The Beacon THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND SINCE 1935 March 17, 2016 • Volume 118 • Issue 20 • upbeacon.com
Clare Duffy • THE BEACON
What it’s like:
College with a learning disability
By Jacob Fuhrer THE BEACON His kindergarten teacher kept him inside during recess to complete classwork everyone else had already finished. Basic writing assignments in grade school took the entire class period. Once, Nicolas Vavuris even wrote his entire name backward. Vavuris knew from a young age that he was different from his classmates. A 2012 study by the U.S. Department of Education found that about five percent of children nationwide have some type of learning difference, and four percent have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well. Learning Differences It wasn’t until first grade
that Vavuris was tested. The junior history major would later discover he had dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. “They’re all very intertwined,” Vavuris said. “Typically, when someone has one of those things, they probably have others.” For Vavuris, the dysgraphia makes writing by hand a significant challenge. “It causes me physical pain if I’m doing it for more than 10 minutes,” Vavuris said. “It doesn’t help that it’s already illegible.” To cope with the problem, Vavuris is allowed to use a laptop in class to type notes and avoid the pain of writing by hand. For a time, Vavuris took medication to help with ADHD, but didn’t experience enough benefits to continue
with the medication. During elementary school, he sought the help of an occupational therapist to strengthen his fine motor skills as well as learn typing. For Vavuris, there lies a challenge beyond the physical difficulties associated with reading and writing. It’s also psychological. “I really enjoy learning about math … it just takes me a lot longer to do,” Vavuris said. “I’ve basically lived in every math class that I’ve ever taken.” The concoction of learning differences made it difficult for Vavuris to keep up with his classmates and even more difficult to get the proper help. Vavuris recalls kindergarten through third grade as some of the worst years because teachers simply didn’t
understand challenges he faced. He said teachers often blamed his struggles on a poor attitude or a lack of determination to succeed. At one point, his primary school wanted to hold Vavuris back for three years straight. It wasn’t until Vavuris’ mother, who is also dyslexic, had him tested that the school had no choice but to acknowledge his learning differences. Accessible Education Services Nikolaas Strom, a sophomore theology major, specifically chose UP because of his impression of its programs for students with learning differences. “(UP) has a good students with disabilities office,” Strom said. “The one here was by far the best that I talked to.”
Strom, who has been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, mostly struggles with finishing exams in the allotted amount of time. To get help in this area, Strom turned to the Accessible Education Services (AES) on campus. Melanie Gangle, program manager for AES, said the office serves students with all types of disabilities, including vision and hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, brain injury and learning disabilities. “The largest number of students that we service are students with learning disabilities,” Gangle said. “What our office does is to ensure that a student with a disability receives equal
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Eric Reveno says goodbye to Pilots basketball By Malika Andrews THE BEACON
Kristen Garcia • THE BEACON
Reveno cheers on the men’s basketball team during his final season as head coach. Reveno ended his 10-season run with a 140-178 record.
The objects in coach Eric Reveno’s office remained unchanged. Photos of his team hung on one wall, opposite a row of plaques recognizing his players’ academic accomplishments and on-court honors. But the man in the middle of the office wasn’t the same, his whole world had been turned upside down. So he sat in a familiar place, surrounded by familiar things and did his best to process the shock. He said the diplomatic things. He said all the things one would expect. Then, he
leaned back in his chair, put his head in his hands and let the tears flow. “I wasn’t a tenured professor. I didn’t earn tenure,” Reveno said. “I earned to be treated right. I earned to be treated with respect. I earned some things, but I didn’t earn a lifetime position. They don’t owe me that.” The morning of March 15, the men’s basketball coach received an email from Athletic Director Scott Lekyam asking to meet. Shortly thereafter, the University of Portland athletic department announced that Reveno would not return as the men’s basketball coach. He leaves with a 140-178
record overall, 60-95 in West Coast Conference. In a press release, Leykam thanked Reveno for his “service, dedication and contributions to the University,” while adding that he had represented UP “with great class on and off the court.” After years of routines, Reveno, 50, was left in a daze. He no longer needed to run the practice he had planned. He no longer needed to analyze how many hours the Pilots had practiced this season compared to their 20-win seasons earlier in his time as coach.
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