DREAM Weekly Email, Disability and Higher Education in the News: September 29-October 5, 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) ------------------------------- Just a reminder: the DREAM Weekly Email just has highlights from the news – to access the full version:
Having trouble accessing an article? Check with your campus library or reach out to us and we’ll try to help! ([email protected]) ------------------------------ Disability and higher education in the news (in no particular order): * Pepperdine University student activist Mackenzie Mazen photographed university employees illegally parking in disability parking spaces or blocking access to buildings, and posted them publicly to educate the whole campus and create change: https://pepperdine-graphic.com/student-with-disability-speaks-out-against-discrimination/ * People across the U.S. read about Stanford first-year student Sylvia Colt-Lacayo and her difficulties financing and setting up personal care attendants, so here’s an update and her perspectives on this “systemic healthcare issue:” https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/09/30/how-one-frosh-navigates-the-financial-burden-of-having-a-disability-at-stanford/ * A new “accommodations comic” is being published by the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research, to teach youth with mental illness about accommodations in high school and college (it is not clear whether the comic is accessible to screen readers); a link to the comic is under the “Education News” section of the newsletter at https://www.adainfo.org/e-bulletin/e-bulletin-october-1-2019 * October is disability awareness month on many campuses – here are two examples:
* The Jump! Start program at Nicolet College gave Ashley Mathy advocacy skills, which she’s using to work on employment issues with the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities: https://starjournalnow.com/2019/10/03/overcoming-challenges/ * A new lab school for middle school students with ADHD, autism, or anxiety has opened at the University of California Irvine, with an annual tuition of $36,000: https://abc7.com/education/uc-irvines-school-for-students-with-adhd-autism-finds-success/5582235/ * Visually impaired and blind students are depending on Delta Gamma sorority members for services after the Louisiana State University disability office refused to assist with orientation and mobility needs, notetaking, and referrals for personal services: https://www.lsureveille.com/news/visually-impaired-student-struggles-for-accommodations-told-lsu-was-not/article_056a36c6-e527-11e9-8375-27ba232a02e5.html * A first-year student compares life in college to the idealistic picture of ADHD and neurodiversity in her admissions essay, noting that “it’s okay if your trend isn’t always upward!” https://www.trinitonian.com/running-corrections-on-my-admissions-essay/ * The National Eating Disorders Association had its first-ever Weight Stigma Awareness Week with the #ComeAsYouAre campaign to help college students and others with eating disorders – learn about “weight stigma” at: https://mercercluster.com/26198/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/heres-why-nedas-weight-stigma-awareness-campaign-matters/ * In a closely-watched case that may have implications for other forms of diversity, a federal judge ruled that Harvard University’s admissions policies do not discriminate against Asian Americans and that a “diverse atmosphere” “fosters learning” and “encourages mutual respects and understanding”: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/10/01/federal-judge-finds-harvards-policies-do-not-discriminate-against?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ec2f6ec000-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ec2f6ec000-225808461&mc_cid=ec2f6ec000&mc_eid=d5645fe552 * East Carolina University is creating a peer group for students with autism to build community on campus: http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/news/article_e2baf07a-e3d2-11e9-ae2e-b3330e4c7b26.html * Netflix’s Atypical will start off Season 3 in November, with the autistic lead character heading off to college: https://www.tvseasonspoilers.com/tv-shows/atypical-season-3-release-date-along-with-first-look-plot-details-and-more-19599/ * The University of Idaho is surveying all of its employees so they can report their veteran and/or disability status, in order to comply with the university’s strategic plan and federal law: https://www.uidaho.edu/news/news-articles/faculty-staff-news/2019-september/093019-disabilityandveteranstatussurvey * California Governor Gavin Newsom talks about a new bill allowing student athletes to be paid and his experiences as a college student athlete with disabilities: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/college-sports-gavin-newsom.html * Syracuse University’s 16th annual International Film Festival is including films about disability (previews of films have captioning but no audio description): https://www.syracuse.com/living/2019/09/on-screen-16th-annual-syracuse-international-film-festival-kicks-off-this-week.html * Disabled queer poet Jillian Weise talked with 3:AM Magazine about disabled poetics, inaccessibility of writing conferences, and being a self-described “cyborg”: https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/disabled-queer-poet-jillian-weise-upends-ableist-assumptions-in-cyborg-detective/ * After finishing his doctorate, disabled grad student Antoni Tsaputra plans to continue working on research, activism, and the rights of people with disabilities (“difabel”) in his home country of Indonesia: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/social-affairs/unsw-phd-candidate-has-plans-influence-indonesian-disability-policy * Australian professor Jioji Ravulo will lead a team studying mental illness among Pacific communities in Australia and culturally responsive ways to address the topic: https://www.miragenews.com/uow-researcher-explores-impact-of-mental-illness-on-pacific-communities-in-australia/ * Two University of Maine professors with disabilities wanted to train for triathalons, but couldn’t find training equipment, so they helped invent the Afari Mobility Aid that looks like “you’re walking your bike instead of riding it”: https://bangordailynews.com/2019/09/29/news/midcoast/they-couldnt-find-a-device-to-help-athletes-with-disabilities-so-these-mainers-invented-one/ * Higher education may seem inclusive for gender non-conforming students, but a trans doctoral candidate at Manhattanville College urges people to look at Inside Higher Ed article comments to see why depression and suicide ideation rates are so high among trans students: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2019/10/03/what-online-comments-say-about-peoples-views-trans-scholars-opinion * Being blind has been an advantage for Mike Mott, a radio host and broadcaster for college football games in Mississippi: https://www.mooresvilletribune.com/sports/colleges/mote-s-broadcasting-passion-undeterred-by-blindness/article_218903d3-f25a-5ce6-9863-b2b4022abd10.html * A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee center is developing access ratings for buildings and restaurants around the city: https://www.wuwm.com/post/accessibility-ratings-buildings-may-help-milwaukees-disabled-community#stream/0 * Washington State University has revised its nursing school curriculum to first focus on physical and mental health instead of sickness and acute care: https://news.wsu.edu/2019/10/02/proposed-college-nursing-curriculum-start-health-rather-sickness/ * On the historic day of July 21, 2019, Carleton University in Canada filmed people who helped make the Accessible Canada Act happen and added the footage to its library: https://newsroom.carleton.ca/2019/carleton-obtains-behind-the-scenes-footage-from-historic-day-for-people-with-disabilities-in-canada/ * With more illnesses, disabilities, and deaths connected to vaping, Texas A&M is joining other higher education institutions banning e-cigarettes and vaping: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/03/texas-am-bans-vaping-across-system?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=41aefea2a9-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-41aefea2a9-225808461&mc_cid=41aefea2a9&mc_eid=d5645fe552 * The Student Club of the Week at Kennesaw State University is the campus chapter of the College Diabetes Network: http://ksusentinel.com/2019/09/30/club-of-the-week-college-diabetes-network/ * Three campuses are radically changing their disability services offices this year: Middlebury College (https://middleburycampus.com/46429/news/re-structured-disability-resource-center-expands-is-scope/), Knox College (http://www.theknoxstudent.com/news/2019/10/03/disability-services-adds-accessibility-counselor/#.XZda_UZKh3g ), and SUNY Geneseo (https://www.thelamron.com/posts/2019/10/3/the-office-of-disability-services-works-to-improve-student-accessibility-during-interim-period) * India’s college students are dying from suicide at high rates, so the government has developed a “counselling plan” for the nation’s higher education institutions: https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/society/news/india-wants-more-iits-to-have-wellness-centers-to-curb-stress-and-depression/articleshow/71424045.cms * University of Georgia’s Tyler Burrell is part of the DRC student Speaker’s Bureau, but especially wants to educate others about “invisible” disabilities like her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: https://news.uga.edu/tyler-burrell-disability-awareness/ * Former attorney Gordon Caplan was the fourth parent to be sentenced in the Varisity Blues admissions scandal; his daughter was coached in how to “be stupid” so a psychologist would give her extra time on the ACT exam: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/03/us/gordon-caplan-college-admissions/index.html * Steve Kuusisto talks about “listening and listening again” while walking as a blind man, but also while teaching as a blind professor: https://blindinacademe.wordpress.com/2019/10/02/teaching-by-ear/ * With a new director at the helm and student activism calling attention to problems, Williams College’s counseling services has been renamed as “Integrative Wellbeing Services” to show a shift in how the campus approaches students’ mental health: https://williamsrecord.com/2019/10/closer-look-integrative-wellbeing-services-expands-offerings-revises-clinical-approach/ * Jeremy Richard got an internship at Lively Technical College in Florida through his school’s transition program, and now he has a job as an office assistant: https://www.gainesville.com/opinion/20191001/barbara-palmer-working-with-unique-abilities * A student at Baruch College wonders why more CUNY campuses can’t set up wheelchair basketball teams like Hostos Community College in the Bronx: https://theticker.org/ticker/2019/9/30/baruch-can-do-more-for-students-with-disabilities * The University of North Carolina Charlotte gunman and former student in the 2019 April mass shooting has a “strain of autism” affecting his competency, according to his attorney: https://www.thecollegefix.com/unc-charlotte-shooter-pleads-guilty-to-murder-attorney-says-he-has-strain-of-autism/ * The University of Oklahoma has a new “Sooner Works” inclusive higher education program: http://www.oudaily.com/news/new-ou-program-sooner-works-aims-to-help-students-with/article_7156d772-e496-11e9-b48d-03f784edfc7b.html * This October, Bailey Anderson will be a guest teacher in residence exploring disability and choreography at Colorado Mesa University: https://www.coloradomesa.edu/now/2019/09/cmu-dance-hosts-guest-teacher-and-choreographer.html * Blind professor Paul Ajuwon is not only teaching Missouri State University students about disability, but he is also volunteering with children who have disabilities in his home country of Nigeria: http://www.the-standard.org/life/professor-helps-people-with-disabilities-at-home-and-abroad/article_ac35ad7a-e3ea-11e9-8667-7f70ded09a77.html * Former Miss Tennessee and graduate student Kailey Jordan says epilepsy helped her find beauty in life and feel stronger, as she travels the world educating others about it: https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2019/10/02/embracing-my-epilepsy-helped-me-find-beauty-raise-awareness/3833794002/ * Union College has accused a student of academic dishonesty and is attempting to remove him from school, but he has filed a lawsuit alleging the college failed to accommodate his learning disabilities (news clip is captioned but not audio described): https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2019/09/30/union-student-files-complaint--continues-legal-battle-to-remain-enrolled# A Few Other Items of Possible Interest: * It’s 2019 - why is so much of the Internet difficult for blind people to use? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49694453 * Learn about the disability priorities and policies of all the Democratic presidential candidates, thanks to the AAPD and NCIL: https://www.aapd.com/advocacy/voting/presidential-elections-2020/ * Netflix star Ryan O’Connell says that people have an easier time accepting him as gay than accepting him as disabled: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/09/28/netflix-star-ryan-oconnell-special-being-gay-accepted-disabled/ * WE Day 2019 at the United Nations included Aaron Philip and Spencer West as speakers and integrated disability into discussions about youth activism: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2019/09/27/we_day_un_disability_inclusion/#1a613dfa3e61 * On “The Good Place” TV show, the character of Chidi Anagonye is making black nerds with anxiety more visible: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/arts/television/the-good-place.html * Native American leaders testified with disability activists and advocates for low-income people about the suppression of voting rights and closings of multiple polling places: https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/10/01/native-american-voting-rights-suppressed/ * Google is creating “Action Blocks” to help make smartphones more accessible: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/10/04/google-improving-accessibility-cognitive-disabilities/27260/ * “Dr Jessi” Gold from Washington University in St. Louis and “self-described misinformation crusader” did a podcast about misinformation about mental health and how its portrayed in the media (transcript is provided): https://psychcentral.com/blog/podcast-misinformation-crusader-writing-about-mental-illness/ * President Donald Trump has signed an extension of the Autism CARES Act, authorizing $1.8 billion in research, training, and other activities: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/10/02/trump-signs-autism-act/27246/ * DeAndra Chenault was told all her life that she “can’t” because of she is a Black woman with a learning disability, but now she “can” as an elected city council member in Wichita Falls, Texas: https://thehubntx.com/2019/10/deandra-chenault-yes-i-did/ * Employees at a Maine hospital created a “wall of shame” with confidential medical records of patients with disabilities, including hospitalized co-workers: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/03/us/maine-hospital-wall-of-shame-medical-records-disabled-patients-trnd/index.html For more information about DREAM or AHEAD contact Wendy Harbour ([email protected]). To subscribe or unsubscribe, please go to http://ahead-listserve.org/mailman/listinfo/dream_ahead-listserve.org. Wendy Harbour can also handle requests to subscribe or unsubscribe. 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). Comments are closed.
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