Last week, the Student Association celebrated Disability Awareness Week.
The purpose of Disability Awareness Week is to help people realize that not everybody has it as easy as they do, said Lauren Burns, co-director of Students with Disabilities Affairs.
Burns described Students with Disabilities Affairs as “a committee that listens to what students with disabilities have to say and make sure they’re not forgotten about.”
As part of Disability Awareness Week, participated in a disability challenge where they could sign up to use a wheelchair for one hour, said Blake Watson, co-director of Students with Disabilities Affairs.
“Everyone who did that said it was so eye-opening,” Burns added.
The SA handed out information on the Drill Field on Wednesday. Friday, the SA sold pizza on the Drill Field, with benefits going to Student Support Services. Student Support Services is responsible for providing support for students with disabilities.
Additionally, Student Support Services held a forum in The Union Tuesday in which a host of people with disabilities shared their experiences of being disabled, said Debbie Ann Baker, the director of Student Support Services.
Baker believes that programs like Disability Awareness Week are important. “I think any time we have an opportunity to raise the level of awareness about what disabilities are and what they are not, we should take it,” she said.
According to Baker, 232 students at MSU have identified themselves as having disabilities to Student Support Services. Student Support Services uses the guidelines in the Americans with Disabilities Act to determine who qualifies as disabled.
“All programs and services at MSU must be accessible to students with disabilities,” Baker said.
MSU has a long history of providing services for students with disabilities, beginning in 1972 with T.K. Martin, who began providing such services before a law was passed to require it, said Baker.
“I think when you compare us to other institutions, we are better than they are because we go back a long way,” Baker said. But, she added, there is always room for improvement.
Watson, who has spinal muscular atrophy Type 2, was told that MSU was very accessible when he was deciding on a college. “I think they do pretty well,” he said.
Students can contact Student Support Services at 325-3555.