DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: October 25-31, 2015
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 October 25-31, 2015 *Last week was disability awareness week on many campuses around the country – keep up your good work! There were actually TOO MANY articles to post here! We picked a few news items that seemed relevant to campuses across the country. * Happy Halloween! Halloween is upon us – let’s all try to respect people with disabilities (and people from any traditionally marginalized group):
Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order): * In Australia, Monash University donated land and support from its medical students in a unique collaboration that created new homes for young people with disabilities – the project enabled them to leave nursing homes and live independently in the community: http://mainecampus.com/2015/10/26/eating-disorders-affect-men-too/ * A group of disability studies scholars and activists have drafted a letter for publishing companies, calling for improved accessibility of academic books – especially those related to disability: https://www.disstudies.org/Publishing%20Accessible%20Books * Duke University mourns the death of 24-year old student Megan Barron, the founder of the Duke Disability Alliance and an active member of the National Organization for Rare Disorders: http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2015/10/illinois-student-senate-to-fund-3-d-printer-for-disability-resources * Activists at Northwestern University protested a speech by Princeton philosopher Peter Singer, who has previously advocated for disabled infants to be euthanized: http://dailynorthwestern.com/2015/10/25/campus/disability-rights-activists-protest-princeton-philosopher-peter-singer/ * Wynn Tashman is pursuing a law degree and a Ph.D. in education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in order to help LGBT students – he says that having a learning disability and being a disability activist started him on his career path: http://www.unlv.edu/news/article/advocate-vulnerable-youth * The federal Workforce Recruitment Program celebrates 20 years of hiring college students and recent graduates with disabilities into federal jobs: http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/625811/workforce-recruitment-program-marks-20th-anniversary * The University of Delaware demonstrated what NOT to do for disability awareness week – hosting a “Mobility Challenge” event that was enormously popular, but was all about disability simulations, focusing on the “restricted” terrible lives of people with disabilities, and not including people with disabilities in any of the planning, despite having numerous disabled students and faculty on campus, including disability studies faculty: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2016/oct/MobilityChallenge102715.html (For more information about how simulations hurt people with disabilities, see what research says at http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2015/01/14/simulated-sightlessness-can-harm-peoples-attitudes-toward-blindness and read one autistic person’s perspective: http://www.autistichoya.com/2011/11/whats-wrong-with-disability-awareness.html) * Higher education can do more for veterans, including those with mental and physical disabilities – this article gives examples of campuses that are succeeding: http://diverseeducation.com/article/78599/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ca8495cb7c5b4a6fac1b2df012498ab2&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=59dcb4141e06421ea659c93b3425d1a1 * The University of Minnesota’s NCAA football coach Jerry Kill retired this week after the stress of managing a football team exacerbated his epilepsy: http://missoulian.com/sports/college/minnesota-coach-kill-retires-epilepsy-too-much-to-manage/article_bdaed4f2-21c7-5fbf-b9ac-7bbc690d2583.html (For information about Jerry Kill and some of the accommodations he used as a coach, see this article from “Sports Illustrated:” http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/10/28/jerry-kill-retire-minnesota-golden-gophers-health-seizures) * Three California universities are offering a semester-long course teaching students with disabilities about skills they’ll need for the job market. Not only are nondisabled students taking it to learn about disability and employment, other campuses across the U.S. are thinking about offering the course, too: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/25/sdsu-disabled-students-workplace/ * Hundreds of colleges are opening food pantries for students – we are including this as “disability and higher education” news this week because many college students with disabilities face hunger or food insecurity. Let’s hope the food pantries are accessible (video has no captions or audio description, too): http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article41478480.html * A member of the University of Illinois’ Student Senate is on the wheelchair track team, and she helped push through funding for a 3-D printer in the disability resources office, which will initially be used to create equipment for wheelchair athletes: http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2015/10/illinois-student-senate-to-fund-3-d-printer-for-disability-resources * Lone Star College’s “Expanding Horizons” conference in Texas on November 19-20 will focus on higher education for students with “learning differences,” with an emphasis on reaching out to people interested in working in Texas postsecondary disability services offices, students, and parents of college students (full disclosure – AHEAD is a co-sponsor of this event, along with Landmark College): http://fatcatwebproductions.com/ThePaper_2014/md-thenews/content/lone-star-college-hosts-9th-annual-expanding-horizons-conference-students-learning * After the League of Women Voters proposed a college course to teach younger people about voting, the state director of disability services criticized the move and mocked disabled people in the process, saying she didn’t want “slow learners” voting – the Kim Davis of disability services?: http://www.pitch.com/FastPitch/archives/2015/10/28/spokeswoman-for-kansas-department-that-oversees-programs-for-disabled-do-we-want-these-slow-learners-voting * Michael Seaberry says HBCUs taught him the possibilities were endless, but he experienced major depression and realized he was trapping himself – he shares his story to help others take responsibility of their education and career paths: http://diverseeducation.com/article/78602/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ca8495cb7c5b4a6fac1b2df012498ab2&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=5371569e79024949992af01f1b280ed5 * Michelle Obama’s White House summit for the “Beating the Odds” campaign included Devon Adelman in the audience – an accomplished Highline College student with Down syndrome: http://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/337288101.html# * After Delta Epsilon Phi held an Eating Disorder Awareness Week at the University of Maine, at least one man on campus was inspired to talk about men on campus having eating disorders, too: http://mainecampus.com/2015/10/26/eating-disorders-affect-men-too/ * Ithaca College is being sued for $10 million after telling a student she would get disability accommodations, but never providing them…although as a side note, we are concerned about any campus where they still use the term “handicap” in the student newspaper: https://theithacan.org/news/former-student-files-lawsuit-against-ithaca-college/ * “Making My Way Through College” is a new free resource for prospective and current college students with disabilities, from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability: http://www.ncwd-youth.info/PostsecondaryGuide * Disabled graduate student Joshua St. Pierre was the philosopher featured in the latest “Dialogues on Disability” series by disability studies scholar Shelley Tremain: http://philosophycommons.typepad.com/disability_and_disadvanta/2015/10/dialogues-on-disability-shelley-tremain-interviews-joshua-st-pierre.html * We aren’t shocked to read that college students aren’t washing their hands enough, but we are surprised scientists researched this – and their unpleasant findings have implications for people with compromised immune systems who live and work on campuses: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/26/us-health-handwashing-college-idUKKCN0SK2OZ20151026 * With the Stubblefield conviction still fresh in people’s mind, one blogger writes about the difficulties of doing research on facilitated communication, and his perspectives as the father of an FC user: http://stephenkuusisto.com/ * Within 11 years, the disability services office at Columbia University has grown from serving 500 students to over 1500: http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/10/22/ods * Access to the universe: While Syracuse University’s chancellor and disability studies faculty participated in the dedication of a new wheelchair ramp that makes its campus observatory accessible (http://news.syr.edu/chancellor-syverud-university-dedicate-wheelchair-ramp-for-holden-observatory-84741/), Wesleyan University struggles to create access to its observatory, even though a professor emeritus of astronomy and local children in a star-gazing club need a wheelchair ramp (http://wesleyanargus.com/2015/10/22/ada-disability-van-vleck-observatory/). Maybe Wesleyan needs to call SU? * An article in the student newspaper profiles how students at Rutgers University handle depression and campus services available to them, noting there is room for improvement: http://www.dailytargum.com/article/2015/10/how-do-rutgers-students-deal-depression * A profile of Spencer Krueger describes how he plays football and rugby with accommodations for diabetes – he is applying to colleges in Michigan and Ohio and hopes to play college rugby: http://football.dailyherald.com/article/20151027/sports/151028935/ And a few related items of possible interest to college students: * The new disability (i.e., “handicap”) symbol replaces the stiff image of a wheelchair user on a blue background with a dynamic user moving forward. Yet there’s some backlash from disabled people who don’t identify with it: http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2015/oct/17/new-handicapped-logo-runs-into-resistan/ * The Cerebral Palsy Foundation is doing a “Just Say Hi” campaign, but some people with CP are angry at the paternalism: http://barbiefeet.net/2015/10/22/dont-you-dare-just-say-hi/ * “Dyslexia,” dysgraphia,” and “dyscalculia” are not dirty words, and the U.S. Department of Education had to remind schools to use these in special education, after some parents complained that schools were avoiding the terms and saying “dyslexia” wasn’t a disability maybe higher education will also notice that “learning disability” is actually a vague term: https://www.understood.org/en/community-events/blogs/in-the-news/2015/10/23/us-department-of-ed-encourages-schools-to-use-the-terms-dyslexia-dysgraphia-and-dyscalculia-in-ieps * Mobility International USA has created a podcast series for the #BlindAbroad campaign about travelers with visual impairments (transcripts are available for all podcasts): http://www.miusa.org/podcast * A disability activist with cerebral palsy, ironically traveling to improve access in public transportation, is forced to crawl in order to use a bathroom on his plane – United Airlines has issued a public apology and a travel voucher so he can once again experience the joys of flying with them: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/10/27/airline-crawls-plane/20903/ * The online University of the People was set up to offer low-tuition quality college degrees to undocumented immigrants who aren’t eligible for federal financial aid, but it’s open to anyone who can’t afford a traditional degree: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/26/449279730/the-online-college-thats-helping-undocumented-students?sc=17&f=1001&utm_source=iosnewsapp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=app * Does everything happen for a reason? Blogger Tim Lawrence says no, adding that some things can’t be fixed – only carried through life: http://www.timjlawrence.com/blog/2015/10/19/everything-doesnt-happen-for-a-reason * Sesame Street has been in the press for creating an autistic muppet, but maybe they’re overlooking Fozzie Bear as autistic, too: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/the-other-autistic-muppet/?nytmobile=0&_r=0 * Businesses are asking Congress to require notice and an opportunity for compliance before ADA suits are filed, with concerns about nuisance suits from people filing to get quick cash settlements: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/10/22/businesses-congress-ada-suits/20894/ For more information about DREAM or AHEAD contact Wendy Harbour (wendy@ahead.org) or check out our website at http://www.dreamcollegediability.org. Wendy 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. |
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