Salt Lake Community College is hosting three major events to celebrate Disability Awareness Week.
Starting today, SLCC and the Disability Resource Center have organized a series of events at Taylorsville Redwood and South City campuses that are catered towards disability awareness in the community. The entire week will highlight students with disabilities and address issues regarding disability accommodations on campus.
The rally begins today at noon with a student panel titled “Life with a Disability” in the Student Event Center at Taylorsville Redwood Campus. The panel will be comprised of various students with disabilities who will speak about the difficulties they have faced in their lifetimes.
Donald Minor, a member on the panel, expresses his tribulations when he says, “My disability will always be a piece of me, but if that is the only part of me you recognize, then you’ve only scratched the surface of who I am.”
On Wednesday, the Assistive Technology Fair will be held in the South City Campus atrium at 11:30 a.m. The purpose of the fair is to present the various aids available to students who may have a learning disability or disorder.
According to Jake Seamons, assistant director of the DRC, one example of assistive technology may be “a program that will read the textbook to you.”
Dr. Amanda Kraus, the director of disability resources at the University of Arizona, will give a presentation on Thursday at noon in the Student Event Center at Taylorsville Redwood Campus. The presentation will focus on issues such as microaggressions and stereotyping.
Microaggressions are subtle acts of discrimination toward minority groups caused by misconceptions. These misconceptions hinder both progressive growth of disability policies and misconstrue the community views on the challenges disadvantaged youth and adults may be going through.
The DRC is also making arrangements for Dr. Kraus’ presentation to be live-streamed from the Taylorsville campus so everyone will have the opportunity to watch.
Contact the DRC for more information about Disability Awareness Week and the services available to students with disabilities.
