University Daily Kansan
Thursday, March 4, 1976
3
Blind students surmount handicap
(Editor's note: This is in part of a two-part series dealing with blind students at the University of Arizona.)
By BILL UYEK
Staff Writer
The blind and visually handicapped student attending college confronts two main problems: how to acquire course materials at classes safely and on time, how to arrive at classes safely and on time.
Also, persons called "readers," who read assignments, tests and texts, are available
For the student who can't read, materials can be obtained from private agencies and the federal government in the form of tapes or other materials. Students play recording games that play at slow speeds.
BUT SOME problems have arisen with taped materials. Many tapes are made in New York, and often there is a long delay between the time the student sends the text to be recorded and the time he receives the tape.
Linda Parker, associate reference librarian, said Monday that readers and other services for the blind were made available in Congress through state and federal libraries.
Charles Halenbeck, professor of psychology, who is blind, says blind students need several months to have their course materials prepared. Teachers could help blind students, he said, if they provided advance information on texts required for their classes.
There is no official record of the number of blind students at the University of Kansas because blindness isn't marked on transcripts. Estimates for KU's blind student population by officials and instructors ranged from 8 to 15.
SOME BLMN students at KU described problems they've encountered while learning and obtaining course materials. Kathy Hegen, Fargo, N.D., graduate student, said the lack of pre-enrollment made planning ahead for tapes difficult.
Jane Roth, Oskalosa graduate student, said she disliked handouts in classes. Handouts require too much time from her reader, she said, and they are easily lost
"You can't start ordering tapes until you know what your classes are," she said. "This usually puts me a week to 10 days behind at the beginning of the semester."
Charlie Vassallo, Lawrence junior, said that tapes sometimes weren't updated to match text additions, and that agencies normally ran out of tapes of certain texts.
VASSALLO, WHO has a 3.5 grade point average, said both he and his reader are majors in social welfare and are often enrolled in the same classes. Because he and his faculty for the same classes, Vassallo has done well in most of his courses.
Hallenbeck said most blind people—whether they're students or professionals—make good use of tape agencies. These agencies, which he said were like "lending libraries," are nonprofit. There is no charge or postage for the tapes.
Tapes are used more for educational purposes than are talking books, he said. Actually, long-playing albums were used for educational purposes years before albums were used for composing.
HALLENBECK said his problem as an instructor with result in refusing a blind student. Whereas
students have problems finding out what the texts are, he said, he already knows what the text is, but has to obtain additional material to supplement the text.
Parker, who works in Watson Library, has designed a program offering services to blind students. She said she kept lists of blind students and volunteer helpers and matches helpers with students requesting help.
She said the program for blind students was an outgrowth of her job as a reference
"I believe strongly that services for blind students should be a regular service and not a special service of the library," Parker said.
A SPECIAL ROOM for blind students is reserved on the third floor of Watson. The room contains a talking book machine and a computer, the state, which are available for students.
Parker said most blind students used the reference services at least once a semester, mainly to write papers. The students are tested in gathering research material, she said.
One student said he used the special room at Watson "to the maximum."
Gou Jetteirine, Kansas City Kan., senior,
said that last semester he use the room at
the library.
Parker said two goals of her program were to make more blind students aware of library services and to obtain more funds for operation.
SHE SAID HER program had enough workers but no funds to provide equipment.
Robert Malinowsky, associate dean of library services, said there weren't any funds budgeted for services for blind students.
He said he thought funds were necessary
Hegan, who uses the library for term papers, said, "Linda (Parker) has done an excellent job. She's done all of the program on her own."
to hire a person to work full-time for blind students.
GUTIERREZ, a pre-law student majoring in English and Spanish, said he would recommend the library's services for other blind students.
"I've been pretty satisfied with the library, with as much as they've been able to provide."
Gutierrez, not who isn’t enrolled this semester, but plans to return next fall, also discussed how faculty and students react to blind students: “I’ve viewed some of them as the sort of negative toward me,” he said. “Some are sympathetic, but not all are.”
He said some professors weren't aware that visually handicapped students need much more work.
He said that he didn't receive much help from other students in class, but that he didn't know whether it was because students didn't want to help the hand-capped or because they were too busy with their own school work.
ONLY ONE of the students interviewed said he used Audio-Reader, a broadcasting program for the blind, print-handicapped or physically handicapped.
Audio-Reader broadcasts programs and contents of daily newspapers over a subcarrier of KANU-FM. The broadcast can be picked up only by those the 800 receivers for Audio-Reader, Rosie Hurwitz, director of Audio-Reader, said.
Tomorrow: The problems blind students face while walking around campus, and how the University is trying to correct dangerous and hazardous structures are covered.
Events...
TODAY: NORMAN FORER, associate professor of social welfare, is the guest at the Faculty Forum, noon, at United Ministries. JOHN BALSLEY, Drake University sculptor, will lecture on his work at 2 p.m. in the Big Eight Room of the Kansas Union.
TONIGHT: SUA BACKGAMMON will be at 7 in the Oread Room of the Union.
Carol Franklin will present an ORGN RECTAL at 8 in Swarthout Recital Hall.
PROFESSOR FETER MARCECURE of Columbia University will give a lecture entitled, "Is There Planning in Los Angeles?" at 8 in the Forum Room of the Union. KJHK-FM'S "STARSHINES" program features the music of Carole King at 8:30.
TOMORROW: A BENEFIT DANCE for the Hilltop Childcare Center will be from 8 to midnight in the Union Ballroom.
Jobs available . . .
The following part-time jobs are posted outside 28 Strong Hall: food service; 1, typing, clerical; 4, research, lab; 1, teaching graduate assistant; 4, sales; 5, child care; 6, administrative duties.
Correction ...
In the Rock Chalk Revue, Beta Theta Pi will team with Gamma Phi, not Alpha Chi Omega, as reported in yesterday's Kansan.
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