DREAM Weekly: February 25-March 3, 2018

​DREAM Weekly on Disability and Higher Education in the News: February 25-March 3, 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):
 
* 73% of British undergrads with disabilities report experience sexual violence: http://www.elleuk.com/life-and-culture/culture/news/a41926/sexual-violence-uk-university-revolt/
 
* “Disabled people can have eating disorders, too” notes university student Micaela Evans in Teen Vogue: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/disabled-people-can-have-eating-disorders-too
 
* Tickets sold out in 24 hours after the Chronically Academic network and several UK universities announced an Ableism in Academia conference about faculty and staff with disabilities; they doubled the size of the conference and still ran out of tickets in a week: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/academia-needs-talk-about-invisible-disabilities#survey-answer
 
* Two George Washington University students are pushing for free health care plans for all student veterans with disabilities, noting that the campus is named after “the most famous veteran in our country” and should be at “forefront of veteran issues”: https://www.gwhatchet.com/2018/02/26/student-veterans-push-to-bring-federal-health-benefits-to-campus/
 
* A Davidson student project leads to serious critique of tokenism and representation of disability in its photos, including a PR image of a wheelchair user enjoying a computer in a building that is not wheelchair accessible: http://www.davidsonian.com/tokenization/
 
* NC State has set up a collaborative ADA Account Funds Advisory Committee to make decisions about prioritizing access projects on campus, as part of major access initiatives across multiple departments and offices on campus: http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_1fd791f4-1cfe-11e8-98b3-a3c802cc44ff.html
 
* What’s working with collegiate mental health programs?  University Business discusses how campuses are helping students get counseling services: https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/colleges-are-removing-hurdles-students-seeking-counseling
 
* How disabled and “out” do grad students need to be?  To other students, faculty, and the campus itself?  One doctoral student ponders the levels of disability disclosure: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/disabled-grad-school-how-out-do-i-need-be
 
* Pasadena City college is reviewing its emergency procedures and whether shelter in place policies are excuses to leave students with disabilities while other students evacuate: http://www.pcccourier.com/main-story/left-behind-disabled-students-and-campus-evacuation-procedures.html
 
* In an “unusual” move, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has allowed an unnamed woman to file a complaint on behalf of several female employees and students at an unnamed university, after one male student allegedly used a disability that may not exist to sexually harass female employees and students; the plaintiff herself did not experience any harassment: https://www.straight.com/news/1037251/bc-human-rights-tribunal-accepts-class-action-complaint-against-bc-university-relation
 
* One of the top disability rights attorneys in the U.S., University of Michigan professor Sam Bagenstos is launching a run for state supreme court: https://thinkprogress.org/sam-bagenstos-democrats-judiciary/
 
* Faculty are on strike at Strathclyde University in Scotland, and they’re holding “teach outs” on various topics that will help people re-imagine what the university could be doing with issues including disability access: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/16046348.Inside_the_university_lecturers__39__strike/
 
* Barnard College students say there are widespread problems with professors not being inclusive, as well as an under-staffed disability services office that is regularly denying reasonable accommodations: https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2018/03/01/barnard-students-with-disabilities-struggle-with-denied-accommodations-campus-stigma/
 
* A living learning community may soon be available for Texas A&M students who are autistic or interested in autism: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-a-m-explores-living-learning-community-for-those-on/article_9926b479-58b6-5207-9107-d88ef8139328.html
 
* The University of Buffalo’s disability studies program is working closely with the community in Western New York, including an oral history project: http://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2018/02/rembis-disability-collaboration.html
 
* An open letter from several UC-Berkeley administrators and faculty reassures the campus of its commitment to be a “shining beacon on a hill and model for disability access,” including a series of town hall meetings to get community feedback: http://www.dailycal.org/2018/02/26/berkeley-dsp-wants-to-improve/
 
* Eating disorders disproportionately affect Black women, including college students, but there are still myths about it being a disease of white women: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-hawkins-black-anorexia_us_5a93894ae4b03b55731d869a
 
* The final installment of a five-part series on former College of William and Mary professor David Dessler takes a hard look at the campus climate around mental health and how difficult it is for faculty to talk about the topic: http://flathatnews.com/2018/02/26/a-culture-of-silence-discovering-david-dessler/
 
* James Tucker was told he was developmentally delayed with “mental retardation” in high school, but now he’s wrapping up a bachelor’s degree and planning to become a police officer: http://www.theintell.com/news/20180223/harry-s-truman-graduate-with-learning-disability-earns-criminal-justice-degree
 
* A former Paralympian turned professor, Vanderbilt scholar Anjali Forber-Pratt is being honored at the SHAPE America National Convention for her commitment to disability and women in sports: https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/02/27/vanderbilt-scholars-honored-for-supporting-women-in-sport/
 
* Being a historic college is great, except on issues of physical accessibility, as Franklin College students and staff know first-hand: http://thefranklinnews.com/weighing-the-standards/11668/
 
* The University of Virginia held a symposium on disability studies: http://www.nbc29.com/story/37580426/disabilities-studies-symposium-held-at-university-of-virginia
 
* News about Stanford and disability studies:

• The Stanford Disability Initiative got support from student government for the annual Introduction to Disabilities Studies Course, as well as a statement acknowledging the student government’s responsibility to be “active allies for the disability community” on campus: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/02/28/senate-passes-resolutions-on-affordable-housing-disability-studies/
• A newspaper editorial says that disability studies can have a direct positive impact on students and ableism: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/03/02/save-intro-to-disability-studies/

 
* Georgia College writing professor Kerry Neville has won a Fulbright to work in Ireland; much of her work revolves around mental health and her own experiences with bipolar disorder: http://www.unionrecorder.com/news/gc-professor-wins-fulbright-award/article_b226bee6-1b36-11e8-9286-77d092d7c4b3.html
 
* Columbia University has hired five additional staff members in its Disability Services office, as demand for services grows: https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2018/02/27/disability-services-places-five-new-staffers-in-attempts-to-meet-growing-need/
 
* Hundreds of campuses around the country are hosting activities for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, including California State University-Northridge: http://college.usatoday.com/2016/02/25/eating-disorders-awareness-week/
 
* Baylor University has set up a Young Adults Diabetes Clinic, which will help college students and other young people learn how to manage their diabetes as adults on their own: https://www.bcm.edu/news/diabetes/baylor-medical-home-young-adult-diabetes
 
* Multiple campuses hosted events around the Disability Day of Mourning, for people with disabilities who were killed by caregivers during the past year (a list of site coordinators is at http://autisticadvocacy.org/2018/02/2018-day-of-mourning-vigil-sites/):  https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/02/27/vigils-honor-killed-caregivers/24772/
 
* “Enough is enough,” says the executive editor of Stony Brook University’s student newspaper, angry about how absences for physical illnesses are treated differently than absences for her anxiety: https://sbindependent.org/a-letter-from-the-editor-on-mental-illness/
 
* In the early 1980’s, sexual harassment became so bad for Harvard Latin American studies scholar Terry Karl that it affected her health; ultimately she left and the harasser stayed, leading to decades of other silenced students and colleagues: https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/harvard-harassment?cid=db&elqTrackId=29b887d2996d4097923b3a7db03ec463&elq=2075e0fbd7a34d6499b0d3bf3196d96f&elqaid=18005&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7993
 
* There are easy ways to create an inclusive classroom that helps all students, and not just those with disabilities, says RIT professor Sara Schley: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/02/27/how-create-inclusive-classroom-students-disabilities-opinion
 
* Penn State student Shannon Schubert tattooed the symbol of National Eating Disorder Awareness on her wrist, because working with the campus-based group has helped her recovery: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_f7638bda-1a85-11e8-bf52-3f5b1eea3639.html
 
* The “vibrant disability community” at Cornell University helped freshman Conan Gillis get through the ups and downs of his first semester: http://cornellsun.com/2018/02/27/guest-room-living-with-a-disability-at-cornell/
 
* “If you show up, that’s 90 percent,” says Syracuse professor Frank Ochberg, who discusses ways college students can cope and get help after a mass shooting: http://dailyorange.com/2018/02/college-students-can-cope-trauma-following-school-shootings/
 
* After finally getting help for an eating disorder as an undergraduate, University of Texas-Austin grad student Niki DuBois is now studying to become a therapist for others dealing with the same issues: https://kxan.com/2018/02/28/ut-grad-students-struggle-leads-to-public-advocacy-for-eating-disorder-awareness/
 
* After saying the Parkland school shooter was a “hero” and that he understood how educational institutions can refuse to help mentally ill people like the shooter, former Carroll University adjunct Timothy Hoeller was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct: http://fox6now.com/2018/02/28/charged-ex-carroll-university-adjunct-professor-the-shooter-in-florida-was-a-hero-to-me/
 
* Syracuse University started doing regular student press briefings, with the first one focusing on progress with a review of disability services: http://dailyorange.com/2018/03/1st-syracuse-university-student-media-press-briefing-held-wednesday/
 
* A Yale editorial asks students to learn more about mental health to help break down “toxic stigma” and to understand problems with campus services: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/02/26/park-sorry-im-not-crazy/
 
* Having invisible disabilities can make the accommodations and disclosure processes so much more difficult, say students and faculty at Stony Brook University: http://sbpress.com/2018/02/invisible-disability/
 
* An anonymous letter in the Colorado State University student newspaper urges students to leave pets and emotional service animals at home, so they don’t interfere with the work of service animals: https://collegian.com/2018/02/letters-animals-on-campus-pose-a-threat-to-students-with-service-animals/
 
 
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
 
* Liz Plank and the “Divided States of Women” explain how it’s possible for women with disabilities to not even be entitled to the minimum wage, thanks to a loophole in federal law: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ejsCjF6jjg&index=16&list=PLKfLFyCDCW_q5hx1dceqsCKNPfgmCcFka
 
* Uber and Lyft think they have the answer to a problem vexing medicine – how to get patients to appointments: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/01/uber-lyft-rides-doctor-medical-appointments/
 
* Once again, the Oscar goes to….people cripping up, including a nomination for Shape of Water’s hearing actress with terrible signing skills: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/01/opinions/hollywood-disability-new-normal-opinion-novic/index.html
 
* Donald Trump may have started a new disability rights movement and activism (video ironically not captioned or audio described): http://time.com/5168472/disability-activism-trump/
 
* African American Kathy Woods is creating fashion for little people, and now runs her own company: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthaharrington/2018/02/27/how-kathy-woods-made-room-in-fashion-for-herself-and-other-little-people/#4b1b18255d8f
 
* The Paralympic games start next week in South Korea – meet former college basketball Steve Emt, who is now on the U.S. curling team: https://www.voanews.com/a/once-a-college-basketball-player-paralyzed-athlete-now-curls/4270583.html
 
* She’s six years old, and Maisie Sly is traveling from the UK to LA to attend the Oscars for the live action short film The Silent Child (video is captioned but not audio described):  http://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-43245738/six-deaf-and-going-to-the-oscars
 
* The president of Egypt has declared 2018 a year for persons with disabilities, and here’s some of the work that’s happening: https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/43732/Deep-look-on-people-challenged-with-disabilities-in-Egypt
 
* Meet Claudia Gordan, the first Deaf Black woman to become a lawyer: https://www.themarysue.com/claudia-gordon-the-first-deaf-black-woman-to-become-a-lawyer/
 
* Blind Chinese therapist Wang Yanlong has started a business that offers counseling sessions in the dark: http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001805/the-blind-counselors-helping-people-face-themselves-in-the-dark
 
 
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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.