Photo by Adneone Salinger
Federal regulations will soon require accessibility of all University
structures to accomodate the handicapped. But thanks to the
University s own affirmative action program, building compliance is
already ahead of schedule
--
Disabled request
senior benefits
SALEM (AP) — A half dozen handicapped persons met with
Gov Bob Straub Monday and told him they should get economic
benefits equal to those received by senior citizens.
They said they should receive discounts on hunting and
fishing permits, bus rides free or at reduced costs, tax relief and
homemaker services on an equal basis with senior citizens.
Straub said a committee on the handicapped, which he will
appoint in a few weeks, will consider those issues.
Among these visiting with Straub was Patty Webb, 34,
Salem, who has had 12 operations as the result of a 1958 au
tomobile accident A former cheerleader and homecoming
queen, she now has a plate in her head.
We who have the symptoms and problems of senior citizens
maybe shouldn't have to pay full prices at the state fair or the
cleaners, or at restaurants.” she said. "Who's to say I ever will
I make it to 60 or 65?"
By MELODY WARD
of the Emerald
The United States may be one
of the world’s most advanced
countries, but in the area of the
handicapped it has been consi
dered quite primitive.
In April Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW)
Joseph Califano signed into law
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. The section states
any employer or educational in
stitution receiving federal funds
cannot discriminate against the
handicapped in educational or job
opportunities.
“All students who are qualified,
who meet academic require
ments, will be given the same op
portunity to enter academic prog
rams as any able-bodied stu
dent,” explains Ralph Rosa, as
sistant to the director of Affirma
tive Action.
“Essentially the obligations of
the University are to accommo
date the handicapped person so
that they can have access to all
programs
The problem of access is a
multi-sided one Presently the
University is required to offer dup
licates of classes that are not im
mediately accessible to the hand
icapped because of architectural
barriers, such as math courses
scheduled in Deady Hall.
3ui when a program is com
pletely out of reach, like the
broadcasting equipment on the
third floor of Villard Hall, more
time will pass before it can be
made accessible.
According to the Rehabilitation
Act, institutions will have until Au
gust 1978 to make all programs
accessible except those which in
volve “substantial physical
changes. And by April 29, 1980,
any remaining architectural bar
riers are required to be removed.
“The University is lucky be
cause we have been following our
own plan of affirmative action for
the handicapped over the last
several years and are ahead of
schedule" remarks Rosa. “And
the faculty is understanding and
extremely cooperative.”
But the University does have a
money problem. Rosa says the
guidelines indicate it will be
necessary to hire tutors for deaf
students, but the University
might not be able to “as much as it
would like to do as quickly as it
would like to” because of the exist
ing budget.
Recently handicapped students
have engaged in many efforts to
make the general public aware of
their problems. “I was involved in
a sit-in last spring” says Loren
Simonds, a member of the Uni
versity compliance committee and
of the handicapped students
campus organization, Alert.
“We’re no longer going to sit back
and be denied education and em
ployment rights,” he asserts.
“According to the 1970 census
35 percent of the handicapped
tfere unemployed and 83 percent
were unable to finish high school,
not because they lacked the men
tal ability, but because of the lack
Df accessible facilities.”
Simonds doesn’t think there is
much reason to believe those
proportions have changed much
over the last several years, even
though the handicapped popula
tion has increased from 20 to 35
million.
And because section 504 in
cludes drug addicts and al
coholics, its regulations will di
rectly benefit close to 60 million
people — 25 percent of the entire
population.
Simonds muses there is much
;onfusion over exactly what
handicapped’’ means. “Many
people automatically lump the
handicapped in with the mentally
retarded," he said.
“In fact, physically handicapped
-1
people have often been placed in
mental institutions.”
Quick to point out situations that
often would not be expected to
pose problems for handicapped
students, Simonds doesn’t hesi
tate to turn the finger on his own
disability.
‘‘The average person writes
one side of regular paper in under
five minutes. Even when I already
know what I want to say, it takes
about 30 minutes. That means
that the standard hour-long exam
is completely incapable of
measuring my grasp of a subject,”
he explains.
Simonds says one of the be
nefits of the new law is that it will
allow persons like himself to sug
gest alternatives to the regular
academic procedure.
“In reviewing the departments
and schools the compliance
committee is not out for blood, ‘
Simonds remarks.
“You are no longer going to see
a situation where the handicap
ped are going to be the forgotten
minority or the hidden percen
tage.
“We are just seeking to guaran
tee that handicapped students
have the circumstances in which
to express their knowledge in the
best way that our physical limita
tions will allow.
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