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By Dharshani Dharmawardena

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

When World War II and Korean veterans returned from battle, the
G.I. Bill allowed them to receive a higher education. As disabled
veterans took advantage of this opportunity, some universities
across the country, including UCLA, began to cater to their
needs.

Douglas Martin, special assistant to the chancellor and
coordinator for the Chancellor’s Americans with Disabilities
Act and 504 Compliance Office, said UCLA developed a reputation for
being a disabled-friendly campus as a direct result of the influx
of paraplegic veterans who came here in the late 1940s and early
1950s.

When these disabled veterans came, they addressed UCLA with
their concerns, Martin said.

“Once they got here, they educated the campus and the
campus responded,” he continued.

Martin also said California’s mild climate prompted them
to come because lack of snow meant they could maneuver
year-round.

“Medical science saved the lives of individuals that might
not have lived,” he explained. “Having to use
wheelchairs, many of them came to California because of the
weather.”

UCLA’s Office of Veterans Affairs was developed to help
paraplegic veterans adapt to campus.

One of the first programs of its kind in the United States, the
OVA built ramps to all campus buildings and gave veterans keys to
special elevators not in public use, according to UCLA on the Move,
a book chronicling UCLA’s history.

UCLA and the federal government provided student veterans
different forms of aid, including cars with special hand brakes and
clutches, according to the historical.

Although many of these services stopped in the late 1960s, a new
group of students began to continue the legacy created by World War
II and Korean veterans.

Martin said children stricken with polio in the late 1940s, when
the disease was widespread, also sought educational opportunities
at UCLA because of its established reputation for providing
accessibility around campus.

In 1965, Martin, who uses a wheelchair as a result of polio,
received a scholarship from the University of Nebraska but was
later denied admission because, he thought, officials reacted
negatively when they saw his disability.

“I applied to other universities, but was denied
admissions because I was disabled even though I had a good academic
record,” he said.

Martin enrolled at UCLA, which along with institutions like UC
Berkeley, University of Illinois and University of Michigan, gave
special support to disabled students, he said.

Because of the political climate at the time, Martin said he and
others used the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as inspiration for seeking
equal rights for disabled students.

“If disabled people were going to participate in society,
a national civil rights law was needed to promote their inclusion
in the mainstream of American life,” he said.

Martin continued his higher education at UCLA, earning a
doctorate in 1975, but he felt that campus help for disabled
students had dwindled.

“The campus was not keeping up with its accessibility and
its services,” he said.

Seeing these inadequacies, Martin worked to bring UCLA to higher
standards. He and community members, including faculty and staff,
established the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Disability
in 1981, eleven years after founding the Disabled Students
Union.

Former Chancellor Charles E. Young created the UCLA
Chancellor’s ADA and 504 Compliance Office. The office
ensures the university follows guidelines set by section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the landmark Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, which Martin helped write.

Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability
in federally assisted programs, while the ADA protects disabled
individuals civil rights in employment, public accommodations,
state and local services and telecommunications.

Today, disabled students, faculty and staff can use computer
technology to extend their education.

In 1987, Young established UCLA’s Disabilities and
Computing Program, part of UCLA’s Academic Technology
Services, according to Kevin Price, adaptive technology specialist
and accessibility analyst at ATS.

“In the late ’80s, we realized the key to the future
was the access to technology,” Martin said. “Technology
is now essential if you’re going to be in an educational and
competitive setting.”.

Among its goals, DCP aims to make information available to all
students, faculty and staff both online and off.

“The number of people using the services is not
large,” said Carmela Cunningham, coordinator for the DCP.
“But the services are critical for those who need
them.”

“Some individuals would not be able to even attempt an
education without the adaptive technology,” she continued.
“Others would not be employed without the
technology.”

Cunningham said the program uses a variety of adaptive
technology to help disabled individuals in getting an
education.

“Primarily, we’re using screen-reading programs,
voice input programs and special adaptive software for individuals
with learning disabilities,” she said.

Martin said voice recognizing software can help people who are
unable to type to create text verbally.

Much of this software can run on regular PCs and
Macintoshes.

Other UCLA programs, like Transportation Services also work with
ADA requirements ensuring that disabled students receive
accessibility on campus.

Steve Rand, traffic manager for UCLA, said Transportation
Services work together with Martin’s office, continuing a
long tradition of providing disabled parking.

According to Rand, the ADA has established a ratio of disabled
parking spaces, to the amount of regular parking spaces on
campus.

UCLA, however, has developed a cluster complex, where accessible
spaces are located in busier as opposed to more remote areas, like
Lot 32.

Rand also said UCLA developed the first program in California
where the University and the Department of Motor Vehicles worked
together to crack down on misuse of disabled parking placards.

“Until 1994, only sworn police officers could query
drivers for proof of proper use,” Rand said.

Last summer, several UCLA football players illegally used
disabled parking permits and faced penalties.

Now, UCLA cooperates with the City of Los Angeles to ensure
proper use of disabled placards.

Starting this fall, Transportation Services will provide
additional signs stating fines for misuse of placards and provide a
hotline where members of the community can call if they suspect
misuse, Rand said.

According to Martin, UCLA ranks high on the list of
disabled-friendly universities in the nation because of campus
interaction.

Martin, however, wants to aim higher.

“Our goal is to be number one,” he said. “We
will settle for nothing less.”