Monday, April 29, 1996
Awareness campaign necessary to improve treatment of disabledBy Pedro Ontiveros
What about the disabled? With all the fervor that underrepresented ethnic groups speak with nowadays, you would think that they are the only marginalized group in society. Even though UCLA strives to make material accommodations for the disabled, I feel that the treatment of this group by the campus population at large is less than acceptable.
I am writing on behalf of my many friends and loved ones with disabilities who attend UCLA. I see that their issues are rarely addressed, and I would like to shed some light on what I perceive to be the poor campus attitude toward the handicapped in spite of the fact that disabled/wheelchair access is at an all-time high.
The general public's attitude about the needs of the disabled is my main source of concern. Apathy and indifference, by students and faculty in general, seem to predominate towards this segment of our school population. I often see inconsiderate bicyclists careen down access ramps for disabled persons and often observe unauthorized automobiles parked in access zones for the disabled.
Rights of the mentally disabled are also often denied. A fellow student, and friend who has such a disability, was recently denied her rights as a disabled student by a professor who would not grant a required extension on a particular class project. This professor was clearly not respecting my friend's condition. Unfortunately, this is a manifestation of a consistent lack of basic considerations for the disabled by most people.
The campus has done a commendable job so far at making physical modifications in order to become accessible to the disabled. I observe that just about every aspect of the campus is wheelchair accessible, including every building and beautiful courtyard that are the hallmarks of our campus. Now it is up to all of us to modify our thinking about these equally significant members of our campus community.
I suggest that an awareness campaign be launched with this goal in mind. Awareness of this situation should be made by a large scale campus project that starts with the freshman class. A portion of the freshman class orientation program that most incoming students go through should include a disability awareness seminar.
This is a good first step toward improving the situation of UCLA's treatment of the disabled. The campus is a place we all share equally, and no single group should be made to feel as if their presence is any more or less important.
Ontiveros is a fourth-year physiological science student.