[stylist] Update on blind law student's fight to use Jaws on Barexam

Tue Nov 30 20:17:15 UTC 2010

Sean, I disagree with you.  If a person can't walk, giving them a whealchair 
makes sense.  Helping them find a home where everything is on one floor and 
they have easy access to the house or apartment makes perfect sense.  If 
someone is deaf then helping them get a car adapted for a deaf person makes 
sense.  If a person is blind and can't read a written exam but knows how to 
work on adaptive equipment allowing them to take their exam on that 
equipment using a headset makes perfect sense.  True, people who aren't 
handicapped don't want to think about the possibility, but in the back of 
their mind they know these things exist and can happen to anyone because of 
accident or illness.  My complaint with this whole court thing is that using 
common sense you can solve the problem, the woman can take her bar exam 
using adaptive equipment and life goes on without employing a judge and 
jury.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jacobson, Shawn D" <Shawn.D.Jacobson at hud.gov>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 2:53 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Update on blind law student's fight to use Jaws on 
Barexam


> Judith
>
> You are right, all of this just makes common sense to a blind person.  To 
> a sighted person, nothing about blindness makes common sense because in 
> order for it to make common sense you have to think about it and the last 
> thing a sighted person wants to do is to think about blindness.
>
> Shawn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Judith Bron
> Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 2:31 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Update on blind law student's fight to use Jaws on 
> Bar exam
>
> Situations like this are so common sense that one has to wonder why they
> made it into the courts at all.  Give the person using a screen reader a
> headset and let them take their test be it a final exam for elementary or
> high school,  College exams or a professional licensing exam.  Aren't we
> taught as sighted children that we have to look both ways before crossing
> the street?  Aren' the sight impaired taught to listen for cars?  Now we
> have to go to court to impress on them that the blind have to hear a car 
> or
> risk being struck down.  I can' be the only one who craves common sense in 
> a
> system where it seems we have to go to court to be given the right to
> breathe.  We certainly can't go to the airports for rights.  Judith
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>; "nfbp-talk" <nfbp-talk at yahoogroups.com>;
> "Performing Arts Division list" <perform-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 1:55 PM
> Subject: [stylist] Update on blind law student's fight to use Jaws on Bar
> exam
>
>
> Hi Friends,
> Just came across the following article on the San Fransisco Lighthouse
> site and thought some of you might be interested. I'm copying the
> article after the URL.
> Donna
>
> ***
> Blindness Civil Rights Advocacy Alert
> http://www.lighthouse-sf.org/blog/blindness-civil-rights-advocacy-alert/
>
> San Francisco continues to be a legal crucible for blindness civil
> rights and on Monday, December 6, 2010, the next chapter in our long
> struggle will take
> place in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If you want to witness how
> civil rights are won one step at a time, please consider attending this
> hearing and
> lending your support.
>
> The following is an announcement from Stephanie Enyart's legal team:
> "The blind community is encouraged to rally behind Ms. Stephanie Enyart
> as her case
> is argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
> Ms. Enyart is a blind law school graduate seeking admission to the
> California Bar.
> She has requested to use JAWS on the Bar Exam. The testing entity denied
> her request citing security concerns. It is important for the court, the
> press
> and other interested parties to understand that the blind community
> cares about this issue. Blind students should be able to take
> standardized tests using
> their assistive technology. It is no longer acceptable that all blind
> test-takers should be required to use only human readers when their
> preferred method
> of accessing print may be through another method such as computer screen
> review programs. Members of the blind community are encouraged to attend
> the public
> hearing on December 6 to show their support for Ms. Enyart's position."
>
> Attendees will need a government-issued photo ID to enter the courtroom.
>
> When: Monday, December 2010, 1:00 p.m.
>
> Where: John R. Browning U.S. Courthouse, United States Court of Appeals
> - 9th Circuit, Courtroom 3, 3rd Floor
>
> Address: 95 Seventh Street, San Francisco, California 94103
>
> Please share this with your contacts to ensure a strong turnout in
> support of Ms. Enyart and blindness civil rights.
>
>
> -- 
> Read Donna's articles on
> Suite 101:
> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
> Ezine Articles:
> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
> American Chronicle:
> www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>
> Connect with Donna on
> Twitter:
> www.twitter.com/dewhill
> LinkedIn:
> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
> FaceBook:
> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>
> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> Apple I-Tunes
> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>
> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
> www.padnfb.org
>
>
>
>
>
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