science at Arizona State University, but his suicide has people asking how researching violence may affect mental health, stigma among faculty about admitting mental health concerns, and how acacademe may be hostile to professors’ disability disclosure: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/04/21/recent-suicide-professor-sparks-renewed-discussions-about-access-mental-health
 
* UC Berkeley’s Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education published an open letter defending their recent decision to restrict access to online materials, saying the decision lets Berkeley focus on making newer content accessible: http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/03/01/course-capture/
 
* Syracuse University professor Arlene Kanter lectured at Colgate about the importance of including disabled people in universities, and how to create an inclusive campus: http://www.thecolgatemaroonnews.com/news/article_ce281cb2-205e-11e7-9a13-971543063b13.html
 
* Youngstown State University is trying a variety of approaches to support athletes’ mental health,  including adding individualized wellness plans and a new position for Director of Student Outreach and Support on the campus Behavior Intervention Team: http://www.thejambar.com/athletes-mental-health-series-student-athletes/
 
* A new Hope College course called “Spanish for Pre-Health with Service to the Community” is connecting students to Latino outreach projects at the local hospital: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/entertainmentlife/20170417/where-health-care-and-spanish-intersect-hope-college-holland-hospital-team-up
 
* Have you missed some of the “Dialogues on Disability” interviews with disabled philosophers?  Don’t worry - the latest installment reviews highlights of the past year: http://philosophycommons.typepad.com/disability_and_disadvanta/2017/04/dialogues-on-disability-shelley-tremain-with-jesse-prinz-tommy-curry-and-audrey-yap.html
 
* Blind student and Paralympian Staci Mannella is suing Dartmouth College, claiming they did not provide disability accommodations, including notetakers and accommodations in science labs: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/Blind-Student-Sues-Dartmouth-College-Failing-Provide-Accommodations-419979343.html
 
* Central Baptist College in Arkansas has created a new Autism Spectrum Assistance Program (ASAP) to support “students on the autism spectrum” who need extra academic and social supports during college: http://thecabin.net/local/news/education/2017-04-19/cbc-adds-autism-spectrum-assistance-program
 
* A student at the Miami University of Ohio writes about how a disability studies course changed the way he sees disability in the media, and why its important for college students to study disability: http://miamistudent.net/media-marginalizes-what-it-means-to-be-disabled/
 
* Harvard professor Kathryn Davidson says that research in American Sign Language “is one of the best cases of social justice in linguistics:” http://harvardmagazine.com/2017/05/social-justice-in-linguistics
 
* James Deibler is an autistic student attending Arizona State University, and when he learned he’s no longer eligible for Pell Grants that funded his education, he set up a GoFundMe account that has already raised nearly $10,000: http://www.statepress.com/article/2017/04/spcampus-student-with-autism-sets-up-go-fund-me-account
 
* “Dear Annie” tackles a question from a college student with autism “looking for love” and trying to figure out dating: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/features/state-national-lifestylecolumnists/looking-for-love-proves-difficult-because-of-my-autism/
 

And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
 
* The royal family is talking about mental health, with Prince Harry discussing how grief counseling helped him deal with his mother’s death (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/17/prince-harry-grief-revelations-praise-mental-health-experts), and Princess Kate talking about isolation and emotional issues of new mothers (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/04/20/it-is-lonely-at-times-the-power-of-princess-kate-and-the-royal-familys-vulnerability/?utm_term=.2c022a230da5 – video is captioned but not audio described)
 
* Anne Kaier writes in The New York Times about her experiences with ichthyosis and learning to love her body through singing: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/opinion/learning-to-sing-again.html
 
* Teens and young adults are binge-watching “13 Reasons Why” on Netflix and using the phrase “Welcome to Your Tape,” but many are concerned about the show glorifying suicide and presenting it as a reasonable option: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/style/13-reasons-why-netflix-teen-suicide.html?_r=0 
 
* Learn about Divas with Disabilities, and how they’re empowering women of color with disabilities (video is captioned without audio description): https://www.facebook.com/MicMedia/videos/1470315526324566/
 
* Recent Muhlenberg College graduate Madison Ferris has muscular dystrophy, and will become the first person on Broadway to play the star character of the “Glass Menagerie” while using a wheelchair: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/arts/mc-madison-ferris-glass-menagerie-wheelchair-sally-field-20170415-story.html
 
* The comedy TV show “Speechless” centers around a teen with cerebral palsy and his family, and it will receive a Television Academy Honors commendation for its work on “significant issues facing our society”: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2017/04/14/abcs-speechless-honored-disability/23582/
 
* Is it possible that an entire generation of Gen Xers are suffering psychological distress? A new study blames economics and “chaotic health care use” for the increase in mental health issues and suicide rates: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/health/serious-psychological-distress-study/index.html
 
* A ten-year old boy with autism kicked a teacher, but instead of addressing the issue in school, he was arrested and charged with a third-degree felony; his mother captured the arrest on her camera: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/21/health/autism-florida-10-year-old-arrested-bn/index.html
 

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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]).

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By the way, please don't presume DREAM, the National Center for College Students with Disabilities, 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.