DREAM Weekly Email: December 18, 2016-January 14, 2017

DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: December 18, 2016-January 14, 2017

From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring
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Sponsored by the National Center for College Students with Disabilities and the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
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Weekly Email Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education 
Weeks of December 18, 2016-January 14, 2017
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** Welcome back from break!  **
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Learn more about the new National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (video is open captioned but not audio described): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StMPqIo2CiM
 
* The US Department of Justice reached a settlement with Princeton University over its treatment of students with mental health disabilities and associated policies affecting medical leave, reasonable accommodations, and withdrawals: http://legalnewsline.com/stories/511061397-princeton-university-reaches-agreement-doj-will-strengthen-its-ada-related-policies
 
* The University of North Carolina Asheville is the fourth campus in the country to set up a Disability Cultural Center: https://psychology.unca.edu/disability-cultural-center (the others are the University of Minnesota, Syracuse University, and the University of Washington)
 
* Jacob Salem is the first Deaf person to ever direct a Hillel program: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/18/the-nations-first-deaf-leader-of-a-hillel-aims-to-make-judaism-accessible-to-all/?utm_term=.b92715aaa787#comments
 
* New research suggests that college students who abuse ADHD stimulant medication may not have ADHD, but might have other types of cognitive disabilities they are trying to self-medicate: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/873639
 
* The federal government took $171 million from people’s Social Security benefits last year to recover unpaid student debt, but these practices are leaving many retired and disabled people with below-poverty incomes: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-government-is-reducing-social-security-checks-to-recover-unpaid-student-debt-2016-12-20
 
* University of Illinois-Chicago doctoral student Katherine Perez will receive a 2017 Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), honoring her work setting up the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities: http://www.aapd.com/aapd-paul-g-hearne-leadership-awards/
 
* An article describes how one community college in Ontario is building its policies around service and assistive animals, and all the issues campuses must consider: http://www.argusobserver.com/news/proposed-policy-a-guide-for-service-animals/article_f3deaed8-c7aa-11e6-8caa-27deb19693c6.html
 
* Seminaries are one of several groups benefitting from the Collaborative on Faith and Disability – a network of 18 university disability centers creating ways for communities of faith to be more inclusive: https://ccids.umaine.edu/publication/collaborative-faith-disability-network-ucedds-building-capacity-vision-among-faith-communities-seminaries-disability-organizations/
 
* The US Department of Justice is investigating Northern Michigan University for possible disability discrimination against certain types of thoughts in students with mental or emotional disabilities, because other students’ thoughts are not grounds for dismissal: http://www.wnd.com/2016/12/government-investigating-universitys-crackdown-on-thought/
 
* George Washington University student and Mexican immigrant Diego Mariscal created Disability StartUP to help connect entrepreneurs with disabilities: http://dcinno.streetwise.co/2016/12/23/this-dc-student-wants-to-make-starting-a-business-easier-for-people-with-disabilities/
 
* Former University of Oregon law school student Ehvan Schectman has sued the school for disability discrimination and retaliation for initial complaints, including an incident where the dean for student affairs made him repeatedly say “I am normal” during meetings about his learning disability: https://www.dailyemerald.com/2017/01/12/former-law-student-sues-uo-alleges-disability-discrimination/
 
* Colorado Mountain College is starting a pilot program to evaluate which mental health and disability services programs are working the best for students; a new grant also funds disability assessments for low-income students who can’t afford to get disability documentation: http://www.themountainmail.com/free_content/article_9aaf45a6-cc56-11e6-952f-030fc0d93732.html
 
* He left the University of Minnesota football team when his seizures were no longer controlled, but Jerry Kill feeling better and has returned to football as the new Rutgers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach: http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2016/12/rutgers_oc_jerry_kill_on_managing_epilepsy_this_is_1.html
 
* Barnard College in New York had requests for notetakers go unfilled in 77 classes last semester, despite paying notetakers and even requiring students to help identify their own notetakers (potentially creating further barriers and stigma): http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/12/17/barnard-students-disabilities-left-without-notes-during-finals-period
 
* In Georgia, Brenau University’s learning center is celebrating 35 years of offering individualized educational supports to students with learning disabilities: http://window.brenau.edu/articles/an-academic-assist/
 
* Queen’s University newspaper’s editorial board asks professors to please talk about their mental health experiences with students whenever possible, noting “there may never really be a time when it’s irrelevant”: http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2017-01-12/editorials/yes-lets-hear-about-professors-mental-health-too/
 
* Penn State football player Joey Julius went public with his eating disorder, and is not only doing great, but helping other college students understand eating disorders and get support: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-eating-disorder-plaschke-20161230-story.html
 
* Australian student James Bond has filed a discrimination suit, noting the Catch-22 of his country’s universities refusing to provide accommodations until he is enrolled in a Ph.D. program, even though he is not able to enroll until he gets accommodations for the admissions process: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/88054505/the-genius-no-university-will-enrol
 
* One conservative news outlet slams “snowflakes,” identity politics, and disability accommodations, saying many people with disabilities are getting accommodations that are really just cheating, leaving nondisabled students to suffer and faculty to lose control of their classes (warning – this is a hard article to read if you care about college students with disabilities like we do): https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2016/12/20/more-snowflakes-colleges-expanding-definition-of-disabled-student/
 
* Xenia Boiko thought she would never go to college because of her epilepsy, but after transferring to find good disability services and getting a service dog, she thrived and is now on her way to being a special education teacher: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article123393144.html
 
* MTV asked its Campus Ambassadors to talk about mental health and suicide prevention resources (or the lack of resources) on their campuses: http://www.mtv.com/news/2970898/founders-roundtable-this-is-what-mental-health-looks-like-at-colleges-across-america/
 
* Japan has set up “Tokyo 2020 Ideathon” events where college students will brainstorm ways to tackle issues related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the first Ideathon focusing on ways to engage spectators in wheelchair basketball events: http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php/articles/1045478/tokyo-2020-hold-ideathon-to-develop-ideas-for-watching-wheelchair-basketball
 
* Mental and emotional health is not just an issue for U.S. college students – in Ireland, counselors are reporting a 40% increase in students seeking help, with most campuses facing growing waiting lists for services: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/there-is-a-tsunami-of-third-level-students-with-mental-health-problems-1.2924516
 
* Two days after the election, an African-American employee at Oregon Health & Science University’s hospital went on a brief medical leave after finding a small noose taped above a joke “stress reduction kit” at work; the incident has prompted debate about racism, work climates, and the use of medical leaves among the university, the employee’s union, and conservative news outlets: http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/338026-217728-noose-hanging-at-oshu-sparks-grievance (for an example of more conservative coverage, see http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/30538/)
 
* What happens to assistive technology when a student graduates from high school and goes to college?  The answer depends on who paid for the technology, as this information brief explains: http://www.leadcenter.org/system/files/resource/downloadable_version/LEADing-to-Employment-May-2016.pdf
 
* Syracuse University’s law professor Arlene Kanter, education professors, and law students contributed to an amicus brief filed by 45 disability rights organizations in an upcoming U.S. Supreme Course case addressing whether districts can provide minimal education for students with disabilities, excluding preparation for college and careers: https://news.syr.edu/2017/01/professor-kanter-college-of-law-students-staff-contribute-to-scotus-amicus-brief/ (More information about the case is at http://www.denverpost.com/2016/09/29/supreme-court-douglas-county-student-disabilities-case/ (video is captioned but not audio described).)
 
* College students with dyslexia may face significant challenges transitioning to college, as well as stigma and difficulty admitting they need accommodations: http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/story/reading-from-a-different-page-dyslexia-in-the-coll/
 
* India’s High Court has ordered Delhi University to admit a doctoral candidate with physical disabilities, who was denied admission despite passing entrance exams: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hc-directs-du-to-admit-disabled-phd-candidate/articleshow/56321396.cms
 
  * When the city of Oshawa wanted to improve its diversity and disability efforts, it reached out to faculty at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, including faculty in disability studies: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=uoit
 
* On his way to an accessibility event at the University of Michigan, professor Stephan Kuusisto was denied cab service because he had a guide dog: https://www.michigandaily.com/section/crime/local-taxi-service-draws-ire-visiting-professor
 
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
* While millions mourn the death of Carrie Fisher on December 27, others have noted her long-standing commitment to talk about her mental illness and support others. 

• An obituary from the BBC is here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38422973
• More about her work as a mental health activist: http://www.businessinsider.com/carrie-fisher-power-of-speaking-out-about-mental-illness-2016-12
• An LA Times review of the movie Bright Lights, a documentary about Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, who died the day after Fisher (videos are not captioned or audio described): http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-bright-lights-review-20170104-story.html

 
* When you’re blind, navigating the world of Tinder, Match.com, Coffee Meets Bagel, and Dating4Disabled becomes more complicated: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/01/09/what-is-it-like-to-date-while-blind/?postshare=6501483972163428&tid=ss_fb-bottom&utm_term=.aa21cc0870e0
 
* If you don’t know about Real-time Text Messaging (RTT), you will soon, with a landmark FCC decision requiring smartphones and wireless carriers to make communications systems more accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing people: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-fcc-just-approved-a-landmark-new-way-for-deaf-people-to-communicate
 
* Muslims and psychiatrists in the UK are concerned that de-radicalization anti-terrorism programming by police may be undermining, misrepresenting, or ignoring mental health needs: http://muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/mentally-ill-patients-referred-police-de-radicalisation/
 
* One disability rights advocate and policy analyst at Utah State University suggests Senator Orrin Hatch may be a powerful and positive influence on disability policy in the Trump administration: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4736523-155/op-ed-hatch-has-trumps-ear-will
 
* Statistics on police shootings remain unchanged, with mental illness factoring into 1 in 4 shootings, and unarmed Black males making up a disproportionately high number of those killed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/fatal-shootings-by-police-remain-relatively-unchanged-after-two-years/2016/12/30/fc807596-c3ca-11e6-9578-0054287507db_story.html?utm_term=.32683f0f7115
 
* As the country and Congress debate how to proceed with the ACA/Obamacare and Medicaid, a recent study notes that states with expanded Medicaid coverage have experienced increased employment rates for people with disabilities: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/medicaid-expansion-tied-to-employment-among-people-with-disabilities-20161226
 
* After saying he was cured of diabetes, reality star Rob Kardashian was hospitalized for diabetes: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/entertainment/rob-kardashian-hospitalized/index.html
 
* Four people in Chicago were arrested and charged with a hate crime after live-streaming a two-day assault on a man with intellectual and developmental disabilities; the victim was White and the attackers were African Americans making derogatory statements about Donald Trump and White people  (caution: video and article are disturbing; video has no captions or audio description): http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38514759
 
* President-Elect Trump met with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and may (or may not) have asked him to chair a commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity, which has alarmed disability activists and scientists because both men continue to falsely believe vaccines are unsafe and cause autism: http://www.snopes.com/2017/01/11/trump-allegedly-offers-kennedy-commission-chair/
 
* The Atlantic writes about five Presidental cabinet nominees who may affect higher education: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/01/five-cabinet-nominees-who-could-affect-education/512738/
 
 
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]).
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please go to http://ahead-listserve.org/mailman/listinfo/dream_ahead-listserve.org.  Wendy Harbour can also handle requests to subscribe or unsubscribe. 
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.