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<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>For those that received, I wanted all to know that Mary Fernandez is a
past
national and state scholarship recipient and a member of the NFBNJ affiliate
board.</DIV>
<DIV>Congratulations Mary for your fight to raise expectations to live the
life
you want!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Warmly,</DIV>
<DIV>Joe </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri";
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY:
inline'><B>From:</B>
<A title=webmaster@nfb.org href="mailto:webmaster@nfb.org">National
Federation
of the Blind</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, June 05, 2020 8:45 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=nfbnj1@verizon.net
href="mailto:nfbnj1@verizon.net">Joe
Ruffalo</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> National Federation of the Blind Sues Duke
University</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<H1><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">National
Federation of
the Blind Sues Duke University</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></H1>
<P><EM><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Lawsuit Alleges
Discrimination Against Blind
Students</SPAN></SPAN></EM></P>
<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Raleigh, North
Carolina (June 4, 2020):</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG> <SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Duke University
systematically discriminates against blind students and
alumni
in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and
the
Rehabilitation Act, according to a lawsuit filed today.
The
action, brought by the National Federation of the Blind
and
Duke MBA Mary Fernandez, alleges that Duke failed to
ensure
that blind students can interact with digital content and
platforms and access course materials—including hard-copy
Braille materials and hard-copy tactile graphics when
requested and appropriate—on an equal basis with students
without disabilities.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">According to the
lawsuit, Plaintiff Mary Fernandez is a blind student who
began
the Duke Daytime MBA program in the fall of 2018. To read
print, Ms. Fernandez uses screen access software, Job
Access
with Speech (“JAWS”), which vocalizes the text using
synthesized speech or displays it on a connected device
called
a refreshable Braille display. For STEM subjects, Ms.
Fernandez also uses hard-copy Braille and tactile graphics
to
better understand the complex concepts because refreshable
Braille displays only display a single line of Braille
cells
at a time, and thus are not useful for complex equations,
coordinate planes, diagrams, maps, and other graphics.
</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Ms. Fernandez met
with
the Assistant Director of Student Life before she enrolled
and
was assured Duke would provide the accommodations she
needed
to have equal access to her education. From the start,
however, Ms. Fernandez experienced barriers that permeated
every aspect of her educational experience. When she
applied
for admission, she encountered an inaccessible web-based
application. When she registered online for courses, she
could
not access the course descriptions. When she utilized the
employer recruiting system, she could not set up her user
profile and could not utilize any of the search functions.
In
addition, Duke failed to provide Ms. Fernandez with timely
access to accessible course materials, including hard-copy
Braille and tactile graphics when she requested them. As a
result, Ms. Fernandez was continually forced to divert her
time and attention away from her studies to advocate for
equal
access to her education. </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">“Blind students
must
have access to course materials in accessible formats
including Braille, along with equal access to digital
platforms and content, at the same time as sighted
students in
order to have an equal opportunity to succeed,” said Mark
Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the
Blind.
“This is not a new issue; it has been a focus of our
advocacy
for nearly two decades, and institutions of higher
education
have no excuse for not meeting this legal and moral
obligation. The blind cannot and will not tolerate
discrimination of this kind.”</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">“The failure to
provide blind students with timely, accessible course
materials and career services not only harms their
educational
experience, it puts their future career and economic
self-sufficiency at risk,” said Virginia Knowlton Marcus,
chief executive officer of Disability Rights North
Carolina.
“Duke University, in particular, has previously been sued
by
Disability Rights NC regarding the inaccessibility of its
course materials and has the responsibility to know better
and
do better.”</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">“I expected an
institution with Duke’s high standards and reputation to
be
able to meet my needs as a blind student and was assured
that
would happen,” said Ms. Fernandez. “Instead, my time at
Duke
has been something of a nightmare. I hope the action I am
now
taking will improve things for future blind students who
want
to attend Duke.”</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">The plaintiffs are
represented by the attorneys of Disability Rights NC and
the
law firm of <A
href="https://www.nfb.org/libraries/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=17215&qid=3745583"
rel=nofollow>Brown Goldstein Levy
LLP</A>.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY:
calibri,sans-serif">###</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">About the National
Federation of the Blind </SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">The National
Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore,
is
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind
Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB consists of
affiliates,
chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington
DC,
and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of blind
people of
all ages and provides information and support to families
with
blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and
more. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people
and
work together to transform them into reality. Learn more
about
our many programs and initiatives at <A
href="https://www.nfb.org/libraries/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=17216&qid=3745583"
rel=nofollow>www.nfb.org</A>.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">About Disability
Rights North Carolina</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Disability Rights
North Carolina (DRNC) is the federally mandated protection
and
advocacy agency for the State of North Carolina dedicated
to
advancing the rights of all people with disabilities, of
all
ages, statewide. DRNC is an independent, 501(c)(3)
nonprofit
organization and a member of the National Disability
Rights
Network. Learn more about Disability Rights North Carolina
at
<A
href="https://www.nfb.org/libraries/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=17217&qid=3745583"
rel=nofollow>www.disabilityrightsnc.org</A>.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY:
calibri,sans-serif">CONTACT:</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Chris
Danielsen<BR>Director of Public Relations<BR>National
Federation of the Blind<BR>(410) 659-9314, extension
2330<BR>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<BR><A
href="https://www.nfb.org/libraries/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=17229&qid=3745583"
rel=nofollow>cdanielsen@nfb.org</A></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: calibri,sans-serif">Holly
Stiles<BR>Litigation Counsel<BR>Disability Rights North
Carolina<BR>(919) 856-2195<BR><A
href="https://www.nfb.org/libraries/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=17218&qid=3745583"
rel=nofollow>holly.stiles@disabilityrightsnc.org</A></SPAN></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR>
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