[nabs-l] need help

[Joe Orozco]

Jewel,

I think you took a better, broader approach to the question.  I wondered if
structural accessibility should be covered, and I guess my position is a
little mixed.  On the one hand, if an institution is receiving federal
funds, it ought to make these physical accommodations happen for the people
who need them.  I do not like that people in wheelchairs need to sometimes
cruise around the block to get into the same entrance.  On the other hand, I
wonder if excessive accommodations are limiting a person's capacity to deal
with the rest of the world where people are not so considerate.  Yes, public
places are generally expected to have Braille signs, wheelchair ramps, and
wider bathroom stalls, but is it cost efficient to create accessible bubbles
on college campuses, or would it be preferable to advocate for a universally
accessible design all around.  I would personally be in favor of the latter
so that physical university accessibility is more than just feel-good
projects that make the administration feel as though they are making people
with disabilities feel welcomed.  Structural accommodations are a tough one
for me, and I will admit to sitting on the fence about it.

I'm afraid I disagree with the blindness later in life argument.  A lot of
things can happen to people later in life.  This does not necessarily change
people's mentality, and since we already see the varying degrees of
disability services on campuses, I think we can agree that we will never be
able to create the perfect disability office that ideally fits everyone's
needs since disabilities dramatically range from the most obvious to the
most subtle.  I believe universities are places where people go to fulfill
the specific task of obtaining higher education, not the place where people
receive higher education and training simultaneously.  Job interviews are
pretty grim equalizers after college, and as much as I believe in equal
rights, I think employers have a right to select the most qualified
candidates based on what they can provide now, not what they could
potentially provide later.

Marc,

Selecting disability-friendly universities is not the same as selecting
cities, transportation, and housing.  While the location of a school should
certainly play into a person's choice, using the accessibility quality of a
campus is like a business student choosing to attend Texas A&M because the
people are super nice.  Would this same person turn down the University of
Texas even though the people are not as nice but it has a stronger business
school?  The quality of a school's accessibility is so contingent on the
administration currently present at a school that it is like using an orange
traffic cone as a landmark to find your way to a building's front door.  It
may not be there tomorrow.

Yes, actually if sighted students can't exhibit these listed
responsibilities, they too should reevaluate college.  Contrary to popular
myth, college is not for everyone, and there are enough successful people
without college that no one should feel as if they have to attend a
university to make something of themselves, but, if you want to go straight
up blind versus sighted, then, yes, I think we'd all agree that blind people
need to be that much more prepared than their sighted peers to excel in
school or any other aspect of life for that matter.  A school that provides
great accessibility may only be running the risk of providing that person's
training with a false sense of confidence.

Your argument about higher education as a right would hold more weight if
blind people were denied access to education.  No one is being denied access
to the university, and the same challenges blind students face in the
classroom are the same challenges they are going to face in the workplace.
Or, are you suggesting that all persons with a college degree have a right
to a job after graduating?  There are plenty of blind people who invest in
college who still do not have a job, just as is true of sighted graduates.

I do not agree that the answer is an accessible job market.  To me, the
answer is a better K-12 education system.  Yes, I acknowledge all the people
who come by a disability later in life should have proper recourse, but I
think that responsibility falls on the shoulders of consumer groups like the
NFB to continue advocating for accessible technology, better rehabilitation
training standards, better Braille literacy rates, etc. for the community as
a whole.

And, I do not think people in power intentionally designed the college
experience to shaft people with disabilities.  The NFB president made it
through one of the country's leading law schools with far less
accommodations than we enjoy today.  Are you going to tell me our generation
is somehow less capable of accomplishing the same feat with far more
technological advances?

Anmol,

Give me an example of a student who has not received some type of equipment
assistance from their state agency.  If they exist, NABS needs to
short-lists these states and ramrod them into compliance.  Even in cases
where students attend private institutions receive some measure of
assistance to purchase adaptive products.

I see what you mean about experienced disability offices who can properly
teach faculty what people with disabilities need, but then, isn't this part
of our overarching problem?  People pretending to know what we need?  No one
will be able to better convey to faculty what I need better than myself.

To all,

I realize I may be coming off as the NABS Grinch on this subject.  I just
don't want people to be lulled into collapsing a really good disability
service college experience with the rest of reality.  If you're currently
stuck at a school where the only disability service is a one-man show where
the man in question is never around, please bombard this list with
questions.  We need to hear from you, and if we can hook you up with a good
member in your area to spend time showing you the ropes, then I guess that's
what needs to happen.  The point is, college is the beginning of the rest of
your life.  It may be tough as hell, but there is always a way to help you
get through it.

Best,

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing