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Disability resources to expand with "Empathy, Equality and Access" plan
By Omar Hamad
Staff Writer
Empathy, equality and access — these three values
compose the title of the 85-page document put forth by
the college to expand the resources available to the over
400 students at Guilford with disclosed disabilities.
The concrete goal of the plan is to create "universal
access" for all spaces and academic facilities on campus,
meaning that when anything is designed it should be
made accessible in the best way possible for all people.
However, the broader goal of the new plan, which has
a five-year implementation modeled after the school's
Strategic Long Range Plan, involves raising awareness of
differences that exist on campus.
"I believe that this plan is not only important for
providing resources to disabled students, but also for
building a better sense of community on campus," said
junior Bryan Dooley, who was heavily involved in
providing student input for the plan.
"There should be an attitudinal change on campus for
people to be open and expressive in communicating about
who they are," said Associate Coordinator for Disability
Services Georgie Bogdan of the plan's implications to raise
awareness of psychological diversity on campus.
Although the document is bound by the legal definition
of "disability" as defined by the Americans with Disabilities
Act, it also recognizes the widespread differences in
the way ail students think and behave and attempts to
promote ways to accommodate those differences.
One example of this is an online note-taking system
developed by the college to facilitate better in-class
learning.
"The new plan — "Empathy, Equality and Access" —
grew out of the Senate's Diversity Action Plan originally,"
said Learning Commons Director Melissa Daniel Frink.
"Disabilities were not originally represented under the
diversity plan. Out of those meetings, the decision to
Sophomore Rose McIntyre discusses the new five-year plan
to expand accessibility and resources for people with difference
and disability.
create a subcommittee to address expansion of disability
resources was created."
The document also encompasses cultural changes in
the way accessibility is thought about for students with
disabilities.
"Although the plan has a five-year scope, the need to
continually address disability will never end," said Frink.
"There needs to be more collaboration among departments
in the future regarding ways to better facilitate student
achievement."
"There needs to be a shift in the school from being
reactive to proactive," said Director of Disability Services
Kim Burke. "More importantly, it's a cultural shift to start to
think about what it truly means to promote 'accessibility.'"
The plan examines the ways in which students with
disabilities are provided with equal resources in four
ways, not only from an angle of physical space, but also
from attitudinal, informational and policy/procedural
standpoints.
"In terms of academic success, students with disabilities
at Guilford already achieve a higher graduation rate than
students with no documented disability,", said Burke.
"What we really want to achieve with this plan is to
create greater acceptance, to create an atmosphere where
people don't hide their authentic selves and own who
they really are," said Burke. "Then we can treat people in
a more human way."
Student support for the plan at the Nov. 9 Community
Senate meeting was overwhelmingly in favor of approving
the implementation of the document. However, some
students called for more input from the wider community.
As a result, the decision to give support to the plan was
postponed until the Nov. 16 meeting.
The plan was endorsed at the Nov. 16 meeting with no
opposition.
"Ultimately, this is about community and finding ways
to help each other," said senior and Community Senate
Clerk/President Yahya Alazrak in concluding the Nov. 9
meeting. "I feel that this plan is a step in the right direction
towards doing that."
HATCH
'Community Senate Update
stuff we did
Endorsed Accessibility Plan!
Rejected GTA 7 Route proposal.
Brainstormed on marketing and
recruitment
Creating an amnesty policy for
students who don't feel safe while
under the Influence.
stuff we're doing
stuff we're
gonna do
InvitingTy Buckner and Andy Strickler to
hear students' thoughts on recruitment,
admissions and marketing.
Get involved and send Community
Senate your ideas and concerns:
Contact senate@guilford.edu
Full Senate meets at 7 p.m. in Boren
Lounge on Wednesdays.
#1
stuff
you wgnna
see done
By Yahya Alazrak
Community Senate President/Clerk
Jon Hatch forum allows for open
discnssion about true feelings
Continued from page I
could do soiriething like this.
"I did feel a little hurt, in part because
of what he had allegedly done and in part
because of the tone of the articles (that came
out at the time)," said senior Bernard Pellett,
commodore of Yachting Club, a club for
which Hatch had been a faculty advisor, in an
email interview. "It was confusing because
different news sites stated different sets of
charges. It's still hard to reconcile this thing
he did with what I know of his personality
and personal convictions."
"It hurts, of course," said Marlin. "And
that's something I don't think I can explain
to anyone who doesn't already understand
it. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that there are a
lot of us hurting in the same way."
Some people broke into tears at the forum.
Some acknowledged that it may have been
easy to condemn Hatch based on how he
looks.
"Jonathan is a big, sloppy ... man," said
Marlin. "People like to believe that those
who are unattractive are also evil. People also
love to revel in the mistakes and suffering of
others. This has all of that rolled up into one."
Some news sites reporting on the incident
show the type of behavior Marlin references
in their comments section. One commenter
on TrueCrimeReport.com posted, "Yeah, just
by looking at the guy, you could tell he was
either a serial killer or a pedophile."
"It is a natural thing to demonize folks
whom are convenient anonymous centers of
vitriolic magnetism," said Mortensen. "When
you love someone who did something that
hurt others, you have to struggle ... to both
prioritize hope and health for the victim,
while maintaining your love for someone
you know to be a fundamentally kind
person."
For the most part, the circle of 50 students,
professors, and alumni felt that the incident
did not make Hatch less of a human being.
"Jon cares a ton about this community,"
said Mortensen. "And I'm glad to see the
community coming together to try to wrestle
with and digest what Jon is alleged to have
done, and to move forward in a way that is
best for the community."
Another sentiment was to not lose sight of
the victim in discussing the incident.
' It s hard to say anything about the victim,
since we don't know anything about her
except that she had been a student of Jon's
for a long time," said Pellett. "My heart goes
out to her, of course. I wish her the best in
terms of dealing with it."
As hard as it may be to forgive Hatch for
what he did. Marlin believes that this should
not hinder trust held within current and
future relationships. '
"We must not allow ourselves to collapse
in and become hard and jaded from this,"
said Marlin. "If you never risk yourself, you
may reduce your chance of being hurt. But
you will also miss so many opportunities for
friendship and love."