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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
JULY 27 - AUGUST 2, 2005
CAMPUS
KU programs support dsabled
July marks the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act's passage. According to the ADA Web site, the act ensures equal opportunity and civil rights to people with a broad range of disabilities. Similarly, the University's Disability Resources office provides a number of services to assist students with a broad range of disabilities throughout their time at KU.
Mary Ann Rasnak, director of KU's Disability Resources, said although the office has been at the University for seven years, the University provided services to disabled students beforehand.
"KU has a history of trying to meet the needs of people with disabilities before it was legislated," Rasnak said.
Rasnak said the Americans with Disabilities Act changed public perception of what constituted a disability.
"ADA and the public information surrounding that educated everyone about the invisible disabilities," she said.
The act defined a disabled individual as a person with a
physical or mental impairment that limited their activities, a person with a history or record of impairment, or a person who was perceived as having an impairment. Rasnak said the act had largely been a tool for public information.
She said it raised awareness about invisible disabilities such as psychological, medical and learning disabilities along with the more visible physical and mobility impairments.
Rasnak said the University had installed door openers and curb cuts to make campus more accessible to people with mobility issues. She said a special committee reviewed the plans for each new building on campus that was either built or remodeled to ensure accessibility and ADA compliance. Disability Resources distributes a map of campus that displays accessible entrances, restrooms and floors in each building on campus as well as a barrier-free route from Sunnyside Ave. to Jayhawk Blvd. Rasnak said mobility issues had been a problem on the University's hilly campus.
Program changes name, not function
Rasnak said her office served about 600 students.
Although the Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Program changed its name, it has not altered its services, said Kristen Abell, the program's coordinator.
— Nicoletta Niosi
Abell, who recently became the program's first full-time coordinator, said the name was changed to Sexual Violence Education & Support Services to better reflect the services it provided.
"We're more education than prevention," Abell said. "We teach people how to prevent sexual assault, but we don't actually prevent it."
University by providing presentations and information through out the year, but specifically during Hawk Week. Abell said this year she would present two lectures, one on dating in college and the other on self-defense.
The program is part of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center and provides a variety of services for both men and women, Abell said. The program offers educational seminars on healthy relationships, personal safety and gender roles in society, she said.
"We focus on the positive aspects of relationships while preparing students for the negative." Abell said
Abell, a 1999 graduate in psychology and women's studies, said the program worked closely with the
Besides providing information, the program also offers support. Students can receive short-term counseling and be connected to off campus services through the program, Abell said.
The office for Sexual Violence Education & Support Services is on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union inside the Student Involvement and Leadership Center. People who need assistance or want to become involved can contact Abell by visiting the office or reaching her at 864-3552.
— Liz Nartowicz
Doctoral student revives language
German.
Thanks to a KU doctoral student, on July 24 residents in two northeast Kansas counties could turn on their radios and receive their news in Low
Scott Seeger, a graduate student studying German, worked with KNDY 1570 AM. a Marysville radio station, to establish a Sunday broadcast in Low German in an effort to preserve the language in Marshall and Washington counties.
The first five-minute broadcast covered local sports, weather and news about the Low German Heritage Society, another program Seeger helped form. The broadcast, which aired at 12:25 p.m., went well said Bruce Dierking, KNDY president. Dierking said the time slot would help the program be well-received, because a lot of people listen at that time.
Dierking said the Low German Heritage Society started last summer after Seeger sparked the interest while interviewing older residents and speakers of Low German. Dierking said Seeger's interviews shed light on the fact that although the language survived in the older community, it was disappearing within the younger generations.
— Liz Nartowicz