Open house brings disability awareness
The DAM (Disability Awareness Month) Open House was held March 25 to showcase projects, organizations and offices both on and off campus which support people with disabilities.
The real purpose of the open house is to celebrate diversity, Zan Merrill, a volunteer associated with DAM, said.
Merrill said she thought it “was something that needed to be done because Utah State [University] has such a rich history with disabled people.”
The keynote speaker at the event was Matt Maw, a sophomore at USU majoring in statistics. He was Weber State University’s mascot before a tumbling accident paralyzed him.
Maw said the theme of his speech would be overcoming adversity.
“When you’re challenged in life, you have to choose to be happy,” Maw said. “Life is full of challenges and trials. They’re gonna come. It’s up to you what you do with them.”
Diane Hardman, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator and director of the Disability Resource Center at USU, said Maw is also a member of the unofficially-named DRC Advisory Council.
The council consists of people from Facilities, faculty members and students with disabilities who identify architectural barriers and create priority lists in order to provide funding to improve accessibility, Hardman said.
Kyle Woodruff, a pianist who is blind, also performed at the event.
Woodruff, a junior majoring in music, has been playing piano for 15 years and said being blind is not as bad as everyone may think.
“I’ve always said it’s a great way to meet people,” Woodruff said.
Brandi Burdette, a sophomore hoping to teach blind children, said she also finds being blind rewarding.
“Sometimes it’s fun to be blind. I’d recommend it to anyone to try for a month,” Burdette said.
Burdette said she felt the open house was a good way to help other people become aware of the things available for disabled people and to meet people with disabilities.
Representatives from numerous organizations from both the community and USU had booths with information on services they provided.
Hardman said this is the second year the event has taken place, and the response has been generally good.
“People are very receptive and genuinely try to be accessible,” Hardman said.
She said there was definitely a need for something like this to take place, and hopes to see it grow with the new position of diversity vice president being created in the Associated Students of Utah State University.
“We knew bringing these groups together would be very helpful,” Hardman said.
Nedra Taylor, a representative of OPTIONS for Independence, an independent living facility, said one purpose of events like the DAM Open House is to draw attention to the needs of people who are disabled.
“We just need to make people more aware so they understand that we’re not asking for better treatment. We just want equal treatment,” Taylor said.
Taylor also said it is important for people to realize the challenges faced every day by those who are disabled.
“I’d always been involved in the disabilities awareness movement, but until I became disabled myself I didn’t realize the barriers,” Taylor said.
Many activities have been done to increase disabilities awareness, Hardman said, but Maw said this event is long in coming.
“It’s about time,” Maw said.