DREAM Weekly: December 30-January 12, 2018

​DREAM Weekly on Disability and Higher Education in the News: December 30-January 12, 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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Welcome back from break! 
 
Just a reminder: the DREAM Weekly Email just has highlights from the news – to access the full version:

• Read the attached Word document (with active links)
• Visit our visual and graphic-based version of the news at http://www.nccsdonline.org/news.html
• Read the news online with searchable archives at https://www.dreamcollegedisability.org/this-weeks-news-in-disability-and-higher-education

 
Having trouble accessing an article?  Check with your campus library or reach out to us (NCCSD@ahead.org).
 
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
* The partial government shutdown continues into the third week – here are a few ways it’s affecting college students with disabilities:

• Students’ Social Security and VA payments should continue on schedule – here’s a broad overview of what’s happening (and not happening) with the shutdown: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/09/683642605/how-is-the-shutdown-affecting-america-let-us-count-the-ways
• Students receiving food stamps are at risk as the shutdown enters its third week: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/07/food-stamps-government-shutdown-1062090
• IRS technical issues are blocking students from verifying their income, but the government has issued instructions for financial aid officers: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/10/amid-irs-technical-glitches-feds-give-colleges-alternatives-approve-aid-applicants

 
* 340 events at 205 Canadian campuses will kick off the annual “Bell Let’s Talk Day” about campus mental health on January 30, reaching over 1.6 million college students; Bell is the provider of Canadian phone services, and will make donations based on social media posts, texts, and phone calls that day: https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/students-at-hundreds-of-canadian-universities-and-colleges-leading-the-mental-health-conversation-with-bell-let-s-talk/
 
* Sarah Gordy became the first person with an intellectual disability to receive an honorary degree in the UK; watch her acceptance speech (captioned but not audio described) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZw2AHRYN4
 
* Two million college students are eligible for food stamps (the SNAP program), but are not receiving benefits; the GAO report notes that college students are eligible for SNAP if they have a physical or mental disability.  The full GAO report is at https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696254.pdf and an article about the report (which does not discuss disability issues) is at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/10/gao-report-reviews-studies-student-hunger?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=e160f891d1-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-e160f891d1-225808461&mc_cid=e160f891d1&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* Disability activist Judy Heumann interviews doctoral student Conchita Hernandez about her experiences as a Latina woman with a disability, and why she decided to get a degree in special education (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.theheumannperspective.com/news-stories-1/
 
* Dublin City University in Ireland installed high-tech single-person sensory pods for private sensory breaks, as part of its effort to be the “world’s first autism-friendly university” (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.thejournal.ie/sensory-pod-autism-dcu-4406286-Jan2019/
 
* Northwestern sophomore and basketball player Jordan Hankins committed suicide after alleging telling the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority that hazing was triggering her PTSD, anxiety, and depression, according to a lawsuit filed by Hankins’ mother: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/us/jordan-hankins-northwestern-aka-sorority-lawsuit/index.html
 
* Senior citizens are becoming a part of disability and higher education:

• Arizona State University’s newest housing complex is for seniors over age 60 with a variety of health needs, who will take classes and engage in university life – the building won’t be done until 2020, but spaces are already sold out: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/09/high-demand-retirees-live-campus-arizona-state-university?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=08d9b35f26-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-08d9b35f26-198891893&mc_cid=08d9b35f26&mc_eid=a51c972f65
• After getting an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, 81-year old Ron Robert decided to enroll in political science and disability studies courses at King’s University College, hoping the mental stimulation would “give his brain a workout” (video is not captioned or audio described): https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/following-alzheimer-s-diagnosis-this-81-year-old-ont-man-enrolled-in-university-1.4244388

 
* Professor Jay Dolmage gave a lecture at Syracuse University about his book Academic Ableism, and his presentation is now available online (video is captioned, and the lecturer verbally describes all his slides): https://ensemble.syr.edu/hapi/v1/contents/permalinks/DolmageLecture/view
 
* From the time he was a student, Charles Darwin complained of a number of health issues, and researchers now believe he may have had Lyme disease: https://gizmodo.com/new-theory-suggests-charles-darwin-suffered-from-lyme-d-1831547281
 
* After work by disability activists, the University of Jordan in Amman has installed a 1500-meter path of yellow tiles as a “safe pathway” to help blind and visually impaired students be more independent on campus: https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2019/01/u-of-jordan-opens-a-safe-pathway-for-blind-students/
 
* When something affects one group more (or less) than others, it has a “disparate impact” that is often used to prove discrimination in civil rights cases; the Trump administration is looking into ways to roll back disparate impact regulations in education, housing, and urban development: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/trump-administration-considers-rollback-of-anti-discrimination-rules/2019/01/02/f96347ea-046d-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.cf328d3ee459
 
* The University of New Hampshire has started UNH-4U, a new inclusive higher education program for students with intellectual disabilities: https://www.fosters.com/news/20190108/unh-gets-grant-to-make-college-more-inclusive  
 
* The governor of Rhode Island convened a summit to address mental health needs of college students in the state’s public and private colleges: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190107/summit-tackles-mental-health-crisis-on-ri-campuses
 
* Caroline Reilly, a law student in Boston, talks about her endometriosis and navigating dates while explaining about catheters, surgeries, and life with a chronic illness: https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-life-dating-with-chronic-illness-20190109-story.html
 
* Siena College in New York organized a “sensory friendly” basketball game in collaboration with the Autism Society of the Greater Capital region: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/02/siena-organizes-intercollegiate-basketball-game-fans-autism-spectrum?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=b1f5bdde86-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-b1f5bdde86-198891893&mc_cid=b1f5bdde86&mc_eid=a51c972f65
 
* University of Oregon students with chronic illness talk about “coping,” “working smart,” and other issues they face in being young and sick: https://www.eugeneweekly.com/2019/01/03/sick-as-in-sick
 
* Chris Stafford struggled with depression and ADHD, and his mom Robin had fought addiction and survived an abusive relationship, but now they are both enrolled in degree programs and supporting each others’ studies at Cutler Bay Florida Technical College: https://communitynewspapers.com/cutlerbay/new-year-new-challenge-for-mom-and-son-attending-florida-technical-college/
 
* Some people don’t drink because they’re sober, and others don’t drink due to medical conditions or pregnancy, but not drinking at conferences can cause questions and problems for academics: https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Minefield-How/245441?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=def41cca6b534efba6666da3846d2c12&elq=558dc9653d49492aa9e7d6e1d11b8905&elqaid=21927&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=10705
 
* “I am proudly out with my mental illness to tear down the stigma we all know so well,” says psychology professor and researcher Patrick Corrigan: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-stigma-effect/201901/i-am-person-mental-illness
 
* Nondisabled college student Hannah Aylward saw a documentary about Shane Burcaw, who has Spinal Muscular Dystrophy, and after contacting each other they started a relationship that’s now documented on YouTube channel Squirmy and Grubs (video captioned but not audio described): https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/10/disabled-man-girlfriend-share-inspiring-relationship-break-stigma-around-disability-8328444/
 
* The University of Maryland, College Park, did a deep cleaning of dorms over winter break, and worked with the CDC to test for mold after a deadly outbreak of adenoviruses on campus: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/10/after-student-death-university-maryland-deep-cleans-dorm-rooms?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=c634044f49-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-c634044f49-198891893&mc_cid=c634044f49&mc_eid=a51c972f65
 
* In the wake of CTE lawsuits, insurance rates rose and the Maricopa Community College District in Arizona discontinued football; now 11 African American players are suing, alleging discrimination hindering their ability to get scholarships and continue careers in football:  https://www.abc15.com/sports/african-american-football-players-sue-mcccd-for-discontinuing-football-program
 
 
A Few Other Items of Possible Interest:
 
* The Netflix film Bird Box is attracting a strong audience, but the disability community has a few cautions:

• The online “Bird Box challenge” has people posting videos of themselves blindfolded, performing stunts, but visually impaired people warn that it’s dangerous and misguided (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Visually-impaired-community-warns-against-Bird-Box-challenge--503979011.html
• Bird Box perpetuates stereotypes of people with mental illness as agents of evil: https://mashable.com/article/bird-box-netflix-mental-illness-suicide/#oqzlQNxwMsq9
• The movie Bird Box didn’t use any blind actors and shows blindness as society’s worst fear, among other tired tropes from Hollywood: https://www.quora.com/How-do-blind-people-feel-about-the-portrayal-of-blindness-in-Bird-Box  

 
* Disability arts are in the news:

• The new National Disability Theatre will produce large-scale works involving actors, designers, directors, and staff with disabilities: https://www.americantheatre.org/2018/12/05/disabled-artists-launch-national-disability-theatre/
• The Kinetic Light Collaborative is exploring wheeled movement in dance, with their latest work using the on-stage ramp as a “third dance partner”: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7xyyyx/the-women-building-a-new-art-form-in-the-world-of-dance
• The Phamaly Theatre Company in Colorado started after five actors with disabilities couldn’t get roles in local productions: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/how-the-crushed-dreams-of-5-disabled-actors-became-the-phamaly-theatre-company
• 21 year-old Andrew has Down syndrome and he captivated the judges on the UK’s “The Greatest Dancer” show (see article at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4lZaze8qW0 and video of Andrew dancing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4lZaze8qW0 (video is captioned but not audio described).
• In Korea, the Korean Disabled Expression Cooperation (KDC), founded by disabled woman Kim Hyung-hee, is producing musicals and art programming for people with disabilities: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3057738

 
* Meet three queer and trans people with disabilities, who note that “as long as trans disabled people like me exist, disability issues are trans issues, and trans issues are disability issues:” https://www.them.us/story/disability-rights-are-lgbtq-rights
 
* A woman in a “vegetative state” gave birth at an Arizona care facility; police are seeking DNA from facility staff to find her rapist (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/09/us/arizona-woman-vegetative-state-gives-birth/index.html
 
* There is not really an upside to the new film “The Upside” as cringeworthy reviews come in about this film full of stereotypes about gender, disability, and race, which also casted a nondisabled actor in the main role as a quadriplegic billionaire: http://www.cityam.com/271487/upside-film-review-bryan-cranston-and-kevin-hart-battle
 
* Is stuttering really a problem?  Or could it even be an advantage?  A journalist who stutters goes to a stuttering conference to learn more: https://whyy.org/segments/for-some-people-who-stutter-fluent-speech-is-overrated/
 
* The emerging New Right party in Israel announced that deaf rights activist Shirley Pinto will be the first-ever deaf Knesset (legislature) candidate: https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-right-announces-deaf-rights-activist-as-first-ever-deaf-knesset-candidate/
 
* A father founded Auticon when his two autistic sons couldn’t find employment, and now the technology firm has more than 150 autistic employees: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46538125
 
* EPA champion Michael Deland passed away on January; the wheelchair-using activist helped clean up Boston Harbor and worked under President George H.W. Bush on environmental policy and climate change, but said his “most lasting accomplishment” was campaigning to get a statue of President Franklin D. Roosevelt seated in a wheelchair at the FDR memorial in DC: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/01/09/michael-deland-former-epa-administrator-and-key-player-boston-harbor-cleanup/jXLuYweBMntSACKbpZwkdM/story.html
 
 
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For more information about DREAM or AHEAD contact Wendy Harbour (wendy@ahead.org).
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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).