UCM Office of Accessibility Celebrates National Disability Awareness Month
Emily Jarrett/Muleskinner
Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: News
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For most students, October is synonymous with fall break, studying for mid-terms and celebrating Halloween. For students with disabilities, October is National Disability Awareness month.
The Office of Accessibility celebrates National Disability Awareness month by inviting guest speakers to campus to discuss various subjects dealing with disabilities and disabled students.
This year's speakers include Ronnie Podolefsky, Jennifer Freitag, Sharon Loveland and Tracy Orchester. There will also be simulation activities where students can experience what it's like to have a disability and an assistive technology and services fair.
At the fair, students can see the newest adaptive technology for various disabilities.
Currently, 485 students with disabilities attend UCM. This includes hearing, vision and mental disabilities, in addition to students that might need a note taker for classes or extra time to take tests.
Most students don't give much thought to the number of stairs they climb each day. If an elevator is down for repairs, it might be a minor annoyance, but it doesn't really affect them.
For a student with a disability, an elevator might be the only way they can get to class.
"If we know that an elevator will be down for more than a day or two, we will do what we can to move the class," said Amanda Trybula, graduate assistance in the Office of Accessibility.
"If the class can't be moved, we'll talk to the professor to get notes so the person isn't penalized for missing classes...to generally act as a liaison."
According to Trybula, all the buildings on campus are handicap accessible except for the Morrow/Garrison complex.
"If a disabled student has a class in Morrow/Garrison, we will move the class to a different building to accommodate them," Trybula said.
"[Residence halls] all have the required amount of accessibility. There's no specific dorm for disabled students; if they want to live in a campus apartment for example, we will do everything we can to accommodate them."
The Office of Accessibility celebrates National Disability Awareness month by inviting guest speakers to campus to discuss various subjects dealing with disabilities and disabled students.
This year's speakers include Ronnie Podolefsky, Jennifer Freitag, Sharon Loveland and Tracy Orchester. There will also be simulation activities where students can experience what it's like to have a disability and an assistive technology and services fair.
At the fair, students can see the newest adaptive technology for various disabilities.
Currently, 485 students with disabilities attend UCM. This includes hearing, vision and mental disabilities, in addition to students that might need a note taker for classes or extra time to take tests.
Most students don't give much thought to the number of stairs they climb each day. If an elevator is down for repairs, it might be a minor annoyance, but it doesn't really affect them.
For a student with a disability, an elevator might be the only way they can get to class.
"If we know that an elevator will be down for more than a day or two, we will do what we can to move the class," said Amanda Trybula, graduate assistance in the Office of Accessibility.
"If the class can't be moved, we'll talk to the professor to get notes so the person isn't penalized for missing classes...to generally act as a liaison."
According to Trybula, all the buildings on campus are handicap accessible except for the Morrow/Garrison complex.
"If a disabled student has a class in Morrow/Garrison, we will move the class to a different building to accommodate them," Trybula said.
"[Residence halls] all have the required amount of accessibility. There's no specific dorm for disabled students; if they want to live in a campus apartment for example, we will do everything we can to accommodate them."
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