MONDAY September 18, 2017
THE DAILY ILLINI
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 147 Issue 7
PROUD.
Professor continues contacting students BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY NEWS EDITOR
The professional standings of an atmospheric sciences professor remains unknown after he refused to provide electronic notes to a student with a proven disability. Michael Schlesinger emailed students in his Climate and Global Change (ATMS 140) lecture that he was leaving the University and moving to Kona, Hawaii, after a spat with the Division of Rehabilitation and Education Services. He has since stopped lectures, and a new teacher was appointed. Schlesinger did not want to provide one student an “advantage” over the other students in the course but did offer to pay for a note-taker. Rachel Graddy, DRES disability specialist, declined to comment “due to the confidential nature” of the matter. However, in an interview Thursday with Inside Higher Ed, Schlesinger said he was on paid administrative leave, pending a hearing and did not resign. Schlesinger did not return requests for comment at the time of publication. University officials declined to comment on the matter, due to its private nature. “Illinois has always been an international leader in disability resources and support, and we take very seriously our responsibility to providing reasonable accommodations to students who are living with disabilities, as well as to protecting their privacy rights,” said University spokeswoman Robin Kaler in an email. Schlesinger also has continued to contact students in the course, although he wrote he was not supposed to. “Although the University has forbidden me to communicate with you, on pain of ???, I am,” he said in an email titled “Death of Cassini” on Sept. 14. “Why? To inform you of the imminent death of Cassini tomorrow.” Cassini, a spacecraft that’s been in orbit for 13 years, was “one of humanity’s greatest achievements,” he added. NASA deliberately ended the mission on Friday. “Once more I venture where the University has forbidden me to go,” he said in a second email, entitled “Death of Cassini Part 2.” Schlesinger sent the class one final email after Cassini ended its orbit, saying, “I am overfull with sadness, and grief.” burszty2@dailyillini.com
PATRICK LI THE DAILY ILLINI
Community members march in Champaign-Urbana’s eighth annual Pride Fest. Turn to 3A for an event recap.
Advocating for students with disabilities Students with disabilities call for cultural accessibility
Pushing for mental health awareness among students versity Housing’s Social Justice and Leadership Education and said she hopes to raise awareness of disability justice issues and increase the amount of disability-related curriculum for University Housing staff and students. Recently, she has been reaching out nationwide to obtain written letters from others with disabilities that share their personal stories and encourage others with disabilities who may struggle with depression to realize the value in their life.
BY LUKE COOPER STAFF WRITER
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month, and one graduate student is trying to make sure that those at the University with disabilities realize their importance. Kathleen Downes, a New York native graduated in AHS in 2015 at the University. Downes, who has cerebral palsy, said she came to the University due to its history of accommodating those with physical disabilities like herself. She is interning with Uni- SEE MENTAL HEALTH | 3A
BY KAREN LIU STAFF WRITER
Mark McCarthy is a graduate student in the School of Information Sciences, a member of the LGBT community, a fan of video games and one of the many students with disabilities here at the University. McCarthy was born with spinal muscular atrophy and has been using a wheelchair since he was 8 years old. In an attempt to create a sense of community, McCarthy is working to start a cultural house for students with disabilities on campus. “There’s a lot of infrastructural accessibility,” he said. “But there’s still this problem with cultural accessibility that needs to be addressed.” McCarthy said although it is great that Disability Resources and Educational Services has different social and cultural events planned for students with disabilities, its main job is to provide educational resources. “At the end of the day, one of those things has to be sacrificed for the mission to provide academic support and
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BANG NGUYEN THE DAILY ILLINI
Mark McCarthy, a graduate student studying information architecture, is currently advocating for a disability cultural center.
that ends up being the more cultural and social bit,” he said. McCarthy said he initiated the process of starting a cultural house for students with disabilities after attending a talk about safety issues. He learned the University had no plans for students with disabilities, especially
those with sensory issues, during an emergency. “That was a point of contention, where I kind of went back and forth with the lieutenant at the time,” he said. “That’s the kind of issue where there’s this cultural inaccessibility. At this Uni-
Greek rush needs changing
Preparing for Pygmalion
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