In scandal’s wake, a chance for progress

From the Michigan Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Michigan:

Students at U-M are meeting to discuss ways to make the University more accessible for students with learning disabilities.

Central to the discussion was this question: What is the University’s responsibility to students with learning disabilities?

The meeting comes just days after Zack Yost stepped down from his post as Michigan Student Assembly president after an MSA representative made public a secret Facebook.com group Yost created a year and a half ago mocking an MSA representative [Tim Hull] and referencing his Asperger’s syndrome.

Earlier stories:

From the Detroit Free Press: U-M student leader quits over Facebook insult; He says he regrets reviling colleague with disability

A column by Adam Gleicher the Michigan Daily: The larger problem, considering Yost’s actions in the light of Michigan fans chanting “Retards” at the Michigan-Michigan State football game.

People feel much less compunction about using a slur if they cannot relate to the group or person they are attacking. When students on this campus mock individuals with disabilities, it is because they are disconnected from those they are ridiculing. Last week, we were able to see that it was a person with the same sensitivities as the rest of us, in this case Tim Hull, and not just some faceless concept, who bore the effects of hateful mockery.

The students chanting “retards” probably didn’t understand the virulence of the word they were screaming, intending it as a harmless joke. But to me, every repetition of the word was a personal attack on the dozens of individuals with whom I have friendships through Best Buddies. The football fans were smug in their humor and ignorant of how truly insulting their words were. Before we castigate them in particular, however, we should remember that they are not the only students on campus who have made statements at the expense of people with disabilities.

As the story shifts from Yost’s offensive actions to his resignation, it is important that we not lose sight of the broader issue, which is that the debasement of individuals with disabilities pervades our culture, and it needs to stop. Let us be inspired by the misdeeds of our own student government to challenge the way we treat our peers with disabilities and to demonstrate the tolerance and respect we would expect for ourselves.

Gleicher is the president of the U-M chapter of Best Buddies.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 8:35 am and is filed under Asperger's, language, learning disabilities, post-secondary education, public attitudes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.