DREAM Weekly Email: December 6-12, 2015

DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: December 6-12, 2015
From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring
Sponsored by the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
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Weekly Email Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education 

Week of December 6-12, 2015

** AFTER TODAY, WE’LL BE ON WINTER BREAK UNTIL JANUARY – HAVE A GREAT BREAK AND SAFE HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU CELEBRATING!   SEE YOU IN 2016! **
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 Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Students are protesting racism at college campuses across the U.S, and the seventh most common demand is better mental health services: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/here-are-the-demands-from-students-protesting-racism-at-51-colleges/
 
* “Mobility Challenge” organizers at the University of Delaware will be meeting with disability studies faculty and disability services staff to improve next year’s event, which drew over 800 people but offended many campus members with disabilities: http://udreview.com/disability-studies-faculty-unsatisfied-with-mobility-challenge/
 
* A new report surveyed students in seven states, and found more than half of community college students experienced homelessness or hunger – the study brief does not report on students with disabilities, but lists some disability-related resources (e.g., SSDI) available to students: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/uw-survey-finds-half-of-community-college-students-risk-hunger/article_ada89e01-1620-57fb-85a1-c52b4b192a60.html
 
* AHEAD and the HBCU Disability Consortium announce a new website for Black and African American college students with disabilities, with resources for all students: http://www.blackdisabledandproud.org
 
* If you use a wheelchair, you can’t see a men’s basketball game at Syracuse University, but students and their allies on campus are working to change that: http://dailyorange.com/2015/12/sa-works-to-improve-carrier-dome-student-section-accessibility/
 
* Anna Wilson from Auburn University talks about her college search process as a student who is quadriplegic, and how she eventually made her choice: http://www.oanow.com/news/auburnuniversity/disability-no-roadblock-for-driven-auburn-student/article_1df3e7a6-9ca5-11e5-a82b-5f2d71fc2ff4.html
 
* A student at Georgetown writes about the importance of students coming together to work on campus accessibility as a social justice issue: http://www.thehoya.com/make-campus-accessible-for-all/
 
* From the UK, a list of the many ways anxiety can affect university students: http://www.buzzfeed.com/maggyvaneijk/no-one-likes-me-anyway#.reQZjgOQ8
 
* In October, USC fired football coach Steve Karkisian, but now he is suing, saying his alcoholism is a protected disability under the ADA and California law – but is it?: http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/steve-sarkisian-lawsuit-did-usc-fire-him-over-his-disability.html/?a=viewall
 
* A student at UCLA writes an open letter to her professor, explaining how faculty members casually contribute to stigma experienced by students with mental and emotional illnesses: http://dailybruin.com/2015/12/07/submission-professors-must-work-to-understand-help-students-with-mental-illness/
 
* In Minnesota, Bemidji State University professor Valica Boundry is using her first-hand knowledge of depression and anxiety to start a new radio show designed for others with similar experiences: http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/3899452-bsu-faculty-member-starts-radio-show-about-mental-illness
 
* Erin Whitten’s family and friends mocked and bullied her for becoming an online college student, but she calls it “the best decision I could have made” as a student with a chronic illness: http://www.mtv.com/news/2682712/my-chronic-illness-forced-me-to-attend-college-online-and-it-was-the-best-decision-i-could-have-made/
 
* All incoming University of Iowa students will be required to take “diversity and inclusion” courses, but no word yet on whether these courses will include anything about disability: http://www.insightintodiversity.com/diversity-and-inclusion-requirement-announced-at-university-of-iowa/
                                      
* Luanne McKinnon is 60 and just completed her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, but she’s also one of the oldest living people with cystic fibrosis: https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-phd-graduate-60-among-longest-living-survivors-cystic-fibrosis
 
* In oral arguments for an affirmative action case, Supreme Court Justice Scalia suggested African American students should attend a “slower track school” that is “less advanced” –thus slamming most campuses in the US, insulting “slow” learners with disabilities, and implying Black students are inherently less intelligent: http://diverseeducation.com/article/79419/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=c162f4c0b9a848e6a21402e1db6d0082&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=e04bd10c97e3489f98b1b7e24a30f7e2
 
* Kimberly Neil shares her story of how arriving at college was great, but still triggered a relapse of her eating disorder (ED); she says narratives of constant positive ED recovery don’t tell the whole story: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/eating-disorder-recovery-bulimia
 
* A federal judge agreed that Terra State Community College discriminated against Shirley Parrott-Copus, when they dismissed her from an advanced nursing program because she is hard-of-hearing, even though she already had 14 years of nursing experience:  http://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2015/12/hard-of-hearing-nursing-student-wins.html
 
* Nathan Olson promised his grandfather he’d go to college, but he had a long journey to learning he’s autistic and then finding a college that’s right for him, finally landing at Pacific Lutheran University: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/larry-larue/article48253110.html
 
* Facebook is working to become more accessible to blind and visually impaired people, and is trying to encourage college engineering students to learn about accessibility early in their careers: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29203702/facebooks-new-tools-help-blind-navigate-social-media
 
* Diablo Valley College in California has five years to comply with two recent judgments that found them out of compliance with the ADA on accessibility for students who are blind or physically disabled: http://www.dvcinquirer.com/news/2015/12/08/college-ensures-accommodation-after-disability-complaints/
 
* The first department (i.e., “cell”) for college student disability services in India is now available at Jawaharlal Nehru University: http://www.hindustantimes.com/education/jnu-creates-special-cell-for-differently-abled-students/story-fkFLya0hm3aEr1Qvm9HetL.html
 
* Three law school professors from Sydney University in Australia were inaugural recipients of National Ethnic Disability Alliance medals; NEDA works on disability issues for culturally and linguistically diverse people: http://www.australasianlawyer.com.au/news/law-school-academics-honoured-for-human-rights-work-209777.aspx
 
* Utah State University is mourning the passing of Marvin Fifield, who ran the Center for Persons with Disabilities and was instrumental in passage of the Assistive Technology Act and the reauthorization of the ADA: http://news.hjnews.com/allaccess/big-picture-guy-late-cpd-founding-director-remembered/article_fa492fcd-adc2-5af5-aac1-3f7fbf71f3d6.html
 
* A new study of CIP, a national transition program for adults with disabilities, shows higher rates of college attendance, employment, and independent living: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/15/12/p6035973/recent-study-shows-cip-students-with-autism-and-learning-disabilities-b
 
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
 
* Nyle Dimarco won American’s Next Top Model and is using his win as an opportunity to raise awareness of deafness, Deaf culture, and ASL: http://www.mtv.com/news/2683568/nyle-dimarco-antm-winner/
 
* Pennsylvania and other states are searching for “missing” adults with autism, misdiagnosed and sent to institutions, where many still remain: https://spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/the-missing-generation/
 
* “Can you read my lips?”  Lip-reading isn’t what it may seem to be, as this entertaining short video demonstrates (it has captions, but no audio description): https://vimeo.com/148127830
 
* Disabled comedians make fun of Donald Trump, but ironically the video is not accessible (no captioning or audio description so everyone can appreciate it): http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/07/disabled-people-make-fun-of-donald-trump_n_8736938.html
 
* Regarding a positive attitude, “No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp,” said disability activist Stella Young, who passed away a year ago – see 17 of her best quotes at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-08/17-things-stella-young-wanted-you-to-know/5950814
 
* People in the U.S. who have a mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by police: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-mentallyill-idUSKBN0TT2Y420151210
 
* A slam poem about being deaf or having auditory processing disorder can also be about fitting in to a culture that doesn’t “speak your language” (captioned, but no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf1Fo0xOdPs
 
* Is the honeymoon over?  One Deaf person shares ten surprising things you probably haven’t heard in all the raving about “Spring Awakening” on Broadway: https://jehanne.wordpress.com/2015/12/06/10-things-the-raving-reviews-dont-tell-you-about-spring-awakening-2/
 
* “Autism in Love” is a film about autistic people and their relationships, airing on PBS on December 11 (check local listings for time): https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/12/07/pbs-to-air-autism-documentary/21645/
 
* The needs of Syrian refugees with disabilities are often forgotten: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45871#.Vms7EkorJD8
 
* “You’re the Worst” TV show wins praise for its depiction of depression as the “fifth character” on the show: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-fxx-the-worst-depression-on-tv-20151209-story.html
 
* An NPR commentator notes that disability is physical, but also a product of the environment, which has profound implications for how we define the term “disability” and other terms like being a “whole” person: http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/12/06/458454543/physical-disability-and-engineering-of-environments
 
 
 
 
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 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.