DREAM Weekly Email: September 1-7, 2019

DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: September 1-7, 2019
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)
• 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 and we’ll try to help! (NCCSD@ahead.org)
 
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** WELCOME BACK!  This is the first DREAM/NCCSD newsletter of the 2019-2020 academic year**
 
** We have discontinued the graphic/visual based form of the newsletter at NCCSDOnline.org – we apologize for any inconvenience! **
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Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order):
 
* Students using personal care attendants are fighting for the services they need to attend college: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/health/2019/09/03/young-woman-wheelchair-and-fight-take-her-place-stanford/2201975001/
 
* Michele Moore, editor of Disability & Society journal has been vocal about her belief that “transgender ideology” is “dangerous;” nearly 900 disability studies scholars have signed a open letter of protest and a third of the editorial board has resigned: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Journal-Editor-s/247081?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&cid=at&source=ams&sourceId=4079424
 
* The University of Minnesota has created Disabled Employees at the U, an affinity group for employees with disabilities: https://www.mndaily.com/article/2019/09/n-umn-employees-create-group-for-disabled-community
 
* A jury determined that Iowa State University is partially responsible for a student’s death by suicide, raising  several issues about how university’s should run counseling centers and use graduate assistants as therapists: https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Jury-Found-Iowa-State-U/247075?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&cid=at&source=ams&sourceId=4079424
 
* The Commission on Dental Accreditation is now requiring that all dental students must learn about disability, how to care for people with disabilities, and have inclusive clinical training: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/09/03/dental-students-trained-care-special-needs/27108/
 
 
* Vilma Luna couldn’t find a Texas postsecondary program for her son with Down syndrome, so she helped create the ACHIEVE program at Texas A&M University in College Station: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/09/03/mom-sought-college-down-syndrome-helped-create-one/27101/
 
* James Madison University has a new Madison Disability Inclusion Group (DIG) that is planning social events, starting with students brailling large-print Cards Against Humanity cards for their first gathering: https://www.breezejmu.org/culture/madison-dig-strives-to-support-people-with-disabilities/article_e6352ad4-cf5c-11e9-9afa-9fb98302f53c.html
 
* President Trump has signed an executive order to reduce the paperwork necessary for veterans to discharge student loan debt: https://csulauniversitytimes.com/mitigating-student-debt-for-disabled-veterans/
 
* Harvard University is using cutting-edge technology to make astronomy accessible to people with disabilities, building on the work of blind astronomer Wanda Diaz Merced: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/astronomy-lab-at-harvard-makes-accessibility-a-priority/
 
* In a new study out of the UK, 75% of young people were attempting to deal with mental health problems on their own, unable to get help or feel comfortable confiding in others, and the most significant impact on their mental health was pressure to do well in their studies in high school and college: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7417513/Huge-gaps-mental-health-support-young-people.html
 
* Gallup research found that Tribal College and University students graduate with a better sense of personal wellbeing when compared with students at other higher education institutions: https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/266243/tribal-colleges-universities-highlight-path-success.aspx
 
* Virginia Tech’s provost has started a “multipronged mental health initiative” to help students get any support they need to graduate: https://www.roanoke.com/news/education/as-students-struggle-with-mental-health-virginia-tech-takes-proactive/article_21c16d71-4d47-52a8-a3c2-1b16e449d62a.html
 
* Liberty University football coach Hugh Freeze was recovering from a life-threatening staph infection, so he coached the first game from a hospital bed in the coaches’ box at Williams Stadium: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/hugh-freeze-coaches-team-hospital-bed
 
* A new study suggests that college students, faculty and staff on college campuses can experience particularly high levels of distress about managing their diabetes: https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-hlth-diabetes-stress-college-0911-20190905-ybl5d7u7anfqraxmhtroumwhii-story.html
 
* An article in Forbes asks if universities will continue to ignore the risk of brain damage caused by college football: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2019/09/02/college-football-season-is-here-will-universities-continue-to-ignore-the-risk-of-brain-damage/#5dea2d664f14
 
* A coalition of civil rights organizations are hoping to update the 1965 Higher Education Act by promoting policies that “address disparities” for marginalized groups, including students with disabilities: https://www.asianjournal.com/usa/dateline-usa/civil-rights-coalition-offers-proposals-to-combat-injustice-in-education/
 
* Under a new “public charge” rule, the federal government will be able to deny green cards to any immigrants using public assistance under a new “public charge” rule, and families are worried they’ll have to give up services including college financial aid and special education services: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-02/trump-children-benefits-public-charge-rule
 
* Learn about studying abroad in Japan with ADHD, through an archived summer webinar from Mobility International: https://www.miusa.org/event/2019/ADHDWebinar
 
* Julien Endres was dismissed from Northeast Ohio Medical University for cheating on an exam, but he said that his ADHD medication was at fault and he had not cheated; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that his case should be retried because there were due process violations: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/03/court-reverses-previous-decision-dismissed-medical-student?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=b9c4f87d4a-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-b9c4f87d4a-198891893&mc_cid=b9c4f87d4a&mc_eid=a51c972f65
 
* Efrat Gold holds the first scholarship in the world in the field of antipsychiatry, at the University of Toronto: https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/09/disciplines-dissent-antipsychiatry-within-academy/
 
* The College Board’s “Adversity Score” is going away, after people realized it didn’t really work, and didn’t consider “adversity” in all its forms, including disability: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willarddix/2019/08/31/college-boards-adversity-score-succumbs-toadversity/#680f1f7b27b9
 
* A new report found that arts, humanities, and social sciences editors were most concerned about language and inclusivity: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/06/new-study-shines-light-what-worries-journal-editors-arts-humanities-and-social?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a36c636dbe-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a36c636dbe-225808461&mc_cid=a36c636dbe&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* West Chester University has opened a convenience store on campus, to give autistic students a place to learn job skills: https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-west-chester-university-store-autism-20190901-nh3kdnfucvhpvkn3gf2y7ecy5e-story.html
 
* Students from the Claremont Colleges participated in a faculty-led accessibility lab trip to Japan to study universal design and access (video is captioned but not audio described): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubXGWB4WPxk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0oOWCuAUKXFpc3DkHnKXFH9uapkZfrLZPB1QgyK6-MOTjhIf3WkX41Ma4
 
* Minnesota Somali-American Ahmed Ali gave his high school commencement speech using a speech synthesizer, and now he’s entered college and plans to build voice recognition systems that can produce various languages: https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/national/speech-synthesizer-allows-grad-to-speak-at-commencement/article_8b3839ac-d0ad-5b47-838e-c5f5617354a7.html
 
* The U.S. Department of Education has fined Michigan State University $4.5 million for its lack of compliance with safety and reporting regulations in dealing with Dr. Larry Nassar and his abuse of female students and athletes: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/06/education-department-fines-michigan-state-45-million-not-reporting-nassar-crimes?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a36c636dbe-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a36c636dbe-225808461&mc_cid=a36c636dbe&mc_eid=d5645fe552
 
* Student Rachel Ackerman is the Vestibular Disorder Association’s Ambassador, and you can learn more about her story here: http://www.prunderground.com/vestibular-disorder-association-veda-ambassador-rachel-ackerman-shares-how-she-adapted-to-chronic-illness/00161843/
 
* Western Michigan is retraining its stadium ushers and renovating ramps after a father suffered serious injuries in his scooter while trying to watch his son’s first football game: https://wwmt.com/news/local/man-in-mobility-scooter-suffers-serious-injury-at-waldo-stadium
 
* Eric Moore from the University of Tennessee blogs about how reducing barriers in the environment won’t always erase disability: https://www.novakeducation.com/the-danger-of-erasing-disability/?fbclid=IwAR2zkwL1SdA9VUlwHyjBSz9mSH659OLd9MNXxqEqljjHb85s8g9HR2FrYY8
 
* Autistic Marist College sophomore Alex Prizgintas credits his passion for vintage milk bottles and the history of dairy farms for helping him build confidence and social skills: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/life/2019/09/05/marist-student-brings-dairy-farm-history-life-bottle-collecting/2135301001/
 
* Doctoral student Ellen Cecil-Lemkin is one of Florida State University’s Student Disability Resource Center ambassadors, because she has experienced how much the SDRC helps her as a person with “invisible disabilities:” https://news.fsu.edu/student-stars/2019/09/01/ellen-cecil-lemkin/
 
* Banning plastic straws on campus can be a problem for people with disabilities: http://dailyorange.com/2019/09/plastic-straw-bans-limiting-people-disabilities/
 
* In the Indian state of Kerala, all students with disabilities in public colleges will be exempt from paying room and board: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/free-food-and-stay-for-disabled-college-students/articleshow/70951955.cms
 
* Temple University students talk about the importance of emotional support animals on campus: https://temple-news.com/emotional-support-animals-help-temple-students-adapt/
 
 
 
A Few Other Items of Possible Interest:
 
* Liv Ryan is a comedian with a disability, and she’s finally ready to joke about the hand and prosthesis she always kept hidden: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/standup-comedian-with-disability
 
* The founder of Izzy Wheels talks about colorful wheelchairs as signs of independence, and a new collaboration with Mattel’s Barbie: https://www.creativeboom.com/features/izzy-wheels/
 
* Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has created a children’s book called Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, which features Sotomayor talking about her diabetes, and children talking about various disabilities they experience as “differences”: http://bronx.news12.com/story/40995171/justice-sotomayor-encourages-kids-to-just-ask-in-new-book
 
* Meet Toshiya Kakiuchi, who is working to make Japan more universally designed (video has captions but no audio description): https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2042054/?fbclid=IwAR0nkVaw3yNiNgPoo0e9JcoVmWvqRJiIcghR7KdxOEdTIfo8VHYHTk7q39I
 
* A star-studded December concert in Sweden will honor EDM star Avicii and raise money for mental health awareness and suicide prevention: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8528910/avicii-tribute-concert-mental-health-awareness-lineup
 
* The president and CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society, Sara Hart Weir, is running for political office in Kansas, but some people are concerned about whether she’s an effective ally: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article234419687.html
 
* Fairfax County police department is training service dogs to help first responders: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/fairfax-county-polices-newest--and-furriest--recruits-to-help-first-responders-cope-with-stress-of-job/2019/09/01/dfccacb8-c8e4-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html?noredirect=on
 
* Companies are seeking people with disabilities and others to address low employment rates and a smaller pool of workers, but will they continue to hire if the U.S. has a recession? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/business/economy/recruiting-labor-force.html
 
 
 
 
 
 
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).