By Matthew Laurrie
Assistant Features Editor
St. Bonaventure University embraced a culture of acceptance this week on campus through a myriad of events intended to promote the value of people with cognitive and physical disabilities in higher education.
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), in a joint effort with the Campus Activities Board (CAB), is bringing issues about disability to the forefront of its agenda this semester.
Anne-Claire Fisher, assistant professor of differentiated instruction in the School of Education, explained the CEC co-organized an entire week of events geared toward promoting awareness of people living with disabilities. The CEC wants to open up a dialogue between students, faculty and the community.
Bonaventure students living with various disabilities spoke about their personal experiences during a student-led panel Tuesday. They offered suggestions on how their peers and superiors could assist them on their journeys to success.
“(We) wanted to create a forum where students who were brave enough to come forward would be asked to talk a little bit about their story,” Fisher said. “Then we would try to expand on that and get people to ask questions to create a culture where disability is not a big deal.”
Ashleigh Donner, a junior special and elementary education major, was one of the courageous students Fisher spoke of. She suffers from chronic anemia and rheumetory arthritis.
Donner said she was initially reluctant to talk about her conditions but she needed to advocate for others who felt apprehensive about sharing their story with a public audience.
“I’m just being proactive and speaking up,” she said. “People like myself are labeled as having disabilities, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m different from anybody else.”
Yesterday, the CEC sponsored a parent-professional panel to give parents and educators the opportunity to collaborate on strategies, ideas and opinions related to recognizing the struggles their disabled children and students face.
Nichole Dylag, a junior elementary education major, said the panel was a learning experience for education majors and highlighted interactive ways parents and teachers can best serve the needs of disabled students.
“One of the biggest issues (for educators) is trying to communicate and have that relationship with parents to make (their) job easier,” Dylag, CEC president elect, said. “And to really make the experience of every child worthwhile.”
As for other events held this week, CAB and the CEC sponsored a “spread the word to end the word” campaign, in which students pledged to spread awareness about the derogatory nature of the word “retard.” In addition, a movie entitled “A Smile as Big as the Moon” chronicled the story of a special education teacher empowering his students to achieve success. Concluding Disabilities Week on Saturday will be a powder puff football game where teams will raise awareness and money for the Down Syndrome Association.
Fisher said she believes the CEC’s cause fits directly in with the campus-wide adoption of “Thisness,” or appreciating the individuality of every person.
“(We had) the idea of linking it with the ‘Thisness’ campaign because the uniqueness of each individual is exactly what we are about,” she said. “I love what it means, what it represents: a culture of acceptance and non-judgment.”
The CEC’s efforts will support “Thisness” and uphold the ethics behind St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan heritage, according to Dylag.
“It connects through the ‘Thisness’ campaign and the history and heritage of the Franciscan perspectives to value every single human life,” Dylag said.
Donner said she hopes these forums prompt the university to provide more opportunities for students with disabilities.
“One big thing that I have found Bona’s lacks is that there’s not really an organization for people with disabilities,” she said. “I noticed that mostly coming in my freshman year. I kind of felt alone in that I didn’t know who else struggled with it, and I still think people are nervous or afraid to talk about it.”
Fisher, Donner and Dylag agreed these events could contribute to the elimination of negative stigma surrounding the term disability.
“We’re all different – some wear glasses, some of us have curly hair, some of us have long hair, some of us have disabilities,” Fisher said. “What’s the big deal?”
