DREAM Weekly Update: December 11-17, 2016

​DREAM Weekly Update, Disability and Higher Education in the News: December 11-17, 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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** This is our last DREAM weekly email for 2016!  Hope you all have a good winter break, peaceful and safe holidays, and some time to relax.  We’ll be back in January! **
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Senators have introduced the RISE Act, which would amend the Higher Education Act to allow more types of disability documentation, collect federal data about students and campuses, and fund technical assistance initiatives: http://politicalnews.me/?id=42081&keys=RISE-ACT-STUDENTS-DISABLED
 
* If a professor has depression, how much should the students know about it?  Abby Wilkerson reflects on faculty disclosure in the classroom: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/opinion/should-i-tell-my-students-i-have-depression.html?_r=0
 
* Researchers Joy Banks, Antonio Ellis, and Robert Palmer call on HBCUs to do more research and work around disability: http://diverseeducation.com/article/90107/?utm_campaign=DIV1612%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20DEC09&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
 
* The Utah Board of Regents heard reports about Utah’s college students being above the national average for rates of depression, thoughts of suicide, and serious mental illness, as well as the fact that the average student in Utah must wait up to 11 weeks for a counseling center appointment: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669040/My-view-Addressing-the-issue-of-mental-health-on-college-campuses.html
 
* South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training has released a report for national work on disability and higher education, including a strategic plan to move forward on several measures: https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/accessible-universities-students-disabilities/
 
* Award-winning University of Pennsylvania doctoral student Clare Mullaney has been working to build a network of faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students who are interested in disability studies and disability issues: http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/12/disability-studies-and-clare-mullaney
 
* Looking for quick tips to create a universally designed classroom in higher education?  Check out this list from a doctoral student at UCLA: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/teaching-tips-udl-friendly-classroom#.WFE3Z6loSqo.gmail
 
* With costs for insulin soaring, students with disabilities are growing concerned about their ability to pay, which worries researchers and faculty, as well: http://www.mndaily.com/article/2016/12/rising-insulin-costs-worry-students-faculty
 
* For his physical and mental health, Anthony Grollman needed a therapist to work through the trauma of graduate school, leading him to wonder if academia “enact[s] violence against oppressed communities through academic norms and values” – he specifically includes disabled people as one of the marginalized communities facing this issue: https://conditionallyaccepted.com/2016/12/15/intellectual-violence/
 
* University of Vermont professor Paula Higa honored disabled artists and incorporated disability and dystonia (uncontrollable muscle movements) into new works that premiered at Middlebury College in Vermont; it is not clear whether the dancers were disabled or nondisabled: http://www.timesargus.com/article/20161211/NEWS01/161219895/0/httws
 
* Being a college student with ADHD is tough, but finals and changes in routine each semester can be especially challenging: http://studybreaks.com/2016/12/13/what-its-like-having-adhd-during-finals-week/
 
* An editorial at Montclair State University says that if the campus really prides itself on diversity, it will need to improve physical accessibility for people with disabilities: http://themontclarion.org/handicap-accessibility-montclair-state/
 
* ADA.gov offers information and technical assistance about the ADA and enforcement – click on “technical assistance” in the main navigation bar to go to information about how the ADA applies to exams, assistive technology in higher ed, service animals, and many other topics related to higher education: https://www.ada.gov/access-technology/index.html  
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
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* This week was the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 10th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD):

• The UN issued a statement encouraging a global effort to move from law and policy into practice: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21018&LangID=E
• Open Society Foundations made a video discussing ten years of work on disability rights (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/decade-breakthroughs-disability-rights
• Learn more about the US Department of State’s work on disability in an interview with Judy Heumann, the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/12/03/celebrating-international-day-persons-disabilities
• Syracuse University professor Michael Schwartz and Rowan University professor Brent Elder marked the celebrations by announcing the launch of Tangata Group, an NGO that will address the rights of people with disabilities worldwide:  https://news.syr.edu/2016/12/syracuse-professor-alumnus-co-found-group-to-address-rights-of-people-with-disabilities-worldwide/

 
* Meet eight amazing disabled women who are changing the world through their work in politics, from the US White House to the United Nations: https://www.autostraddle.com/8-disabled-women-who-are-changing-the-world-through-politics-362331/
 
* “Monstering Magazine” is a new publication for disabled and nonbinary people: https://www.autostraddle.com/monstering-magazine-turns-our-pain-as-disabled-women-and-nonbinary-people-into-power-361812/
 
* Even “woke” people can be ableist, so Seriously.TV takes on the topic of “Unboxing Ableism” (video is captioned with no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLVMppeOaRo
 
* If you’re facing the holidays with stress and dread, you may want to sign up for a new MedlinePlus text messaging service that will send you regular texts to support your mental health during the holiday season: https://nnlm.gov/bhic/2016/11/17/holiday-mental-health-texts-from-medlineplus/
 
* Google maps is becoming wheelchair-friendly, thanks to the Google employees’ work on the project: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-maps-is-now-wheelchair-friendly-accessible-20-percent-time-employee-project-2016-12
 
* “You don’t look blind!” – the BBC presents things you should not say to blind people (video is not captioned or audio described): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykW4tYbRgo8
 
* Travel can be a nightmare if you use a wheelchair, even with new rules about how airlines have to handle them and report any problems: http://consumersense.org/wheelchair-users-hate-fly-more-than-you-do-heres-why/
 
* Former Department of Justice attorney Sam Bagenstos writes about his concerns for the Civil Rights division of the Department under Donald Trump, including the possible impact on disability rights and implementation of the ADA: http://prospect.org/article/civil-rights-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-only-worse
 
* The Bay Area Reporter discusses how members of the disability community are reacting to Anderson Cooper’s “60 Minutes” feature on the ADA, including a summary of the show and an observation that Cooper is disabled (he is dyslexic): http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=72181
 
* Ever wanted to learn Braille?  Already know Braille but advanced training?  Check out the list of training opportunities, listed at the Perkins Institute website: http://www.perkinselearning.org/scout/online-braille-courses#main-content
 
* After justifiable national outrage, Walmart and Amazon pulled “got retard?” mugs: http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2016/12/14/walmart-yanks-got-retard-mug-from-site.html
 
 
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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 ([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.