4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY RAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007
PANEL DISCUSSION
Student with disability lobbies for new perspective
BY SARAH NEFF
sneff@kansan.com
Angela Lindsey-Nunn hung a handicapped parking identification permit on her shirt as she introduced herself in the Kansas Union Wednesday afternoon.
Lindsey-Nunn, Salina senior, is a mother, teacher, student, businesswoman and volunteer. She also has epilepsy. She said being labeled as
handicapped was derogatory, and being labeled as disabled was inappropriate.
"That's the same term used to describe a truck holding up traffic on I-70," Lindsey-Nunn said.
Lindsev-
Lindsey-Nunn stressed the importance of using person first language for example, saying "she has epilepsy" rather than saying "she is epileptic."
Nunn participated in the panel discussion "Critical Conversations: Women, Disability and Power," hosted by the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center. The Center has previously hosted Critical Conversations, but this was the first time they had discussed women and disabilities.
Lindsey-Nunn stressed the importance of using person-first language.
"The main reason we are doing this is because it's a topic that's never really talked about," said Angela Oliver, assistant director for the Student Involvement and Leadership Center and moderator of the discussion.
"The biggest disability is always attitude", Rasnak said.
— for example, saying "he has epilepsy" rather than saying "she is epileptic." She said person-first language kept the focus on the person and not on what the person had.
Achievement and Access Center director, said she was not satisfied with the University's policy on diversity because it did not take into consideration people with disabilities. She said society had not yet reached the point where the range of potential of individuals with disabilities could be accepted.
Mary Ann Rasnak, Academic
Lynn Bretz director of University communications, said Chancellor Robert Hemenway was proactive in making the University a welcoming and accommodat
ing place for students with disabilities. She said the chancellor took a tour of the campus in a wheelchair in 2004, then funded additional accommodations such as power doors.
Bretz said the original language of the policy was intentionally put into broad terms to cover a range of people with disabilities including "financial, social, family, physical or educational hardships."
"Awareness can change," Bretz said. "If the disability community wants to revisit the policy, they should contact Student Success and the chancellor's office, both of whom have been very receptive to concerns from students with disabilities."
— Edited by Luke Morris
COLLISION REPAIR
843-5803 • 1214 E. 23rd ST.
Photos bv Mindv Ricketts/KANSAN
person-first language
Say:
People with disabilities.
Paul has a cognitive disability.
Kate has autism.
Ryan has Down syndrome.
Bob has a physical disability.
Mary is of short stature/she's a little person.
Tom has a mental health condition.
Nora uses a wheelchair/mobility chair.
Steve receives special educational services.
Children without disabilities.
Communicates with her eyes/device/etc.
Congenital disability
Brain injury
Angela Lindsey-Nunn, Salina senior, explains what she does in her daily life to change societal views of people with disabilities. Lindsay-Nunn was part of the "Critical Conversations: Women, Disability and Power" discussion. The four-person panel discussed women with disabilities Wednesday in the Pine Room of the Kansas Union. Other members of the panel were, from left, Dot Nary, applied behavioral science doctoral student, Dr. Jean Peterson, associate professor of social welfare, and Dr. Mary Ann Rasnak, director of the Academic Access and Achievement Center.
Angela Lindsey-Nunn, Salina senior, uses visual aids to show some of the problems with society's labels for people with disabilities as part of a discussion sponsored by the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center. She recommends using person-first language, which places the emphasis on the person instead of his or her disability.
Mindv Ricketts/KANSAN
Instead of:
Birth defect
Brain damaged
Handicapped parking
Normal/healthy/typical children. Is non-verbal.
instead of:
The handicapped or disabled.
He's mentally retarded.
She's autistic.
He's a Down's person; mongoloid.
He's a quadriplegic/i crippled.
She's a dwarf/midget.
He's emotionally disturbed/mentally ill.
She's confined to/to wheelchair bound.
He's in special ed.; he's a sped student.
Source: Kathie Snow. www.disabilityisnatural.com
The KU Marketing Club Presents the..
Career Development Conference (CDC)
The CDC is a free afternoon seminar in which students develop professional skills, network with industry leaders, and refine their work related abilities in preparation for a future career.
October 19th,2007 12:00 PM-4:00 PM Kansas Union
Applications can be picked up in 118E Summerfield and are due October $ _{17} ^ {th} $
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — Topeka High School has stopped providing free condoms to its students Wednesday after a newspaper report alerted district officials to the effort.
Making the condoms available violated district policy, spokesman Ron Harbaugh told WIBW radio, adding that district officials were surprised by a story about the effort in Wednesday's edition of The Topeka Capital-Journal. District officials did not return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment, but the interim superintendent, Terry Sandlin, planned an afternoon news conference to discuss the matter.
Topeka High School discontinues provision of condoms to students
A student proposed that the school provide the condoms as a
The condoms were available in a wicker basket at the school nurse's station, along with information about how to use them and free AIDS testing. The school received about 100 each in September and October from the Topeka AIDS Project. The condoms disappeared in about a week's time. Topeka High students are taught about abstinence, Carson said, but that isn't enough because many teens are sexually active.
A CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
"An Exchange of Fact, Ideas, and U.S. Climate Change Policy Public Event
way to promote sexual health and awareness about AIDS. But the president of the school's booster club was upset, and Sandlin told The Capital-Journal he wasn't aware condoms were available. He said the district usually doesn't get involved in birth control because it is something to be discussed between parents and students.
- Students include leading scholars in environmental law, economics • Questions and Art philosophy, and science • will follow
Where: University of Kansas School of Law 1535 W.15th Street Room 104 Green Hall
When: Saturday, October 20th 8:30 am-12:00 pm
》HEALTH
KU SCHOOL OF LAW
KU THE COMMONS
The University of Kansas
CPR CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE REFORM
How much do you know about the rest of the WORLD?
Join us for FREE food and drinks Oct. 19 at 5pm by McCollum Hall
Are you:
-Taking classes with an international focus?
-Learning a foreign language?
-Studying abroad?
-Participating in international activities on or off campus?
The Global Awareness Program wants to recognize YOU!
Prepare to live, lead, and work in a global society.
Get certified and build up your resume.
Contact: gap@ku.edu * www.international.ku.edu/~oip/gap
Take your place in the world with GAP