River Dodd
Professor Tanner
RC 1000-169
15 October 2021
Appalachian State Students’ Club on Access and Inclusion of People with Disabilities
Alienation and blatant discrimination of people with disabilities continue to be an issue of concern in the world. Disabled students and other members of Appalachian State University continue to experience this unnecessary and inhuman treatment from their colleagues. Therefore, the larger Appalachian State University community must be sensitized and educated on the need to protect the rights of those living with disabilities. The Appalachian Action Network for the Disabled is a club that champions the rights of the disabled and is focused on creating a society in which people with disabilities are resilient and have a good quality of life. The club engages in capacity building, activism, and networking to achieve its vision of a liberated society where equality, inclusion, and empowerment of people with disabilities thrive. As a result, the club creates an exciting environment where people living with disabilities and those without disabilities can collaborate.
Problem Analysis:
Research has shown that the majority of the Appalachian State University population does not understand the importance of inclusivity and equality concerning people with disabilities. It has been observed that a large number of the members of the institution are ignorant concerning the rights of the disabled. For instance, people often park their cars in spots designated for people living with a disability. When confronted concerning their behavior, they cite the relatively small number of disabled people in the institution or not leaving their cars in those spots for long. Therefore, the Appalachian Action Network for the Disabled shows the increasing need for civic education regarding the rights of those who are disabled amongst us. Of concern also are the frustrations shared by those who are disabled and their urgent appeal on inclusivity, respect, and unconditional love. The stigmatization leveled against them, including the prejudice that other members of the society have against them where they presume that they are better endowed (Rubeis, and Steger 93). At the same time, the disabled are helpless and inefficient in decision making are some of the mentalities that the disabled pray are quashed.
Functions:
The Appalachian Action Network for the Disabled has embarked on a strategy to end the stigmatization decried by those living with disabilities. The club continues to routinely hold seminars and meetings with the institution members, where it raises awareness on the need to treat disabled people with equality. The club has also lobbied for the implementation of policies that champion the rights of the disabled. The club continues to call for the strict enforcement of existing laws that protect the disabled. The club has also tasked itself with applauding disabled people for their positive contributions to society which helps to lessen the stigma associated with disability by recognizing their accomplishments (Yoshii et al. 18). All these strategies have resulted in people abandoning the stereotypical views and prejudices in favor of recognizing disabled people as individuals rather than the labels they are frequently assigned due to their disability. This has seen a radical change in people’s attitudes towards those who are disabled not only within the institution’s environment but also in the local community.
Teachers’ and parents’ attitudes have evolved due to lobbying, and barrier-free environments have been created as a result of the club’s strategies. The demands that the club has made to the institution’s top management to allow inclusivity in education have continued to bear fruits. Since its inception, the Appalachian Action Network has opposed the implementation of segregation models that advocate for the separation and isolation of disabled students from the rest of the students to provide ‘specialized education. It has been the opinion of the club that equal and appropriate learning facilities result in diversity which helps students with disabilities blend well with those who do not have disabilities. The teaching-learning process, therefore, becomes more integral and learner-focused as opposed to disability-ability-centered. The club continues to petition the United States Department of Education to increase funding for teacher training institutions and build their capacity in training teachers in the methods of engaging all students regardless of whether they are disabled or not (Mayorga, and Picower 218). By this, the network aims to ensure that access barriers are removed, and all students in American institutions are treated equally.
The club has and continues to be vocal on the call to subsidize the number of fees and other expenses paid by disabled students. This would result in more and more disabled students being admitted to the institution to pursue their dreams and achieve their career goals, which will ultimately accord them financial freedom. The club has also petitioned the institution’s board of management to formulate and implement data protection policies that would guarantee the privacy of information provided by disabled students. This will grant them more confidence and allow them to interact freely with the other students without fear that any of their sensitive personal information has been disclosed. The club also encourages disabled members of the Appalachian State University to enroll and participate in sporting activities as this revitalizes their bodies, refreshes them, and significantly lowers episodes of depression and anxiety among the disabled (Kim and Won 734). These strategies have proved beneficial in ensuring a more inclusive community within the institution where people with disabilities do not feel left out.
Conclusion:
I recommend that people with disabilities be treated fairly as everyone else, as this will go a long way in achieving the social inclusivity of the disabled. All players and stakeholders in the institution are thus required to have a change in their mentality concerning the welfare of people with disabilities. Appalachian Action Network for the Disabled continues to champion the end of discrimination of the disabled, resulting in their stigmatization. Therefore, for the club to continue with its mandate and resolve of achieving and protecting the rights of the disabled as demonstrated above, I recommend that the club receives funding to run its operations efficiently and be able to attract even more volunteers who will enable it to achieve its vision on equal, fair and inclusivity of people from diverse backgrounds who are with disabilities. The funding will result in more versatile activities being carried by the club, and eventually, the poor public mentality of society concerning disabled people will come to an end.
Works Cited
Kim, Dong Won. “Sports for The Physically Disabled of Classroom Participation in A Sitting Volleyball the Psychological Well-Being and Ego-Resilience”. Journal of Sport and Leisure Studies, vol 57, 2018, pp. 727-736. Korean Society of Sport and Leisure Studies, https://doi.org/10.51979/kssls.2018.08.57.727 .
Mayorga, Edwin, and Bree Picower. “Active Solidarity: Centering the Demands and Vision of The Black Lives Matter Movement in Teacher Education”. Urban Education, vol 53, no. 2, 2017, pp. 212-230. SAGE Publications, https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085917747117.
Rubeis, Giovanni, and Florian Steger. “A Burden from Birth? Non‐Invasive Prenatal Testing and The Stigmatization of People with Disabilities”. Bioethics, vol 33, no. 1, 2018, pp. 91-97. Wiley, https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12518 . Accessed 9 Oct 2021.
Yoshii, Hatsumi. Qualitative Study of Stigmatization of Mental Illness in The Japanese Workplace: The Experience of Mentally Disabled People. 2021.