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History: Scholar to give lecture
■ Continued from Page 1
to Raise a Village.” The think tank
will address issues such as cultur
al diversity training and the over
representation of African-Ameri
can and minority groups in the
juvenile justice system.
“The issue of minority over
representation [in the justice sys
tem] has been well articulated.
We should not get lost in data or
the need for another study. It is
time to challenge ourselves to do
better,” said Dr. Michael Lindsey,
a nationally recognized expert on
the subject and the presenter of
the think tank.
Gov. John Kitzhaber has been
invited to Friday’s session.
There will be a screening of the
John Singleton film “Rosewood,"
which is based on a historical in
cident involving the destruction
of a self-sufficient black commu
nity, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in 100
Willamette. The film will be fol
lowed by a lecture by Quintard
Taylor, head of the history depart
ment and an African-American
scholar, said Yvonne Stubbs, co
director of the BSU.
Haki Madhubuti, a poet, educa
tor and black activist, will lecture
Calendar of events
■ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17:
What: John Singleton film “Rosewood,"
followed by discussion with Quintard Taylor
Where: 100 Willamette
When: 5:30 p.m.
■ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18:
What “How to Raise a Village” think tank
begins with “Educators’ Day"
Where: Ben Linder Room, EMU
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What Think tank discussion for profes
sors and students
Where: Lane Community College, Forum
Building, Room 308
When: 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
■THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19:
What Think tank continues: "Justice Sys
tem Day"
Where: Ben Linder Room, EMU
When: 10a.m. to3p.m.
• FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2ft
What Think tank continues with "Com
munity Leaders’Day”
Where: Gerlinger Hall Lounge
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What Think tank discussion for law stu
dents and professors
Where: Room 229, Law School
When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
■SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22:
What: Haki R. Madhubuti, 1998 African
American History Lecture
Where: EMU Ballroom
Whan: 4 p.m.
on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. in
the EMU Ballroom. He will ad
dress issues involving education,
family and the importance of his
torical awareness. Madhubuti,
who has published 22 books, in
cluding “Claiming Earth: Race,
Rage, Rape, Redemption,” also
worked with Louis Farrakhan
during the Million Man March in
1995.
“[Madhubuti] talks about the
situation of blacks in society, how
we got there, and how we can im
prove our lives,” Washington
said.
Other campus events include a
reading of African-American po
etry by University Professors Ed
win Coleman and Dennis Greene
on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Muse
um of Art.
Learning: New software helps students
m Continued from Page 1
better, but I’m a little stubborn.
“I learn differently and that’s
OK.”
The University has no numbers
about retention of learning dis
abled students. But Gerdes
guessed they stay in school in a
higher proportion than students
without disabilities.
They have to work harder, make
more of a commitment and moti
vate themselves more than other
students, she explained.
“The students tend to be more
committed,” she said. “They’re
working harder. Many really want
to do it on their own. ”
Still, dealing with a disability
can be frustrating. Students need
to carefully balance their sched
ules. They need to plan every pa
per and reading assignment, and
they can’t afford to cram for a test
the night before.
The University hires about 100
students each term to take notes
for students with learning disabili
ties. The Office of Academic Ad
vising and Student Services talks
with professors to get modified ex
ams or books on tape. Study assis
tants write assignments that stu
dents dictate to them.
Students have also turned to
technology to complement their
studies. Computer programs that
recognize voice commands can
write papers. Book scanners read
articles, notes, assignments and
texts out loud.
None of this takes the place of
motivation.
“They’re going to have to work
harder than their peers. Period,”
Gerdes said. “It feels very unfair,
but it’s reality.”
Ken Elkind places his Pentium
laptop on a table and flips it open.
The Microsoft Windows ’95 page
pops up as the computer whirs to
life.
“Let me tell you about the tech
nology,” Elkind says as he opens a
program from Kurzweil Educa
tional Systems.
Elkind, 31, is a University grad
uate student earning a degree in
secondary and special education.
He reads at the rate of a middle
school student.
Elkind has overcome his dis
ability with organization. He col
lects syllabi on the first day of each
class, then maps out the entire
term on a calendar. He sticks to
that calendar religiously.
He’s worked with Kurzweil Ed
ucation to develop the programs
he shows off on his laptop.
They’re meant to make learning
easier for students with disabili
ties.
The program comes to life on
Elkind’s screen. Each line of text
is highlighted in yellow; a green
cursor follows a synthesized
voice:
"The sun did not shine... It was
too wet to play ... So we sat in the
house ... all that cold wet day.”
A color copy of the page from
“The Cat in the Hat” dominates
the screen. A children's book to
day could be a complicated zoolo
gy text after that. The program can
read any scanned text or any text
typed into it.
Elkind also uses a program
called Inspiration that allows stu
dents to diagram their essays in
stead of outlining. It works best for
those students with reading and
writing disabilities who are better
visual learners.
“These are some of the toys 1
carry around,” Elkind said.
“They’re not bad at all. ”
University students are usually
responsible for approaching the
Office of Academic Advising and
Student Services, Gerdes said.
The University evaluates their dis
ability and determines what help
it can give them.
At least 10 students each month
come into the office thinking they
have a learning disability. They
usually don’t. Many are looking
for an excuse for poor perfor
mance in class.
Others, though, do have disabil
ities that weren’t discovered in
high school. The University con
ducts several private tests de
signed to compare the student’s
learning ability with his or her in
telligence.
Schools are now much more
ready and willing to recognize a
learning disability, Gerdes said.
The University had only one stu
dent in 1985 with a documented
learning disability.
Students with learning disabili
ties were once discouraged from
attending colleges or weren’t iden
tified as learning disabled in high
school. They often faced igno
ranee or misunderstanding once
they reached college.
One professor, for example, told
a student with a learning disability
that mentally retarded people
shouldn’t be in school.
Things have changed. People
with learning disabilities now at
tend the University's law school
and teach as faculty. Professors al
most always accommodate learn
ing disabled students.
“There are people all around us
that are struggling with this all the
time,” Gerdes said.
Adkisson still has trouble read
ing, although he did learn the
word “the.” He gets a headache if
he tries to read more than a para
graph of text.
His parents eventually turned to
an old spelling book to teach him
to read. They would read him a
passage and then ask him to read.
Instead, he memorized the pas
sage and repeated it.
His parents caught on when he
“read” a page ahead of where he
was.
He has accepted the fact that he
learns differently and has learned
to overcome it. He took a Talented
and Gifted entrance exam orally in
junior high and tied for the high
est score. He studied Biblical
Greek in high school.
He drives home twice a week,
where his parents help him study
and read his assignments to him.
“Homework is kind of a family
event at my house,” he said. “My
mom still reads to me before I go
to bed sometimes. It’s just psy
chology, instead of Dr. Seuss.”
Very few people in his classes
know he has any kind of learning
difference. They might notice he’s
not around when tests come up —
he takes them outside of class. Pro
fessors don’t usually call on him
to read a passage.
But his mother still asks him
how to spell words sometimes; his
girlfriend forgets to help him with
the menu when they go out.
“I even forget about it some
times,” he said. “I catch myself
buying a book sometimes and
thinking, ‘How am I going to read
this?’
“I might not do something the
same way as other students, but I
get it done. Everyone has some
thing that holds them back. That’s
all it is.”