DREAM Weekly: June 17-23, 2018

​Summer Edition: DREAM Weekly on Disability and Higher Education in the News: June 17-23, 2018

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):
 
* ProPublica created a free searchable database of all civil rights investigations at  U.S. colleges, including disability-related investigations: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/civil-rights-violations#1074
 
* Eastern Washington University is hoping to transform its wheelchair basketball club into the first NCAA team for the sport: https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/spokane-county/eastern-washington-attempts-wheelchair-basketball-program/293-565213352
 
* Many architectural, intellectual, and philosophical barriers are preventing students from entering the field of architecture, says a disabled architecture professor at the California College of the Arts, who says designs will be better if the field is more inclusive: https://archpaper.com/2018/06/disability-education-of-architects/
 
* The NCAA settled a lawsuit with the family of Greg Ploetz, who played football for the University of Texas, and died with CTE in 2015; the NCAA did not admit liability as part of the settlement: https://pilotonline.com/sports/college/elsewhere/football/article_dab841a9-624b-58d3-ab38-183c9d385fe1.html
 
* Blind culinary school student Jim Reed is learning how to utilize his blindness while baking during courses at Salt Lake community college (video is captioned without audio description): https://www.ksl.com/article/46345279/salt-lake-city-man-can-cook-what-he-cant-see--and-it-looks-delicious
 
* Thanks to a $1 million grant from the state Department of Human Services, Mississippi State University has been able to significantly expand services for students with disabilities, including inclusive higher education programs for students with intellectual disabilities: http://www.djournal.com/opinion/editorials/our-opinion-grant-grows-programs-for-those-with-disabilities/article_c5c41acf-721a-5b98-9ba8-9caf255c70e1.html
 
* An ER doctor was fired for mocking a Black college student who collapsed after not having access to anxiety drugs for a few days; his father filmed the doctor, who accused his son of seeking drugs and faking symptoms: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/are-you-dead-sir-video-shows-er-doctor-mocking-berating-patient-with-anxiety-1/772981913
 
* While unlikely to actually happen, President Trump has proposed merging the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor to better focus on training people for the workforce, reflecting larger national debates about the purpose of education: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/22/white-house-merger-plan-reignites-debate-education-training?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=fd37e61002-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-fd37e61002-198891893&mc_cid=fd37e61002&mc_eid=a51c972f65
 
* Deaf prisoners do not usually have access to interpreters, meaning they also cannot access any educational programs offered to inmates: https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/opinions/aclu-georgia-deaf-abuse-lawsuit-novic/index.html
 
* The RISE Mentorship program in Singapore matches university students with disabilities and mentors from local corporations, and it’s also been implemented in Australia: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub/inclusive-business-forum/singtel-grooming-new-talent-through-mentorship-programmes
 
* Amber O’Neil, a 19-year old autistic Seattle Central College Student missing since early June, has been found safe in Portland, Oregon with a man she met in accounting class: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/missing-seattle-woman-with-autism-found-safe-in-portland/281-566150046
 
* Two full-time mental health counselors will join the University of Pittsburgh’s athletics department to address mental health issues among student athletes: http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/13781849-74/pitt-athletics-creates-mental-health-partnership-with-western-psychiatric-institute
 
* The Accessible Canada Act was introduced in Canada’s Parliament, with the goal of improving national disability access, including the development of a Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2018/06/minister-duncan-introduces-the-proposed-accessible-canada-act.html
 
* Publisher SR Education Group released its rankings for “2018 Best and Most Affordable online Colleges for Students with Disabilities,” with the Rochester Institute of Technology ranked as #1 for online programs, and Cleveland State university earning #1 as most affordable: https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/06/prweb15570878.htm
 
* A conference on facilitated communication has drawn condemnation and requests for the University of Northern Iowa to cancel it, even though proponents say it can change lives for people with disabilities: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/facilitated-communication-conference-draws-fire-at-university-of-northern-iowa-20180615
 
* Brigham Young University-Hawaii professor Stephan Hancock gave a public devotional about his experiences with depression, suggesting that if Christ and his apostles could experience depression, “no strength of character…will make us immune to such experiences:” https://www.ldschurchnews.com/living-faith/2018-06-19/find-light-in-the-darkness-byu-hawaii-professor-shares-personal-experience-with-mental-illness-47395
 
* Soothe Apparel is a t-shirt line by Arizona student Colby McMahon, who wanted to create awareness of people with mental illness after his own experiences with panic attacks: http://www.azfamily.com/story/38486578/phoenix-student-creates-t-shirt-line-to-support-mental-health-awareness
 
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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 (NCCSD), AHEAD, or the U.S. Department of Education agree with or support everything in these links we send out - we're just passing along the information so you can form your own opinions.  Thanks.
 
DREAM and the NCCSD are funded by a grant to AHEAD from the U.S. Department of Education (P116D150005).