DREAM Weekly: May 7-13, 2017

DREAM Weekly, Disability and Higher Education in the News: May 7-13, 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 May 7-13, 2017
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* The Atlantic did an in-depth profile of the Gallaudet University football team and how culturally Deaf and hard-of-hearing players manage identity politics that reflect broader campus and societal issues of language, communication, and education: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/americas-deaf-team-tackles-identity-politics/525945/
 
* Temple University has published a free guide for promoting supportive academic environments for faculty who have mental illnesses, based on research with more than 300 professors: http://tucollaborative.org/sdm_downloads/promoting-supportive-academic-environments-for-faculty-with-mental-illnesses-resource-guide-and-suggestions-for-practice/
 
* Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has suggested scrapping the Higher Education Act, which helps regulate financial aid and has several provisions related to disability: http://www.educationdive.com/news/betsy-devos-education-secretary-choice-asu-gsv-keynote-2017/442333/
 
* Following a successful disability conference, University of Maryland students are asking for a place to build community, a student organization about disability, better training for faculty, and a disability studies minor: http://www.dbknews.com/2017/05/11/umd-students-disabilities-resources/
 
* Jenna Shelton researched accessibility of agricultural research spaces at UC Berkeley, and then she made a one-page infographic summarizing her findings (the article has a link to more information about her research): https://food.berkeley.edu/foodscape/map-gallery/accessibility-at-research-spaces/
 
* Robert Murphy is the very first NCAA track and field qualifier at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and he happens to have autism (video is not captioned or audio described): http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/2017/05/05/autism-cant-slow-standout-iupui-runner/100843008/
 
* Read a profile of InclusiveU at Syracuse University, which strives to create a truly inclusive experience for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including peer supports and internships (video is captioned but does not have audio description): http://www.inclusionevolution.com/inclusiveu-college-look-like-students-intellectual-disabilities/
 
* The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student newspaper did a critical investigation of sexual assault reporting problems partially resulting from the Title IX coordinator doing other equity and diversity tasks (http://cu-citizenaccess.org/2017/05/04/university-officials-delay-in-forwarding-sex-related-crimes-to-police/), and the university responded by hiring a full-time Title IX person, but that official has dual roles again – this time overseeing disability accommodations: http://cu-citizenaccess.org/2017/05/05/university-responds-to-cu-citizenaccess-the-daily-illini-investigation-of-sex-crime-reporting/
 
* Liana fights stigma by sharing her story about having an eating disorder while being a student at Cabrini University, and how she arrived at the realization that “you are worth a happy life” and “your your voice is more powerful than you know” (heads up: frank discussion of suicide, eating disorder symptoms, and abuse): http://www.theloquitur.com/so-frequent-so-detrimental-yet-still-so-taboo-a-story-of-a-young-woman-and-her-eating-disorder/#.WRUC0eXys2w
 
* A recent investigation at the University of Mississippi suggests that as many as 7,000 people are buried under the medical center, the site of the state’s first mental institution; the university hopes to use DNA to identify a list of patients and post it online for living family members: http://gizmodo.com/over-7-000-bodies-may-be-buried-beneath-mississippi-uni-1795016827
 
* Penn State football player Joey Julius opened up discussion of eating disorders last year when he talked publicly about his own struggles, and now he announced he is again seeking inpatient treatment and will blog about his experiences: http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/06/penn-state-kicker-julius-will-soon-blog-about-battling-an-eating-disorder/
 
* St. Ambrose University in Iowa highlights 2017 graduate Gerene TeKippe who considers her spina bifida “a gift,” and there’s a link at the end of the article to a video about her (video is captioned but not audio described): http://www.sau.edu/News_and_Events/N170509_Grad_Gerene_TeKippe.html
 
* Massachusetts became the 21st state to offer ABLE accounts, offering an opportunity for disabled people to save money without jeopardizing government benefits; the state’s ABLE program is unique because it will be managed and marketed by Fidelity Bank: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2017/05/10/fidelity-launches-529-able-accounts-tax-free-savings-for-disability-expenses/#27437fce2402
 
* Stony Brook University has eliminated its adapted aquatics program, which has offered free swimming to disabled people in the community since it started in 1966: http://www.sbstatesman.com/2017/05/07/university-cuts-adapted-aquatics-program/
 
* Senator Tom Harkin gave the commencement speech at Beacon College for students with learning disabilities and ADHD, praising the campus for working to help its graduates find jobs, even though employment barriers are still in place since he helped write the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990: http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20170505/sen-tom-harkin-calls-beacon-college-model-for-disabled
 
* The University of Missouri-Columbia shut down its inpatient center to treat eating disorders, forcing students to leave school and go to another city if they need treatment: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-students-lose-a-lifeline-when-eating-disorders-center-closes/article_d1ef66f9-f52b-5cb2-8916-d95ac98c0c91.html
 
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
 
* Journalist Wendy Lu reflects on “disability privilege” and being a disabled woman of color who has battled with herself and others over her identity as a disabled person: https://www.bustle.com/p/how-my-privilege-as-a-disabled-person-motivates-me-as-a-disability-activist-29808
 
* After offending deaf fans by telling them to just “turn up the volume,” Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt signed an apology: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/5/chris-pratt-apologizes-for-posting-video-that-some/
 
* If you’ve ever seen pictures of disability rights history, there’s a good chance the photographer was Tom Olin, and now you can learn more about him and see some of his work in a video by Rooted in Rights (video has captions, audio description, and a transcript): http://www.rootedinrights.org/videos/accessibility/tom-olin-activist-photographer-of-the-disability-rights-movement/
 
* The title pretty much sums up this article about long-term sustainable self-care: “5 Self-Care Strategies that Aren’t F**kin Mani-Pedis”: https://www.continuumcollective.org/blog/2017/3/7/5-self-care-strategies-that-arent-fucking-mani-pedis
 
* Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says America was “born with a birth defect” of slavery: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/332307-condoleezza-rice-says-america-was-born-with-a-birth-defect-slavery
 
* Broadway show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is about a young man with autism, but Mickey Rowe is the first autistic actor to have the leading role: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mickey-rowe-autism_us_59130afde4b050bdca6112d7
 
* A new video explores the social model of disability, disability, and impairment, and how the problem with access barriers is not our bodies – it’s the barriers in the environment (video is captioned with no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r0MiGWQY2g
 
* Two new comics feature people with disabilities:

• The Adventures of Hydro Girl follows Sam, a girl with hydrocephalus who has super powers: http://sarahrenehan.wixsite.com/hydrogirlofficial/store
• A new comic book by publisher Lion Forge will feature Jonah, a teenager with Down syndrome: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2017/05/09/star-comic-down-syndrome/23683/
• Want to read more?  Here’s an article about disability in Marvel comics: https://comicsverse.com/disability-in-marvel-comics/

 
* A Christian pastor struggles with “demons” of depression and feeling pressured to hide it from judgmental parishoners: https://sojo.net/articles/i-m-pastor-depression-years-i-thought-i-had-hide-it
 
* Gaelynn Lea, a musician with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, discusses how people with disabilities are left out of discussions about sexuality and beauty, and her own experiences with both topics: https://violinscratches.com/2017/04/20/sexuality-disability-for-tedxyale/
 
* Meet ten people who love the freedom their wheelchairs offer, unwilling to give them up even if they could: http://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2017-05-11/these-10-people-wouldnt-give-up-their-wheelchairs-if-they-could
 
* Cosmo covers negative childbirth experiences of mothers with disabilities, and how medical and social service professionals often have a hard time seeing women with disabilities as caregivers instead of someone in need of caring: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9585869/disabled-parents-pregnancy-childbirth/
 
* The city of New York and New York bar associations have published a guide to explain service animals to employers, landlords, business owners, and policymakers: http://m.newyorklawjournal.com/?slreturn=20170511213429/#/article/1202785466837/State-City-Bar-Groups-Issue-Guide-on-Service-Animals?mcode=1202617075062&curindex=2&_almReferrer=http:%2F%2Fm.facebook.com
 
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This week’s emailed issue of the DREAM Weekly 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.