DREAM Weekly Email: January 17-February 13, 2016

DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: January 17-February 13, 2016
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From DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring
Sponsored by the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
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Weekly Email Update on Issues Related to Disability and Higher Education 
Week of January 17-February 13, 2016
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THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK WILL FEATURE LONGER-THAN-USUAL NEWSLETTERS WHILE WE CATCH UP ON NEWS AFTER A BRIEF HIATUS…WE’RE GLAD TO BE BACK!
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Should a university require new hires to have a sense of smell? To lift 25 pounds? To climb a ladder?  A journalist investigates hiring disability discrimination at colleges and universities, and uncovers some surprising “essential functions” for employment: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2016/2/job-discrimination-in-plain-print.html
 
* Noodle and Eye to Eye put out a call for Twitter questions about services and accommodations in college for learning disabilities and ADHD – here are the questions with answers from disability services professionals chosen as advocates in their fields: https://www.noodle.com/articles/student-questions-on-college-learning-disabilities-answered
 
* Autistic student Manuel Diaz founded student organization Texas Neurodiversity at the University of Texas at Austin to celebrate neurodiverse college students and their allies on campus: http://dailytexanonline.com/2016/02/10/campus-organization-works-to-start-conversation-about-neurodiversity
 
* Colleges and universities are trying to figure out the best ways to help students with disabilities that are not readily apparent, like dyslexia, ADHD, and mental or emotional illnesses – here’s what Canadian campuses are doing to improve services for “invisible” disabilities: http://www.macleans.ca/society/health/how-universities-are-helping-students-with-invisible-disabilities/
 
* At Emory and Henry College in Virginia, dozens of students protested treatment of students based on race, sexual orientation, gender and disability; after supporting the students, “isolation” and “intimidation” from colleagues led Professor Delilah White to resign: http://www.wcyb.com/news/emory-and-henry-professor-resignation/37844228 and https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/02/08/emory-henry-professor-citing-protest-fallout-quits
 
* The president of Beacon College (the only bachelor’s degree-granting college for people with LD and ADHD), George Hagerty is heading to Washington, DC to brief congressional staffers on how the Higher Education Act can better address the needs of college students with LD and ADHD: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-george-hagerty-beacon-college-education-disabilities-20160208-story.html
 
* After dealing with her own chronic illness (Posterior Nutcracker Syndrome) and losing a twin to CP complicated by meningitis, Shannon Strader founded Bella Soul, a non-profit that provides scholarships and support for college students with chronic illnesses: http://www.littlethings.com/bella-soul-scholarships/
 
* As part of a larger initiative promoting inclusion in Israel, there are now 14 new “friending” programs at Israeli universities, colleges, and major corporations using rabbis, sheiks, and imams to match people with and without disabilities socially so they become agents of change: http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2016/2/8/in-israel-we-need-leaps-not-steps-toward-disabilities-inclusion#.Vr6XNPkrJD8=
 
* The Columbia Daily Spectator has an article about sex and disability, including the work of Rania Abi Rafeh, a Barnard college senior who is studying the topic and writing about her experiences as a woman with cerebral palsy: http://features.columbiaspectator.com/eye/2016/02/10/beneath-the-sheets/
 
* PEPNet2 has published a series of new free research briefs on topics related to deaf or hard-of-hearing students in higher education: http://pepnet.org/resources/pn2-research/research%20briefs
 
* The snow is falling and many universities are struggling to keep things accessible, but Ball State University seems to be winning: http://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2016/02/news-snow-and-disabilities
 
* Governor Robert Bentley has recognized Jacksonville State University for its work to improve access on campus: http://www.jsu.edu/news/articles/2016/02/governor-recognizes-campus-for-ada-improvements-.html
 
* The University of Virginia’s disability studies department has started a blog called Disability@UVA, with a variety of topics related to disability studies: http://disability.virginia.edu/
 
* A viral video about Bill Davis and his son Chris Davis (currently a college student) is drawing attention to autism, behavioral therapy, and using aides in classrooms (video has captions but no audio description): http://www.today.com/parents/dad-who-fights-son-autism-says-he-never-gives-t72711
 
* Although the University of Alabama at Birmingham violated the ADA, they won praise from the U.S. Department of Justice for their quick work addressing complaints, as well as developing an innovative pilot program to handle future ADA complaints: http://www.shoalsinsider.com/alabama/uab-enters-into-agreement-with-justice-department-to-improve-ada-compliance/
 
* Only one-third of medical school websites explicitly say they would accommodate a student with a disability – why do medical schools seem so unwelcoming?  http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-disabilities-medschool-idUKKCN0VL23C
 
* Kanisha Ffriend was honored by Syracuse University for an MLK “Unsung Heroes” award for her work as a campus disability activist and author of a children’s book about being Black and hard-of-hearing (video has captions but no audio description): https://vimeo.com/153056109
 
* West Virginia University celebrated the first of its gender-neutral bathrooms, but for disability activists, the celebrations were bittersweet because they’ve been trying to get ADA compliant disability-accessible bathrooms for years, and the new gender-neutral ones aren’t accessible, either: http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7229
 
* Penn State’s Brett Gravatt’s soccer career ended after a snowboarding accident, but he’s back in athletics, and is now ranked #22 in the world for wheelchair racing: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/02/12/paralyzed-college-soccer-star-finds-new-sport.html
 
* Conservative website The College Fix calls out Juniata College in Pennsylvania for it’s “radical” agenda with diversity that ignores disabled students: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/26188/
 
* Budget cuts at the University of Montana meant the firing of the disability services coordinator at its Missoula College campus, but she was also the only disability services staff member on that campus: http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/article_4db07fb0-d0ec-11e5-bef4-eb9978f21378.html
 
* SUNY-ESF freshman Scott Arnold uses a service dog to alert him to dangerous blood sugar drops with his Type 1 diabetes (video has no captions or audio description): http://cnycentral.com/news/local/service-dog-helps-diabetic-college-student-live-safely
 
 
And a few related items of possible interest to college students:
 
* It’s Black History Month, so be sure to check out an online timeline and history of Black disabled people at www.blackdisabledandproud.org, and more about Black Deaf history on Twitter at #BlackDeafHistoryMonth
 
* The Republican and Democratic primaries are underway -  here’s one list of seven issues that will matter to disabled people in the upcoming elections: http://www.bustle.com/articles/140062-7-issues-that-matter-to-disabled-voters-in-2016
 
* While Beyoncé and Lady Gaga won praise for their Super Bowl performances, Deaf people around the world were annoyed that a Deaf woman, Marlee Matlin, performed but was never actually seen on TV: http://limpingchicken.com/2016/02/08/deaf-news-controversy-at-superbowl-as-marlee-matlins-asl-performance-of-national-anthem-not-shown-on-tv/
 
* With Zika spreading and WHO declaring a global health emergency, here are two articles about Zika and disability:

• People are discussing women’s rights to abortion in affected countries, but disability rights is becoming part of the discussion, as well: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zika-virus-us-abortion-disability_us_56b2601be4b04f9b57d83192
• One Brazilian journalist describes her life with microcephaly and how calls for abortions are angering her, noting that descriptions of microcephaly do not describe her: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35461429

 
* There’s a new project on Instagram called “the 365 Days with Disability Project,” designed to show what life is actually like with a disability – no inspiration porn!  To participate, hashtag your photo to Instagram at #365dayswithdisability
 
* Jamaica has a new Disabilities Act -- Claudia Gordon, the first Deaf Black lawyer in the United States, visited her homeland to celebrate its passage: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Deaf-Jamaican-born-lawyer-hails-passage-of-Disabilities-Act_51348
 
There were three recent deaths that the national disability community is mourning:

• Kayden Clarke, an autistic transgernder man, was killed by police responding to a call that Clarke was suicidal – disability and LGBT organizations have issued a statement condemning the shooting: http://leadonnetwork.org/wordpress/2016/02/08/asan-joint-statement-from-both-disability-and-lgbt-community-on-the-death-of-kaydenclarke/
• Thu Phan was killed in an intersection when she was struck by a car while crossing the street; a UC Berkeley alumna and employee of the Department of Labor, she was also known for her work as a disability activist: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Woman-in-wheelchair-fatally-hit-by-car-remembered-6818926.php
• David Burds was an advocate and activist for over 35 years, noted for his work in Virginia and with with the National Council on Independent Living and ADAPT: http://www.advocacymonitor.com/ncil-mourns-the-passing-of-david-burds/

 
* Annie Elainey teaches people how to spot a fake disability – like those obvious fakers parking in all the disability parking (bottom line: good luck trying to spot them) (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIOcKpSVp4k
 
* A new musical quartet called the Paramusical Ensemble is making news in the UK – all of its members are paralyzed, using brain signals and a computer interface to write music and perform: http://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/11201-disabled-violinist-composes-music-in-real-time-using-brain-signals
 
* Greyhound will be paying out $375,000 to passengers and the US Department of Justice to settle allegations of repeated ADA violations: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/02/10/greyhound-resolve-ada/21895/
 
* After winning awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the film “Life, Animated” will be released in theaters nationwide – it tells the story of Owen Suskind, an autistic man who grew up relating to the world around him through Disney animation: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/02/08/following-autism-theaters/21879/
 
* Dana Falsetti is a popular yogi on Instagram who has recently started talking about her battle with binge-eating disorder during college: https://www.yahoo.com/health/popular-instagram-yogi-battled-binge-205413213.html
 
* Dating with a disability?  U.S. News & World Report has some tips for you from people with disabilities: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2016-02-11/dating-with-a-disability
 
* Rabbi Daniel Grossman has a disability and worked at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf – he encourages students to choose their own labels, and to also realize they are more than the labels: http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/new-normal/special-needs-inclusion-disability-or-none-above-why-labels-matter
 
 
 
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 (wendy@ahead.org).
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