Campus attitudes next in line for reform
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 29, 1996 9:00 p.m.
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.
