February 12, 2004
Dear Editor,
We are writing in response to
the Disability Awareness Block on Wednesday Feb. 11. Although the Action Committee of Ministry Council planned
this block with a good intention, we felt that the intended message was not
fully conveyed. The speaker was
very powerful, and we appreciate the fact that she came and shared her story
with us, but we that is where the block should have ended. We felt that the "experiment" was
blatantly disrespectful.
Simulating a special need is
not having one. It's insulting to
compare having band-aids covering your eyes to never having been able to
see. These people barely got an
idea of what life is like for those who actually live with these
handicaps. From personal
experiences, we feel we have the right to be offended by the actions that took
place during and following the block. Although Mr. Delkamiller told students to
be courteous and respectful to those students and faculty who were simulating a
special need, we personally witnessed many instances where there was a lack of
respect.
Students used this as an
excuse to be late to class. We
heard countless times, "I was helping a disabled person, don't count me tardy,"
knowing fully well that they had been roaming the halls. No one took this seriously because they
knew the person was not truly disabled.
It's hard to explain what exactly took place. It was more witnessing people's actions and hearing the
inflection in their voices.
Once again, we'd like to
stress that we thought the block had good intentions but the repercussions left
something to be desired. We think
it would have been more effective as an informational block rather than as an
opportunity for people to mock those who must live with real handicaps.
Katie Ross and Molly Doyle
Seniors