Panel preaches inclusion

Learning to deal with disabilities on the college campus was the focus of a teleconference broadcast live Wednesday from Washington, D.C. and watched by 130 colleges and universities across the country.

Sixty-one SF State students, faculty and staff participated in the live teleconference, titled "Educating students with disabilities: a shared responsibility," which was held in the Presidio room at the SF State Guest Center.

The conference was sponsored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Residence Life, Affirmative Action, the Disability Resource Center and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching.

The participants were able to call in questions to Washington, D.C. and have them answered by a panel of experts.

The discussion addressed the latest issues university campuses face in providing access to students with disabilities. Topics included student rights and laws, language, accommodations and awareness.

"People with disabilities do not have to be fixed -- they feel they are fine just the way they are," said Sue Kroger from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities during the teleconference. "This is an overwhelming feeling of people with disabilities."

During the live conference, attendees watched taped excerpts of students and faculty from various colleges and universities who spoke out about what they feel are the main issues that affect people with disabilities.

"Treat me like everyone else -- don't put me in a corner somewhere," said one student. Another added, "I feel disabilities are part of the diversity of our society."

One of the main issues focused on was the adherence on college campuses to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The ADA "provides protection from discrimination for individuals on the basis of disabilities." In other words, no persons can be denied access to employment in the public and private sectors, transportation and public accommodations based on a disability.

Many students and faculty at the meeting felt that discrimination is still alive and well at many campuses across the country.

"People are not aware of how to work with students, faculty and staff with disabilities -- there is a movement in the disability field to mainstream students and accommodate them," said Cookie O'Brien of Residence Life.

The other legislation that was focused on at the conference was Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which states that universities and colleges may not "limit enrollment of disabled students, exclude students with disabilities from certain courses of study and establish rules that may affect disabled students."

At SF State, the Disability Resource Center is developing a policy that will affect the campus as a whole when dealing with disabilities.

"We are hoping to get the whole campus involved in creating resources for disabled students," said Kimberly Bartlett, director of the Disability Resource Center. "This policy will spell out what types of accommodations are to be provided and who is responsible."

According to Bartlett, all colleges and universities are responsible for creating a policy for their disabled students. SF State's policy is thought to be unique because it is specific to the campus.

Many students who attended the teleconference had mixed feelings about what the conference did to educate people about disabilities.

"Learning disabilities are the single largest population on college campuses, and I think no one would have known that before this conference," said Emily Trinton, a psychology senior.

Marcus Washington, a special education sophomore, wishes that people could accept disabilities as the norm.

"Sometimes people look at me and all they see are my crutches, nothing else," Washington said. "Perhaps if more students without disabilities attended the conference there would not be this feeling of being left out of everything."

The definitions of what disabilities are was clarified throughout the conference by the participants stating that a "disability is both visible and invisible -- to some, having cancer is a disability."

Yet many college faculty and administrators who were involved in the conference disagreed on how disabilities should be dealt with.

Some are concerned that college campuses still have a long way to go in the accommodation process.

"You can't build a ramp for a closed mind," said a San Jose State faculty member in a taped interview. "We need awareness of disabilities by administrators."

[ Golden Gater Online October 31, 1995 ]

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