DREAM Weekly: July 1-14, 2018

Summer Edition: DREAM Weekly on Disability and Higher Education in the News: July 1-14, 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):
 
* Students who are from racial and ethnic minorities are less likely than white students to have treatment for mental health concerns, with Arab and Arab-American students having the highest prevalence of mental health needs, and Asian students the least likely to think they need treatment: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/07/10/mental-health-trouble-especially-acute-for-students-color/2K6bTYMhH2XGJpTtEpuPzO/story.html
 
* Disabled faculty and staff at Cornell University will now receive workplace accommodations from a centralized fund to encourage “disability diversity,” and they will also have free door-to-door transportation on campus: http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2018/07/campus-services-expand-faculty-and-staff-disabilities
 
* The women’s wheelchair basketball team at the University of Arizona is loading up its roster with five freshmen and three new transfers, including star recruit Cate Reese: https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2018/7/2/17523612/arizona-womens-basketball-cate-reese-recruting-class-2018-19-roster-transfers-player-profile-stats
 
* A new hotel is coming to Clemson University, to provide on-site job training for students with intellectual disabilities in the ClemsonLIFE Program (video has captioning but no audio description): http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/38605243/new-hotel-in-clemson-to-provide-jobs-and-training-for-disabled
 
* A student at Red River College in Manitoba is suing the school and a former counselor, alleging that she sexually assaulted him when he requested support and services for panic attacks: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-red-river-college-autism-assault-1.4735183
 
* The first Centre for Disability Studies has opened in India at Mizoram University, offering courses, a degree program, and research on disability: https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/mizoram/indias-first-dedicated-centre-for-disability-studies-opens-in-mizoram-5252450/
 
* The war in Yemen is worsening conditions for college students and recent graduates with disabilities, with access to universities and services becoming nearly impossible: https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2018/07/war-worsens-plight-of-disabled-students-in-yemen/

​* Two articles discussed the importance of peer supports for college students dealing with mental health issues:

• More colleges are training students to identify mental health problems offer support, as an “early warning system” for reaching students who need help: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/kids-families/mental-health-suicide-college-students-penn-benjamins-i-care-20180710.html
• Student organizations and peer networks are stepping up to fill in gaps and address long counseling center wait times on campus: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/college-mental-health_us_5b367b5fe4b0f3c221a09b7d

 
* Learn more about University of Texas professor and disability activist Lex Frieden, who helped author the Americans with Disabilities Act: http://www.tmc.edu/news/2018/07/spotlight-lex-frieden/
 
* Self-help and therapeutic approaches to stress and mental health may help students and faculty in higher education, but these efforts also reveal larger problems with the system and allow those same problems to flourish, says a review in The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Self-Helpification-of/243861?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=515d243579d0468f89ac0d655f8d588f&elq=e141e707f35b4da5810c6210cb3d1927&elqaid=19680&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=9075
 
* The University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign’s wheelchair basketball teams host summer camps for future U of I players to meet current players and develop their skills (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.illinoishomepage.net/sports/illini/current-future-illini-come-together-for-wheelchair-basketball-camp/1281805322
 
* Details continue to emerge about Richard Strauss, a now-deceased team physician working with wrestlers at Ohio State University, who allegedly abused student athletes during exams and medical treatments (https://www.chronicle.com/article/What-We-Know-About-the/243832?cid=db&elqTrackId=4ea284ae1abf4ebd8fe2b6b8b5dfa84b&elq=2a65a948e174431d8072455b63bc5a4d&elqaid=19649&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=9053), with questions raised about how much Republican Representative Jim Jordan knew while he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/05/gop-congressman-jim-jordan-ignored-sexual-abuse-ohio-state-former-athletes-allege?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=b1a500217d-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-b1a500217d-198891893&mc_cid=b1a500217d&mc_eid=a51c972f65)
 
* Special Olympian and UMass Lowell student Tyler Lagasse compares his sport of golf and experience with autism: http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/23874366/special-olympics-usa-games-2018-matter-exist-a-right-play-says-golfer-tyler-lagasse
 
* Former University of South Florida professor Tamara Zwick is filing suit against the university, alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and disability discrimination by the chair of her department, including his public disclosures of Zwick’s medical condition and refusal to grant her accommodations: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/former-professor-sues-usf-claiming-sexual-harassment-and-discrimination-by-fellow-professor/67-570105053
 
* Bipartisan Congressional support continues to build for the proposed College Transparency Act that would set up a federal data system to track all college students across the U.S., to better understand retention and completion rates: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/02/no-2-senate-republican-backs-college-transparency-bill?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=d8404a963b-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-d8404a963b-225808461&mc_cid=d8404a963b&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* Jared Muscat had his first grand mal seizure at the University of California San Diego, and since then he has evolved into an epilepsy activist who is also known for his surfing skills: https://www.surfer.com/blogs/agents-of-change/surfing-with-epilepsy/
 
* What happens after football players begin to suffer effects of CTE?  The Chicago Tribune looks at Les Williams’ experiences after he left the University of Alabama and his participation in a class action suit against the NCAA: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-ncaa-brain-injuries-lawsuits-20180703-story.html
 
* Last year, Congress passed the “Forever GI Bill,” lifting time limits on veteran benefits, including college; new legislation is being proposed to prevent colleges from punishing student veterans if GI Bill payments from the government are delayed: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2018/07/02/congress-weighs-new-gi-bill-protections-268942
 
* Plastic straws, banning laptops in classrooms, and the opioid crackdown…a Washington Post op-ed discusses how well-meaning policies can negatively affect people with disabilities: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/07/12/plastic-straw-bans-are-the-latest-policy-to-forget-the-disability-community/?utm_term=.1a904fe4f183
 
* “On Your Marq” is a new program at Marquette University, designed to help undergrads with autism navigate social and academic aspects of college through classes and peer mentoring: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2018/07/09/marquette-autism-program-gets-450-000-donation-launch-fall-2019/723377002/
 
* A new report shows that no states are collecting comprehensive data about students in non-degree postsecondary programs for licenses and certificates, and while the majority of states with data collect information on race, ethnicity, and age, the report implies that no state collects information on disability status: https://www.ecampusnews.com/featured/featured-on-ecampus-news/states-show-progress-in-measuring-non-degree-credentials/?all
 
* Pensacola State College was hiring an ASL adjunct, but they allegedly didn’t interview any Deaf applicants, and hired a hearing instructor instead, so one of the Deaf applicants has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2018/07/01/deaf-applicant-sues-psc-saying-he-discriminated-against-sign-language-job/743629002/
 
* An “Anonymous Academic” writes about experiences with bullying from academic advisors and internship supervisors who could not “distinguish between helping and controlling” people with hidden disabilities, sometimes triggering depression or a worsening of disabilities: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2018/jul/06/my-academic-supervisor-bullied-me-for-my-disability-and-i-said-nothing 
 
* Former trustee Tom Rossley can sue Drake University for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but not under Title IX, says a federal judge; Rossley’s son was allegedly not provided disability accommodations during a Title IX hearing, and his father was fired as a trustee for complaining about the process and defending his son: https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/46389/
 
* Her father has multiple sclerosis, and conversations with him about the word “disabled” led UK student Megan Ogley to create an acclaimed exhibition of photography featuring people with prosthetic limbs and their stories: https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2018/07/03/inspiring-photography-project-aims-to-challenge-perceptions-of-disabilities/
 
* After controversies over understaffing, services for students, and her statements about student self-advocacy, Carolyn Corbran resigned as disability services director at Columbia University’s Barnard College to “spend more time with [her] family”: https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2018/07/08/director-of-barnard-office-of-disability-services-resigns/
 
* Jiang Mengnan will be entering a Chinese doctoral program in pharmacology this fall; she is deaf since birth and relies on lip-reading and written notes in school: http://www.ecns.cn/news/society/2018-07-09/detail-ifyvvuhv1812174.shtml
 
* Ohio State University has closed its sexual assault unit among numerous complaints, including accusations that staff were telling student survivors they were “mentally ill” or “delusional” when reporting assaults: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/10/ohio-state-closes-sexual-assault-unit-after-complaints-mismanagement-poor-reporting?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=e8cdd4a1a8-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-e8cdd4a1a8-225808461&mc_cid=e8cdd4a1a8&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* Arizona State University professors and colleagues at Kenya’s Kenyatta University are planning student and faculty exchanges around disability and sign languages: https://asunow.asu.edu/20180706-asu-news-team-seeks-collaboration-kenya-universities
 
* Former USC head football coach Steve Sarkisian has lost his $30 million lawsuit claiming disability discrimination after being fired for behaviors related to his alcoholism: https://pilotonline.com/sports/college/elsewhere/football/article_ba5e668a-6944-5e4f-a74b-bfa4fd0ee806.html
 
* During her time at Emory University, Ebony Freeman spent three weeks trying to get disability accommodations for an internship, so she’s developed Ability Enabled software to help employers provide streamlined disability accommodations: https://hypepotamus.com/people/eboni-freeman/
 
* After cuts in state appropriations, the University of Iowa is closing seven centers, including the Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2018/07/10/university-iowa-bruce-harreld-board-regents/772148002/
 
* Campus buildings without air-conditioning can affect students’ cognition, and are often built to retain heat even after cooler weather sets in: https://consumer.healthday.com/cognitive-health-information-26/brain-health-news-80/heat-waves-can-dull-even-young-minds-study-says-735633.html
 
* The Kessler Foundation gave more than $41.5 million to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and now they have published a report on lessons learned and what worked; many of the programs were based at universities or involved students with disabilities: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/07/prweb15605069.htm
 
* British Columbia gave $1.5 million to 20 colleges and universities to expand programs for students with disabilities, and Camosun College is using their funds to set up a new program building employment skills: http://www.nexusnewspaper.com/2018/07/11/camosun-gets-funding-to-assist-students-with-disabilities/
 
* Emotional support from families can help low-income freshmen with academic performance, belonging, and retention, disproving common beliefs about “helicopter parents”: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/11/emotional-support-families-makes-difference-low-income-students
 
* For ten years, incoming University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students with autism have been invited to a week-long program about college life, including mentoring with professors in their field of interest: http://www.leadertelegram.com/News/Front-Page/2018/06/29/div-class-libPageBodyLinebreak-College-basics-div.html
 
* Ryerson student Michelle Wollfrey teaches others about service dogs and how they are used in higher education classrooms: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/ryerson-student-educates-the-public-about-service-animals-in-the-classroom/
 
* The University of Oregon’s Living Theater class brings together students and community members with disabilities to create public performances: https://around.uoregon.edu/oq/disability-studies-takes-center-stage
 
* Paul Williamson developed a disability after starting his career, and now this Sydney University scholar is researching how other people experience mid-career disabilities, as well:  https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/07/new-research-looks-improve-disability-employment-rate/
 
* With a rise in the use (and misuse) of emotional support animals, college students with less visible disabilities are experiencing a backlash and new policies that are limiting: http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180708/owners-of-emotional-support-animals-find-support-conflict
 
* Former UCLA LGBTQ studies, dance, and disability studies professor Doran George passed away in 2017, but this past month, details from their autopsy and personal life were released to the press, and colleagues are concerned the details are invasive and “medicalizing the queer body”: https://dailybruin.com/2018/07/08/ucla-faculty-member-remembered-for-contributions-to-lgbtq-studies-dance/
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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).