DREAM Weekly: October 28-November 10, 2018

​DREAM Weekly on Disability and Higher Education in the News: October 28-November 10, 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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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 ([email protected]).
 
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* After seven years of work spearheaded by students, Cornell University will finally have ASL classes in the fall of 2019, and they will fulfill the university’s foreign language requirement: https://cornellsun.com/2018/11/02/american-sign-language-courses-will-be-offered-as-soon-as-fall-2019/
 
* A state audit has found the University of Massachusetts has failed to follow several policies for students with disabilities, including the way grievance processes are conducted: https://www.gazettenet.com/Audit-finds-improper-purchases-other-problems-at-UMass-Amherst-21222495
 
* Stanford’s Disability Awareness Week ended with a rally for a permanent disability community center on campus, and a petition of support with over 1200 signatures: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/11/05/disabilities-awareness-week-wraps-up-with-rally-for-disability-community-center/
 
* The new Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation at Loyola Law School is trying to put more attorneys with disabilities on the bench, including working on the pipeline for law students with disabilities: https://www.law360.com/california/articles/1099082/new-center-aims-to-put-attys-with-disabilities-on-the-bench (the article requires registration, but more information is available at https://www.facebook.com/NAADattorneys/ with a November 7 Facebook post)
 
* The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with Northern Michigan University, in the case of a student with depression alleging NMU threatened to dis-enroll her after she informally disclosed her depression; NMU must draft a non-discrimination program, develop a training program for faculty and staff, and pay damages to several students with similar experiences: https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/Settlement-reached-in-mental-health-case-against-Northern-Michigan-University--499049511.html
 
* One of the players on the University of Texas at Austin women’s cross country team is hard of hearing, but communication is no problem with six teammates who know ASL: http://dailytexanonline.com/2018/11/06/asl-proficiency-promotes-camaraderie-on-womens-cross-country-team
 
* After struggling with bipolar disorder as a college student at Penn State and finding support from peers and counseling services, Katherine Ponte has set up “ForLikeMinds,” which connects college students experiencing mental illness: https://www.thedp.com/article/2018/10/for-like-minds-mental-health-upenn (there is a link to the website in the article)
 
* A new multi-media training is available for colleges to help educate international students about “maintaining their emotional wellness and mental health:” https://www.prweb.com/releases/international_student_insurance_releases_mental_health_training_for_international_students/prweb15888963.htm
 
* The 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was supposed to help vocational rehabilitation agencies prepare high school students with disabilities for work and higher education, but a new federal report says only 21 states are meeting requirements: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/11/08/voc-rehab-doubling-down-transition/25709/
 
* The federal government is pushing universities to improve website access, but solving the problems aren’t always straightforward: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/06/universities-still-struggle-make-websites-accessible-all?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=1d61a54b42-DNU_WO20181105_PREV_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-1d61a54b42-197632649&mc_cid=1d61a54b42&mc_eid=380f80e351
 
* College student, Paralympian, and marathoner Daniel Romanhcuk talks to GQ about his training and diet: https://www.gq.com/story/daniel-romanchuk-real-life-diet
 
* Last year a significant donation to the Unviersity of Capetown in South Africa allowed Disability Services to hire interpreters, expand technology and transportation, and more (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2018-11-02-donor-support-for-students-with-disabilities
 
* High numbers of students struggling with mental health may require creative solutions and new approaches, including improving student resilience, not using so many diagnostic terms for natural growth and feelings, and setting up same-day access to counseling services: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/education/canadian-university-report/article-growing-mental-health-needs-of-students-require-creative-solutions/
 
* Southwestern Students share their diverse experiences on campus, including frustrations with faculty and staff and how problems with accommodations “affect several facets of their life”: https://megaphone.southwestern.edu/2018/10/31/student-voices-making-room-accommodations-and-disability-at-southwestern/
 
* Providence College has a new “Be Educated, Live with Inspiration, and Evaluate Equity (BELIEVE) student organization to advocate for campus students who have disabilities:  https://www.thecowl.com/news/believe-in-equality-new-club-advocates-for-students-with-disabilities
 
* A new division at University of Houston-Clear Lake puts all student advising, student advocacy, academic services, and disability services under one “Student Success and Initiatives” umbrella: https://uhclthesignal.com/wordpress/2018/11/01/uhcl-appoints-associate-vice-president-to-lead-new-student-success-division/
 
* Ella Catherall is an autistic woman at Cambridge University, and she writes about how she has been overlooked, understudied, mis-represented, and misunderstood: https://www.varsity.co.uk/science/16439
 
* Hard-of-hearing students at Arizona State University are gaining access through assistive listening devices, ASL immersion courses, and disability services: http://www.statepress.com/article/2018/11/spcommunity-hard-of-hearing-accessibility
 
* More than 75% of counties in Wisconsin have a shortage of psychiatrists and complex processes to get help some students are left in emergency rooms, leaving campus, or even jail: https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2018/11/06/lack-of-psychiatrists-in-wisconsin-unsatisfactory-mental-health-services-on-campus-fail-students/
 
* Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in South Africa are not getting adequate services, says a new study: https://menafn.com/1097671523/Students-with-hearing-loss-get-a-raw-deal-a-South-African-case-study
 
* UK YouTube star Jessica Kellgren-Fozard has long advocated for LGBTQ and disability rights – she’s getting an honorary degree from the University of Worcester: https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/lesbian-youtuber-get-honorary-degree-for-her-work-on-disability-rights/#gs.dp00=KU
 
* Three professors wrote fake papers in humanities fields they call “grievance studies” (including disability studies), but professor and journalist David Perry writes that humanities help us understand ourselves, and it’s needed more than ever: https://psmag.com/education/in-the-age-of-trump-we-need-cutting-edge-humanities-more-than-ever
 
* Penn State’s Undergraduate Association is collaborating with Disability Services to hold its first Disability Awareness Day: https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_8da7f474-e23a-11e8-a190-afbed1bd9eb4.html
 
* Xaivier University student Abrena Rowe talks about how her less visible disabilities led her to deny services or feel guilty for requesting them, but accepting them as a disability is changing her perspective: https://xaviernewswire.com/2018/11/07/coming-to-terms-with-my-hidden-disabilities/
 
* A new grant to Pacific Coast University in Canada will train 25 disabled Canadian veterans through the continuing education program, as a pilot project to improve employment:   https://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/disabled-veterans-to-get-continuing-ed-through-pacific-coast-university/
 
* With mental health diagnoses on the rise, many colleges are setting goals of helping students “thrive,” “flourish,” or “transform”: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Teach-Students-How-to/244998
 
* A Williams College student notes that the campus is partially accessible, but describes how difficult it could be for someone with a physical disability: https://williamsrecord.com/2018/11/on-improving-accessibility-a-case-for-making-campus-more-wheelchair-friendly/
 
 
 
A Few Other Items of Possible Interest:
* The midterms of 2018 are over, but if you’d like to plan a run for office as a disabled person, here’s your guide: https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-to-run-for-office-if-you-have-a-disability
 
* What exactly is stimming?  And why do it?  Let Agony Auntie’s YouTube video break it down for you (video is captioned with no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bhT2R9HiLs
 
* “I’ve learned there is an unmatched beauty in being a disabled black woman,” says Ola Ojewumi in Self magazine: https://www.self.com/story/disabled-black-girl-magic
 
* ”MTV Decoded” looks at “Five Phrases People with Disabilities are Tired Of” (video has captions but no audio description): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DSL-2hsRk8
 
* Disabled Muslim and Jersey native Maysoon Zayid is in talks with ABC to create a sitcom about her life: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/arts/television/maysoon-zayid-disabled-muslim-comic.html
 
* A new free online documentary (Shine a Light) explains ADHD as a diagnosis, as well as the experience of living with ADHD: https://www.timesofmalta.com/mobile/articles/view/20181104/business-news/shine-a-light-understanding-adhd.693405
 
* #EDWarriors are using social media to document their recovery from eating disorders: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/some-eating-disorder-warriors-social-media-part-recovery-journey
 
* Everytown for Gun Safety” has a new campaign, but it may be pushing gun control by increasing stigma about mental illness: https://psmag.com/social-justice/you-cant-create-good-gun-policy-by-stigmatizing-the-mentally-ill
 
* Up to 20% of farmers have disabilities, and AgrAbility’s helping them get access to assistive care, technology, and adapted equipment: https://www.wired.com/story/farmer-disabilities-tools-agrability-breaking-new-ground/
 
* The midterm elections of 2018 gave us a Democratic House and a Republican senate, but what will that mean for higher education? http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/07/democratic-house-will-trigger-tougher-oversight-devos?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=020a4674f0-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-020a4674f0-225808461&mc_cid=020a4674f0&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* Deaf stuntwoman Kitty O’Neil, who used to do stunts for Lynda Carter on the Wonder Woman TV show, has died at age 72: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ny-ent-kitty-oneil-dies-20181107-story.html
 
* Did you vote?  As many as 60% of polling places in the U.S. have significant physical barriers limiting accessibility, and many “accessible” voting machines are over 20 years old: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/11/06/voting-accessibility-challenges/25697/
 
* After recent natural disasters, several groups have filed complaints and lawsuits about inaccessibility of services and shelters, as well as the government sending people to nursing homes just because they have a disability: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/11/06/recent-disasters-disability-groups/25701/
 
* Author and entrepreneur Peter Shankman believes ADHD has helped him, and he believes “the new neuroatypical generation” can change the world for the better: http://www.bu.edu/today/2018/peter-shankman-adhd-lecture/
 

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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 (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).