DREAM Weekly Email: Oct. 20-Nov. 5, 2016

​DREAM Weekly Newsletter on Disability and Higher Education in the News: October 30-November 5, 2016

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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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Campuses can do more to recruit and hire faculty members with disabilities, says this article by disability studies professors Jay Dolmage and Stephanie Kerschbaum: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/10/31/advice-hiring-faculty-members-disabilities-essay
 
* The Washington Post interviewed Bobbi Cordano, the new President of Gallaudet University, discussing her new job and being the first female in the role: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-first-female-deaf-president-at-gallaudet-says-her-job-is-to-listen/2016/11/02/3f360746-90b0-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html
 
* Spencer Williams, radio broadcaster at the University of British Columbia, has started a biweekly column in Vice on sexuality and disability, starting with an article about his own experiences using “intimacy coaches” for people with disabilities (video has no captions or audio description): http://www.vice.com/read/sexuality-with-a-disability
 
* Captions help everyone and not just deaf people, says new research from Oregon State University, showing that 98.6% of all surveyed students found captions helpful, with 75% using them as a learning tool: http://phys.org/news/2016-11-captions-transcripts-aid-students.html
 
* North Central College’s placekicker Liam Crotty just told his teammates he is autistic, and he believes it gives him a gift of being able to block out noise during games: http://willcountygazette.com/stories/511035447-autism-doesn-t-slow-down-north-central-college-s-star-placekicker
 
* A petition at Gallaudet University is asking ASL to be a required part of audiology degree programs across the country: https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/help-make-asl-required-for-all-audiology-programs.html?utm_medium=RSS
 
* East Carolina University’ STEPP Program is reaching out to students with learning disabilities during their senior year, offering free assistance and transition support to them as they go through college: http://www.reflector.com/News/2016/10/30/ECU-Notes-8.html
 
* A new series of five posts by college coaching provider Adam Rabasca covers “the five knows” – things every prospective college student with a disability should know about themselves and the colleges they are interested in attending: http://media.wix.com/ugd/ed0cef_674fdc1bcc064c8dad42a013ef22d4cc.pdf
 
* The title of this blog post says it all – “Your mental health is more important than your grades”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-lee-costa/your-mental-health-is-mor_b_8357368.html
 
* After publicly admitting to being a Twitter personality who routinely attacks trigger warnings, safe spaces, and bias hotlines, NYU professor Michael Rictenwald was denounced by students and colleagues, and suspended from teaching for undisclosed reasons that Rictenwald says is related to administrators’ concerns about his mental health: http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/30/nyu-professor-says-he-was-suspended-for-bashing-pc-culture/
 
* Deciding whether or not to disclose a disability in a job interview is a process for graduate students to consider, and the answer is “it depends”: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/10/31/should-graduate-students-disabilities-disclose-them-job-interviews-essays?mc_cid=18bcd01d27&mc_eid=380f80e351 
 
* Ohio University is updating its classroom privacy and intellectual property policies, with many students using phones to record lectures and policies not reflecting accommodation needs of students with disabilities: http://www.thepostathens.com/article/2016/10/ohio-university-classroom-privacy-policy-could-be-updates
 
* Indiana University professor Bernice Pescosolido is committed to anti-stigma efforts around mental health, including serving with U Bring Change 2 Mind, a national organization working with campuses around the country: http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/10/sociology-professors-seek-to-end-mental-health-stigma
 
* College athletes may not recognize when disciplined eating becomes an eating disorder, and many fear they will lose their scholarships if eating patterns change, but help and support is available: http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/health/2016/11/lindsay_kalter_athletes_deal_with_eating_disorders
 
* The University of Illinois is beginning a “self-study” of its diversity efforts, under the direction of Chancellor Robert Jones, who wants to know how funds are being invested and whether programs are working: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-11-02/ui-chancellor-seeks-review-diversity-programs.html
 
* Finding barriers everywhere he went at Oakland University, Elijah Sanders became depressed and isolated, but joining student government changed his outlook and led to real access and improvements and disability events on campus: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/oakland-university-social-breaks-barriers-for-students-with-disabilities
 
* If you’re studying a field that requires tools, check out this list of adapted tools and equipment, including ladders, hoists, construction tools, welding supplies, and auto mechanic equipment: http://disabilityworktools.com/
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:

* Voting happens on November 8.  Here are a few resources:

• If you experience any discrimination or major barriers to voting, contact the National Disability Rights Network’s Protection and Advocacy Center in your state – you can find your state’s center at http://www.ndrn.org/en/ndrn-member-agencies.html
• 73% of polling stations had potential barriers for disabled voters, who are still fighting for the right to vote (video has no captions or audio description): http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/03/hidden-group-americans-still-fighting-for-right-to-vote.html
• An article in Teen Vogue explains #CripTheVote: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/crip-the-vote-hashtag-persons-with-disabilities-election-campaign
• Al Jazeera did a two-part series on disability and the election, interviewing many well-known people with disabilities from around the U.S. (videos have captions but no audio description): http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201610312320-0025310
• Many people with disabilities have guardians, which may automatically ban them from voting: https://www.revealnews.org/article/disabled-and-disenfranchised-families-fight-to-restore-voting-rights/

 
* Veterans Day is coming up on November 11, and here are some resources for disabled vets in college (with thanks to Ability Front newsletter for the links):

• The National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) Clearinghouse information for veterans: http://www.nccsdclearinghouse.org/student-veterans.html
• ADA resources for veterans (in English and Spanish): http://adasoutheast.org/solutions.php?idarea=Veterans
• A collection of resources from the National Rehabilitation Information Center: https://naricspotlight.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/honoring-and-supporting-those-who-served/

 
* Read about Carrie Ann Lucas – disabled attorney, mom, and activist fighting right-to-die legislation Prop. 106 in Colorado: http://www.coloradoindependent.com/161965/griego-carrie-ann-lucas-aid-in-dying-disability-rights
 
* You may have seen the Apple ad about new accessibility features, but did you know that the woman in the ad (Sady Paulson) also edited it? (Video has captions but no audio description): http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/28/technology/accessibility-apple-sady-filmmaker/
 
* For autistic people, stimming can be a healthy outlet, but what happens when stims are harmful or unhealthy? https://kirstenlindsmith.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-dark-side-of-the-stim-self-injury-and-destructive-habits/
 
* Learn more about the work of Carla Qualtrough, a blind member of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, including her efforts to create new accessibility legislation: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/a-special-edition-of-the-current-focused-on-disability-for-october-21-2016-1.3814141/minister-carla-qualtrough-says-canada-s-new-disability-act-will-make-history-1.3814165
 
* The U.S. National Council on Disability is recommending passage of a “Technology Bill of Rights” for people with disabilities: http://www.ncd.gov/progressreport/2016/progress-report-october-2016#main-content
 
* A new documentary film called “The Rebound” covers the Miami Heat Wheels, a wheelchair basketball team based in Miami: http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/25389-local-filmmakers-chronicle-struggles-of-miami-heat/
 
* Watch a video about research at Gallaudet University on a new language for DeafBlind people called Pro-Tactile ASL (visual descriptions and transcripts are available): https://www.facebook.com/quartznews/videos/1325731264127239/
 
* Bill Cosby’s attorneys say he is legally blind and that will interfere with his ability to defend himself in a trial for charges of indecent assault: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/us/bill-cosby-blind/index.html
 
* All Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx home basketball games will be closed captioned: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/timberwolves-lynx-provide-closed-captioning-home-games/
 
* Dr. Michelle Gabbard in Texas is becoming well known as a physician specializing in children with cerebral palsy – maybe because she has CP, too (video has no captions or audio description): http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/North-Texas-Doctor-Knows-Pain-Perseverance-of-Cerebral-Palsy-389808331.html
 
* Former Boyz II Men singer Michael McCary admits he has been dealing with multiple sclerosis (video has no captions or audio description): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-mccary-multiple-sclerosis_us_5812320ce4b0990edc2f9eec
 
* Disabilities you may know: blindness, deafness, dyslexia, CP, epilepsy, being single…?  Yeah, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified being single as a disability so it will be easier and cheaper for singles to get In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments around the world: http://www.redbrick.me/lifestyle/can-single-really-classified-disability/
 
* Gardening and farming with a disability is a little easier thanks to a series of factsheets from Ohio AgrAbility: http://agrability.osu.edu/resources/factsheets#main-content
 
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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 (wendy@ahead.org).

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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.