3679 lines
198 KiB
Plaintext
3679 lines
198 KiB
Plaintext
THE BRAILLE MONITOR
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May, 1994
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Barbara Pierce, Editor
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Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc,
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and cassette by
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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
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MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT
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National Office
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1800 Johnson Street
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Baltimore, Maryland 21230
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* * * *
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Letters to the President, address changes,
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subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
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articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
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should be sent to the National Office.
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* * * *
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Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five
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dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members are
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requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
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made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:
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National Federation of the Blind
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1800 Johnson Street
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Baltimore, Maryland 21230
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* * * *
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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
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SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES
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ISSN 0006-8829 THE BRAILLE MONITOR
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A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
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CONTENTS
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MAY, 1994
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THE FUTURE OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR THE BLIND
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by Kenneth Jernigan
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ROLLER COASTER RIDE WITH VALLEYFAIR FINALLY ENDS
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by Scott LaBarre
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THE BLIND OF OHIO WIN THE RIGHT TO RIDE
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by Eric Duffy
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KEEPING WITHIN THE LINES
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by Marc Maurer
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RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRAILLE DOCUMENTATION
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by David Andrews
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MORE BRAILLE BILLS BECOME LAW
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by Barbara Pierce
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WHERE AM I?
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by Peggy Pinder
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TO DIG I AM NOT ABLE; TO BEG I AM ASHAMED
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by Elizabeth Browne
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ELIZABETH CAMPBELL: BILINGUAL REPORTER FOR A MAJOR DAILY
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NEWSPAPER
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by Lorraine Rovig
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TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION PROFESSOR URGES BLIND PEOPLE TO BREAK
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TRADITIONAL JOB BARRIERS
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by Lea Levavi
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THE SOLO
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by Barbara Walker
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SLOW DOWN, NOT SO FAST!
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by Noel Nightingale
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SSI MODERNIZATION: THE NFB SPEAKS OUT
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by James Gashel
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LAST CHANCE CONVENTION REMINDERS: THE ROAR OF '94
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by Sue and Don Drapinski
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RECIPES
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MONITOR MINIATURES
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Copyright 1994 National Federation of the Blind
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[LEAD PHOTO/CAPTION: Each year the American Foundation for
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the Blind holds the Josephine Taylor Seminar in Washington, D.C.
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Shown here at the 1994 meeting from left to right are Carl
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Augusto, President and Executive Director of the American
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Foundation for the Blind; Kenneth Jernigan; LeRoy Saunders,
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President of the American Council of the Blind; and Michael Bina,
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President of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of
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the Blind and Visually Impaired.]
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[Photo: Dr. Jernigan stands with raised gavel at podium at National
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Convention. CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan]
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THE FUTURE OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR THE BLIND
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An Address Delivered by Kenneth Jernigan
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At the Josephine L. Taylor
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Leadership Institute
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Washington, D.C., March 3, 1994
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When Mr. Augusto asked me to appear on this panel, he told
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me that almost all of the people in the audience would be
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professionals, rehabilitators and educators; so my remarks are
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principally aimed at those of you who are professionals. Today we
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are talking about how to save specialized services for the blind
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and what kind of partnership can or should exist between the
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blind and service providers. The fact that we are considering
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this topic and that the discussion is being led by the consumer
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organizations and the agencies in the field implies that we think
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specialized services are in danger, that they are worth saving,
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and that the organizations of the blind and the professionals can
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work in partnership, and that the partnership can make a
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difference. There is no question that programs for the blind are
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in danger, but whether the professionals and the consumers can
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effectively cooperate to save the situation is still being
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determined.
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Partners must be equals. You who are professionals need, in
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the modern lingo, to internalize that. You need to internalize
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something else, too. If an organization of the blind is not
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strong enough and independent enough to cause you trouble and do
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you damage (that is, jeopardize your budget, create political
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problems for you, and hurt your public image), it is probably not
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strong enough and independent enough to do you any good either.
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Likewise, if you as a professional don't have enough authority to
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damage the lives of the blind you are hired to help, you almost
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certainly don't have enough authority to give them much
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assistance.
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Fifteen or twenty years ago you heard very little talk in
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our field about consumerism. Today that has all changed. The
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organized blind movement has now developed enough strength and
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presence that it must be taken into account in every decision of
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any consequence. How you as professionals react to that new
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reality may very well determine whether specialized services for
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the blind will survive.
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Some time ago I was asked to speak to a group of agency
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professionals on the topic "Blind Consumers: Chattels or
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Choosers." It is not only a catchy title but a real issue, for we
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can't meaningfully consider the relationship between the blind
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and the agencies established to give them service without taking
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into account current public attitudes about blindness--and even
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more to the point, the truth or falsity of those attitudes. With
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all of our efforts to educate the public, the average citizen's
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notions about blindness are still predominantly negative; and
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since all of us (whether blind individual or agency professional)
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are part of the general public, we cannot help being influenced
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by public opinion.
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Even so, we in this room (or at least most of us) profess to
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know that the blind (given equal training and opportunity) can
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compete on terms of equality with others--that the average blind
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child can hold his or her own with the average sighted child;
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that the average blind adult can do the average job in the
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average place of business, and do it as well as a sighted person
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similarly situated; and that the average blind grandmother of
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eighty-four can do what the average sighted grandmother of that
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age can do. Of course, the above average can compete with the
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above average, and the below average will compete at that level.
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Blindness does not mean lack of ability, nor does it mean lack of
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capacity to perceive beauty or communicate with the world.
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The techniques may be different, but the overall performance
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and the ability to experience pleasure are comparable. There are
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blind mathematicians, blind factory workers, blind dishwashers,
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and tens of thousands of just ordinary blind citizens to prove
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it. This is what I as a blind person, representing the largest
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organization of blind persons in the world, know--and it is what
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you, knowledgeable professionals in the field, also know. Or, at
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least, this is probably what we would say we know if asked. But
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do we know it? Down at the gut level, where we live and feel, do
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we really believe it? As the poet Tennyson said, "I am part of
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all that I have met"--and he was right. Whether we are blind
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person or agency professional, it is very hard for us to
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contradict what our culture has taught us and what it reinforces
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every day. As the German scientist Max Planck said, "A new truth
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usually does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making
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them see the light but rather because its opponents eventually
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die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."
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On this critical issue we cannot afford to engage in
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sophistry or deceive ourselves. If blindness is as limiting as
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most people think it is, and as many professionals have
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traditionally said it is, then we should not deny it but face it.
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On the other hand, if the real problem of blindness is not the
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loss of eyesight but the misunderstandings and misconceptions
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which exist, we should face that, too, and deal with it
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accordingly. In either case the need for the professional in the
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field will be equally great, but the services and the objectives
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will be different.
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Let me give you an example from my own personal experience.
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When I was getting ready to graduate from high school, I was
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interviewed by a rehabilitation counselor. He asked me what I
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wanted to do, and I told him I wanted to be a lawyer. After
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changing the subject and talking about other things, he returned
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to the question and asked me to tell him three or four careers I
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might like to consider. With the brashness of youth I told him I
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didn't need to do that, that I knew what I wanted to be--I wanted
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to be a lawyer.
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He trotted out rehab jargon and told me that, while he
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wouldn't say it was impossible for a blind person to be a lawyer,
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he would say it wasn't feasible. A blind man, he said, couldn't
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see the faces of the jury, couldn't handle the paperwork,
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couldn't do the traveling. I argued--but I was a teenager; and he
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was the counselor, who controlled the funds. He finally said
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(gently and with big words, but very clearly) that I could either
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go to college and be a lawyer, and pay for it myself--or I could
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go and be something else, and the agency would help with the
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bills. I didn't have any money, and I was only a teenager--so I
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went and was something else.
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I know now that he was wrong. I am personally acquainted
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with at least a hundred successfully practicing blind lawyers,
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and many of them are no better suited for the profession than I
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was. But I would not want you to misunderstand my point. That
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rehabilitation counselor was not being vicious or deliberately
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arbitrary. He was acting in what he believed to be my best
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interest. He was well disposed toward me and generously inclined.
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He simply believed (as his culture had taught him to believe)
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that a blind person couldn't be a lawyer.
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What, then, should be the relationship between the blind and
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the agencies, the consumers and the professionals? As I see it,
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the answer must be given at two levels--the individual, and the
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institutional. The issue is easier to deal with at the individual
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level; for the choices are more personal, the alternatives more
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clear-cut, and the short-term consequences more obvious. If, for
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instance, a blind youngster should come to one of you today and
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say that he or she wanted to be a lawyer, I seriously doubt that
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you would resist or discourage. Law is now generally accepted as
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a suitable profession for the blind.
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This does not mean that each of you in this room who is an
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educator or an agency employee will always make the right
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decision concerning careers and other life situations involving
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the blind persons with whom you deal. But make no mistake: You
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will and must make decisions. Money is not unlimited, and by
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funding one project you necessarily choose not to fund another.
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You have the responsibility for making decisions and for being
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knowledgeable enough to give correct information and advice to
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the blind persons who need your help. I have no doubt that, in
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most instances, your motives will be good, but your decisions
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will be wise only to the extent that you have a correct
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understanding of what blind people can reasonably hope to do and
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be, and what blindness is really like--what the limitations of
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blindness are and, perhaps even more important, what they are
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not.
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Obviously this kind of decision making concerning
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individuals is not easy, but as I have said, it is far less
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difficult than the other sort, the institutional. Moreover,
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despite the fact that the decision making concerning individuals
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leads to successful lives or blighted dreams, it is not as
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important (even to those personally involved) as your
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institutional decisions. In the long run every blind person in
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this country will be far more affected (more helped or hurt) by
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your institutional than your individual decisions. For purposes
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of today's discussion I want to talk about your institutional
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decision making concerning the kinds of consumer organizations
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you will encourage or inhibit. And I urge you to resist the
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temptations of sophistry, for you cannot avoid making decisions
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in this area. You will make them whether you want to or not--and,
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for that matter, whether you know it or not. If in no other way,
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you will make such decisions by your daily attitudes and your
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subconscious behavior. Therefore, it is better to make them
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consciously and deliberately.
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Of course, you cannot create an independent organization of
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blind consumers, for if the organization depends upon your
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permission and financing, it is by definition not independent.
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Freedom cannot be given by one group to another. It must either
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be affirmatively taken by the individual or group alleging to
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want it, or it cannot be had. It must be self-achieved, and the
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process must be ongoing and constant. But if you cannot create an
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independent organization of the blind, you can and will establish
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the climate that will encourage or inhibit it. And the stake you
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have is not solely altruistic or professional. It is also a
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matter of self-interest, and possibly survival.
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In today's climate of changing values and hard-fought
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issues, the best possible insurance policy for an agency for the
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blind is a strong, independent organization of blind consumers.
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Regardless of how much blind individuals may like the agency and
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support its policies, they cannot achieve and sustain the
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momentum to nurture and defend it in time of crisis. That is the
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negative way of saying this: If there is a powerful, independent
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organization of the blind and if the members of that organization
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feel that the agency is responsive to their needs and sympathetic
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to their wants, they will go to the government and the public for
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funding and support. They will be vigilant in the advancement of
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the agency's interests. Its friends will be their friends. Its
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enemies will be their enemies. If it is threatened, they will
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feel that they have something to lose, and they will fight with
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ingenuity and determination to protect it.
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Chattels, on the other hand, have very little to lose. They
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are at best indifferent and at worst resentful, always waiting
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for a chance to rebel in periods of crisis. In good times they
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rarely criticize, but they also do not imaginatively and
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effectively give support. In bad times they not only fail to
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defend--they cannot defend. They have neither the strength nor
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the know-how. Moreover, they lack the incentive. Having been
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taught that agency policy is none of their business, they cannot
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in time of danger suddenly become tough and resourceful. As many
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an agency has learned (the same is true of nations), chattels do
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not make good soldiers.
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The agencies cannot have it both ways. Those that encourage
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independence, and help the blind achieve it, will prosper--and
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those that defensively cling to yesterday's power base will
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perish. If a sufficient number of agencies fail to recognize the
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new realities, then the whole blindness system may well be
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destroyed.
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And what are these new realities, these vital issues of
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which I speak? There are at least three, interrelated and
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inseparable: funding, generic as opposed to specialized programs,
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and empowerment of clients.
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There was a time (and not long ago at that) when agencies
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for the blind pretty much got all of the money they reasonably
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wanted, and sometimes more than they reasonably needed. Today,
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budgets are tightening; the environment is deteriorating;
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population is rising; and resources are dwindling. In addition,
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other disability groups (once disorganized and invisible) are
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finding their voice and reaching for power. Some say they took
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their lessons from the blind. Be that as it may, they are now a
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growing force to be reckoned with, and there is no turning back.
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The argument they make is deceptively alluring. Give us, they
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say, a unified program for people with disabilities--no special
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treatment for any segment of the group. We are one population.
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Despite superficial differences, our needs are essentially the
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same. Save money. Eliminate duplication.
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You and I know that the logic is shallow and the promise
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false, but it will take more than rhetoric to save our programs.
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In the general melting pot of the generic disability agency the
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blind will have no useful training, no meaningful opportunity, no
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real chance. If the special training and rehabilitation needs of
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the blind are to continue to be met and if our programs are to
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survive, there is only one way it can be done. The agencies for
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the blind and strong, independent grassroots organizations of the
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blind must work together to make it happen. And the partnership
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cannot be a sham. It must be real. It must be a true partnership
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of equals--each giving, each supporting, and each respecting the
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other.
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This brings me to the empowerment of clients. By this I do
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not mean that the clients should administer the agencies. This
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would not work, and it is not desirable. Rather, I mean that
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clients should be respected, that they should be given meaningful
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choices, that they should have access to information, and that
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they should be encouraged (not pressured but encouraged) to join
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independent organizations of the blind--organizations which are
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not company unions but which have both the power and the
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inclination to serve as a check and balance to the agency, to act
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in concert with it, to pursue reasonable complaints against it,
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to refuse to pursue unreasonable complaints against it, and to
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work in every way as a supporter and partner. Let these things be
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done, and both the blind and the agencies will prosper. Let them
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not be done, and I think the blindness system will perish.
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There is something else: Workers in the blindness system
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must resist the growing tendency to hide behind the term
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"professionalism" and must stop treating "professionalism" as if
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it were a sacred mystery. There is a teachable body of knowledge
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which can be learned about giving service to the blind; but much
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of that knowledge is a matter of common sense, good judgment, and
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experience. Most thinking blind persons (certainly those who have
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been blind for any length of time and have had any degree of
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success) know at least as much about what they and other blind
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people want and need from the system as the professionals do, and
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it must also be kept in mind that not every act of a
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"professional" is necessarily a "professional" act or based on
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"professionalism." Just as in other fields in America today, the
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professionals in the blindness system must be judged on their
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behavior and not merely their credentials.
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Whether you believe that the type of partnership and
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cooperative effort I have outlined will work depends on whether
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you believe in the basic tenets of democracy. It also depends on
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whether you believe the blind are capable of real equality. I do
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believe these things, and I hope you do, too. Otherwise, programs
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for the blind are probably doomed.
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[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Scott Labarre]
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ROLLER COASTER RIDE WITH VALLEYFAIR
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FINALLY ENDS
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by Scott LaBarre
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From the Editor: During the past year Scott LaBarre has been
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the Assistant Director for Governmental Affairs for the National
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Federation of the Blind. Before that he attended college and law
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school in Minnesota, where he took an active part in the
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affiliate's effort to persuade the Valleyfair Amusement Park that
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blind patrons have as much right as anybody else to enjoy park
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facilities without being harassed by officials with silly and
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demeaning restrictions. The blind have finally been victorious in
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this struggle. Here is Scott LaBarre's description of how it
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happened:
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In the March, 1991, issue of the Braille Monitor we reported
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on the discrimination blind people were encountering at
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Valleyfair, an amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota. At that
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time Valleyfair had several policies which discriminated against
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the blind, the most noteworthy of which required blind people to
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be accompanied by "responsible adults" at all times. According to
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Valleyfair a "responsible adult" meant anyone who stood over four
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feet tall and could see. As a result nine blind Minnesotans filed
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charges of discrimination with the Minnesota Department of Human
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Rights (MDHR), and a few months after those charges were filed,
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this is how Curtis Chong, Vice President of the National
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Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, summarized the situation in
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the Braille Monitor:
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It is reasonable to ask where things stand today.
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The charges of discrimination against Valleyfair have
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been formally filed with the Minnesota Department of
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Human Rights. We are taking every opportunity to
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publicize Valleyfair's deplorable and demeaning
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treatment of persons who are blind. The tremendous
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support and understanding that this issue has received
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from the general public are immensely encouraging. Yes,
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when blind people go to Valleyfair today, they will be
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required to be accompanied by a "responsible adult,"
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who will likely be a small child. Yes, if blind people
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visit Valleyfair today, they will not be given the
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right to ride together. And yes, when blind people
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visit Valleyfair, they can be assured that park
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employees will address sighted people who happen to be
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visiting with them.
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But things will certainly not remain at a
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standstill. Blind people, through their own
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organization, the National Federation of the Blind, are
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waging the struggle for equality. Like it or not,
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Valleyfair will modernize its thinking toward the
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blind; and like it or not, Valleyfair will learn to
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treat blind guests as the first-class citizens and
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responsible adults they truly are!
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Curtis Chong was right. Valleyfair has now learned how to
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treat blind people as first-class citizens. On March 24, 1994,
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Valleyfair, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and the
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charging parties signed a settlement agreement. The agreement
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states that Valleyfair will treat blind guests on the same terms
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and conditions as it treats all other guests. The agreement
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further prohibits Valleyfair from adopting any new policies
|
||
pertaining to the blind without proving in a formal legal
|
||
proceeding that such a policy does not violate the Minnesota
|
||
Human Rights Act. This settlement agreement is a tremendous
|
||
victory for the blind of Minnesota and the entire United States.
|
||
The road to the settlement has been long and arduous. Here
|
||
is the story of how it was achieved. The trouble with Valleyfair
|
||
began almost five years ago when Janet Lee, Board Member and
|
||
long-time leader of the National Federation of the Blind of
|
||
Minnesota, visited the park in July of 1989. A friend took Janet
|
||
to Valleyfair to celebrate her birthday, but the present she
|
||
received was discriminatory treatment from park officials. When
|
||
they entered the park, Janet's friend told her that large signs
|
||
boldly proclaimed that the handicapped must stop by guest
|
||
relations to be informed of the special policies which applied to
|
||
them. A Valleyfair official soon stopped Janet and informed her
|
||
that she must go to the guest relations booth to be briefed on
|
||
which attractions she could not ride because of her blindness.
|
||
Janet explained that she had visited the park several times
|
||
before and was familiar with all the rides. The official
|
||
continued to insist that she stop at the booth. Finally she
|
||
simply walked past the official and proceeded directly to one of
|
||
her favorite attractions, the bumper cars.
|
||
When she arrived, she met another hurdle. Janet had ridden
|
||
bumper cars dozens of times, several of them at Valleyfair
|
||
itself. It had never occurred to her that there was a problem
|
||
with a blind person's driving the cars. Certainly the average
|
||
blind person has the ability to steer a car around the track.
|
||
Never mind if a few other cars get bumped; that's the whole
|
||
purpose of the attraction.
|
||
The park official told Janet that she could not ride the
|
||
bumper cars alone and that she would have to have a "responsible
|
||
adult" drive the car while she rode. As they would for the next
|
||
several years, Valleyfair claimed that such a policy was
|
||
necessary for the safety of its blind patrons. Janet did not give
|
||
in, and eventually the official permitted her to ride the bumper
|
||
cars. As she expected, she encountered no difficulty or danger
|
||
during the ride, and in fact she had a good time.
|
||
But looking back the events at the park troubled Janet
|
||
deeply, and as a result she decided to file a charge of
|
||
discrimination with the MDHR claiming that the sign demanding
|
||
that disabled guests report to guest relations, the actions of
|
||
the park official who tried to force her to visit guest
|
||
relations, and the conduct of the operator at the bumper cars
|
||
were all discriminatory. The MDHR agreed with Janet on two of the
|
||
three issues. It ruled that the sign and the mandate that Janet
|
||
report to guest relations were violations of the Minnesota Human
|
||
Rights Act. As for the Bumper Cars, the MDHR unfortunately bought
|
||
Valleyfair's argument that the park had legitimate safety
|
||
concerns.
|
||
Then in July of 1990 Curtis Chong and Judy Sanders took
|
||
members of their families to Valleyfair. Even though there were
|
||
four youngsters in the party, Judy, her blind sister, and Curtis
|
||
were the ones treated like children. At the High Roller, a
|
||
standard roller coaster, Curtis attempted to ride the attraction
|
||
with his then twelve-year-old daughter, Tina, and Judy's
|
||
thirteen-year-old nephew, Jason. Tina and Jason wanted to sit in
|
||
the same car, so Curtis volunteered to sit in a separate car. The
|
||
ride operator then informed Tina that Curtis would have to ride
|
||
with one of the kids.
|
||
Speaking directly to the operator, Curtis informed him that
|
||
he should speak directly to Curtis and not to his daughter. The
|
||
operator then explained the park's responsible-adult policy to
|
||
Curtis, who then went to the guest relations booth. There
|
||
officials outlined the policy, and Curtis pointed out that
|
||
neither youngster was an adult. He was told that a responsible
|
||
adult was anyone who could see and stood above four feet tall.
|
||
Through the rest of that visit both Curtis and Judy met the
|
||
same obstacle again and again. Like Janet a year before, Curtis
|
||
and Judy filed charges of discrimination with the MDHR.
|
||
The Metro Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
|
||
Minnesota resolved that the time had come to do something about
|
||
the situation. On September 23, 1990, Russell Anderson, Curtis
|
||
Chong, Ronda Delboccio, Nadine and Steve Jacobson, Janet Lee,
|
||
Judy Sanders, Heidi Sherman, and I decided to visit Valleyfair
|
||
and assess the extent of its discriminatory policy.
|
||
As soon as we arrived, park personnel informed us that we
|
||
must report to guest relations before entering any of the rides.
|
||
We patiently but firmly informed park officials that we had no
|
||
need to stop by the booth because we were all familiar with the
|
||
park and its rides.
|
||
At the first ride, the High Roller, we encountered some
|
||
resistance, but the operator let us ride after checking with
|
||
management. The real trouble began when we attempted to board the
|
||
Cork Screw, a fast roller coaster which does several upside-down
|
||
loops and twisting turns. Like the rest of the crowd, we waited
|
||
our turn in line and finally arrived at the boarding area. There
|
||
a park official, identifying himself as a manager, told us that
|
||
we could not ride together. "Each blind person must be
|
||
accompanied by a responsible adult," said the manager. We
|
||
informed him that we were responsible and there was no doubt that
|
||
we had all reached the age of majority. But of course, according
|
||
to him, "responsible adult" meant anyone who could see and stood
|
||
over four feet tall.
|
||
Despite the manager's commands, we did not relinquish our
|
||
places in line. By this time several managers had come on the
|
||
scene, and when they went off to huddle, we decided to board the
|
||
ride and wait for it to start. When they returned, they loudly
|
||
informed us that we must leave the cars immediately. We refused
|
||
to do so. By this time the people in line became involved in the
|
||
stand-off. The vast majority sided with our position, beginning
|
||
to chant, "Let them go, let them go."
|
||
After a forty-minute delay the managers capitulated and
|
||
permitted us to ride. They insisted, however, on describing the
|
||
ride to us in excruciating and technical detail to prepare us for
|
||
the experience. The description was absolutely meaningless,
|
||
filled as it was with references to an eighty-foot-long chain
|
||
link drive, double-helix loops, etc.
|
||
After we left the Cork Screw, our group divided up and went
|
||
to a number of different rides, but no matter where we went, a
|
||
small herd of Valleyfair managers followed. At each ride we were
|
||
told that we could not ride with each other and that we must be
|
||
accompanied by a responsible adult. At each such occasion we
|
||
refused to follow the policy, and at each ride the managers
|
||
finally caved in and allowed us to enjoy the attraction. At some
|
||
rides Valleyfair officials inveigled strangers into riding with
|
||
us so that "those blind people wouldn't ride alone." Because of
|
||
Valleyfair's constant harassment, we were able to go on only four
|
||
rides during the entire evening.
|
||
After such an experience we were all determined to stand up
|
||
for our rights. Within several days we filed charges of
|
||
discrimination with the MDHR against Valleyfair. That is when the
|
||
legal nightmare began in earnest.
|
||
To its credit, the MDHR conducted its initial investigation
|
||
rather quickly. Valleyfair immediately responded to our charges
|
||
by again trotting out the safety argument. Mr. Roy A. Ginsburg of
|
||
the prominent Minneapolis law firm of Dorsey and Whitney
|
||
represented Valleyfair, demonstrating thorough mastery of
|
||
Valleyfair's condescending and negative attitudes about blind
|
||
people. He claimed that we needed a responsible adult to tell us
|
||
about the environment at the park. For example, this adult could
|
||
tell us about each ride and its twists and turns. Through this
|
||
description we could then understand its dynamics and thereby
|
||
maintain our postural control. The responsible adult could also
|
||
assist us to "board and deboard" each ride. Without these
|
||
precautions Valleyfair believed that our safety was in jeopardy,
|
||
or so Mr. Ginsburg told the world.
|
||
Here is an excerpt from Mr. Ginsburg's written response to
|
||
our charges:
|
||
|
||
In regards to Mr. Chong's objection to the fact
|
||
that he was not allowed to ride the High Roller without
|
||
another person, Valleyfair firmly denies Mr. Chong's
|
||
claim that this requirement was discriminatory. In
|
||
order to ensure the safety of its guests, Valleyfair
|
||
has compiled an analysis on the characteristics of each
|
||
ride at the Park as well as the nature of various
|
||
disabilities. . . . As indicated on the High Roller
|
||
criteria list, experts evaluating that ride have
|
||
advised Valleyfair that a blind individual should not
|
||
ride the High Roller alone. This recommendation was
|
||
made based on safety considerations. Given this
|
||
recommendation, Valleyfair had two options: to not
|
||
allow blind individuals to use the ride or to require
|
||
that blind persons be accompanied by another
|
||
individual. Valleyfair believes the latter alternative
|
||
to be the more preferable.
|
||
In this charge Mr. Chong points out that the
|
||
Valleyfair policy indicates that on certain rides blind
|
||
guests are to "be accompanied by a responsible adult."
|
||
....Apparently Mr. Chong did not understand how his
|
||
twelve-year-old daughter qualified. The Valleyfair
|
||
policy, however, clarifies this issue:
|
||
"For the purpose of our Ride Admission Policy, a
|
||
responsible adult is defined as someone taller than the
|
||
post requirement (four feet) who can assist the
|
||
accompanied person in boarding or deboarding and
|
||
maintaining his postural control under the dynamic
|
||
conditions of the ride.
|
||
....Again, the purpose of Valleyfair's ride policy
|
||
is evident--ensuring the safety of its patrons. This is
|
||
not a discriminatory policy...."
|
||
|
||
There you have it. That was the way Valleyfair answered
|
||
every charge of discrimination brought against it. To this day
|
||
Valleyfair claims that its policies were always meant to ensure
|
||
the safety of its blind guests.
|
||
But the truth is that Valleyfair's claims of safety did not
|
||
hold water. Every time we challenged their policy, park officials
|
||
eventually allowed us to ride. If it had truly been a matter of
|
||
safety, why did they eventually permit us to enjoy the rides in
|
||
violation of their policy? Did Valleyfair consider our lives less
|
||
valuable because we had the gall to challenge their policy?
|
||
Valleyfair's safety claim is further undermined when one
|
||
considers the following incident: after our forty-minute delay at
|
||
the Cork Screw, one of the managers asked whether it should be
|
||
tested before allowing us to ride. Apparently it is the park's
|
||
policy to test run the ride after it has been down for any length
|
||
of time. Curtis Chong overheard the manager in charge say, "Let
|
||
'em go" in derisive imitation of the crowd's chant in support of
|
||
our position.
|
||
I do not mean to imply that Valleyfair is an unsafe
|
||
amusement park. It has always had a reputation for safety and
|
||
quality. Overall, I am certain that Valleyfair does indeed care
|
||
about the safety of its guests, but its management unfortunately
|
||
has bought into the tired old stereotype that the blind are in
|
||
fact a greater safety risk. Valleyfair's misconceptions about
|
||
blindness ran so deep that it would take years of litigation to
|
||
resolve the matter.
|
||
During the winter the MDHR conducted its investigation, and
|
||
in June of 1991 it found that there was probable cause that
|
||
Valleyfair had discriminated against the charging parties. After
|
||
making that determination, it attempted to settle the matter
|
||
between the parties. Initially Valleyfair refused to alter its
|
||
policy, and as a result the MDHR referred the matter to the
|
||
Minnesota Attorney General's office for further legal action.
|
||
At this stage our case became lost in the bureaucratic maze.
|
||
But we continued to pressure the Attorney General, and finally
|
||
the case landed in the hands of Erica Jacobson, Assistant
|
||
Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. Often, when we bring
|
||
cases before bodies like the MDHR, we have to educate those who
|
||
are charged with protecting our rights about blindness. Sometimes
|
||
these officials never come to understand blindness and
|
||
consequently do a poor job of representing our position. I am
|
||
happy to say that this was not the case with Ms. Jacobson. She
|
||
came to understand blindness and recognize that Valleyfair's
|
||
safety arguments were a sham. She competently and zealously
|
||
advocated for our rights.
|
||
Throughout the Summer of 1992 Ms. Jacobson and Mr. Ginsburg
|
||
exchanged correspondence, and Valleyfair clung to its
|
||
discriminatory policy. In the fall of 1992 Mr. Ginsburg wrote a
|
||
fifteen-page letter to Ms. Jacobson explaining the reasons why
|
||
the Valleyfair policy was merely a safety precaution. He
|
||
described almost every ride in detail and explained how difficult
|
||
it would be for a blind person to negotiate the park
|
||
independently. Mr. Ginsburg put forward the astonishingly ill-
|
||
informed notion that blind people would not be aware of their
|
||
surroundings unless a responsible adult was on hand to shepherd
|
||
them around the park. He clearly subscribed to the misconception
|
||
that blind people are completely oblivious to their surroundings.
|
||
Mr. Ginsburg also apparently believed that our blindness
|
||
prevented us from understanding the nature of the rides at
|
||
Valleyfair. Therefore he felt compelled to explain to us the
|
||
exact nature of each ride. Here are his actual words: "Many of
|
||
the rides at Valleyfair, like all amusement parks, put the rider
|
||
into very unusual positions. Some rides spin and spin and spin,
|
||
some turn the rider completely upside down, some move with great
|
||
speed and require the rider to brace him or herself, and some get
|
||
the rider completely wet." My response to this startling
|
||
revelation is, "Ho-hum." I can't speak for the rest of humanity;
|
||
but when I go to an amusement park, I fully expect "to spin and
|
||
spin and spin," "turn completely upside down," "move at great
|
||
speed," and even sometimes "get completely wet."
|
||
As you can see, in the fall of 1992 we still had a long way
|
||
to go. In November we had a settlement conference with
|
||
Valleyfair. Phyllis Reha, an administrative law judge
|
||
specializing in mediation, conducted the settlement talks. At
|
||
this conference Valleyfair reiterated its safety concerns. They
|
||
also acknowledged that a Curtis Chong or a Scott LaBarre might
|
||
not have any difficulty negotiating the park, but that the
|
||
average blind person would face great difficulties. Valleyfair
|
||
also claimed that the NFB was a small and elite group of blind
|
||
people which did not truly represent the views of the blind.
|
||
Despite these initial difficulties Valleyfair agreed to drop its
|
||
special ride-admission policy for blind people, and we agreed
|
||
that, if they actually did so, we would help park officials
|
||
develop a method for effectively and non-intrusively informing
|
||
blind guests about park attractions. Valleyfair further promised
|
||
to resolve the matter during the winter, before the park opened
|
||
again in the spring of 1993.
|
||
The snow fell; Christmas came and went; the lakes froze;
|
||
and, before we knew it, it was spring time in Minnesota, and
|
||
Valleyfair had still not changed its policy. As a result the
|
||
Minnesota Attorney General's Office filed a formal complaint
|
||
against Valleyfair in May of 1993 on behalf of the State of
|
||
Minnesota, charging the park with discrimination based on
|
||
disability. Valleyfair responded predictably by denying all the
|
||
charges, and the matter seemed headed for a full legal showdown.
|
||
In August Valleyfair filed a motion with Administrative Law
|
||
Judge Peter C. Erickson requesting that the case be dismissed on
|
||
the grounds that it had changed its policy and that the new
|
||
policy was no longer discriminatory. True, Valleyfair did in fact
|
||
offer a new policy, but it was as discriminatory as the old one.
|
||
Although the new policy said that blind people could ride
|
||
alone, it mandated that a sighted adult must assist them on and
|
||
off each ride. Valleyfair also said that its personnel did not
|
||
have the time and could not assume the liability for helping
|
||
blind people on and off the rides. In effect, Valleyfair's new
|
||
policy would have required any blind person visiting the park to
|
||
have a sighted adult along to help him or her on and off each
|
||
attraction. We filed a counter motion stating that Valleyfair's
|
||
policy was in fact still discriminatory. In early October Judge
|
||
Erickson held a hearing and denied Valleyfair's motion. He also
|
||
ordered the parties to go back to the bargaining table, so we
|
||
did.
|
||
When we started negotiating again, Valleyfair said that it
|
||
would drop any special ride restriction policies pertaining to
|
||
the blind. A few days after the negotiating session, however, we
|
||
received settlement language which greatly disturbed us. Even
|
||
though Valleyfair had agreed to drop its ride restriction policy,
|
||
it reserved the right to adopt a new policy if there were a
|
||
material change in circumstance. They still had not gotten the
|
||
message. Valleyfair still believed that blind people were a
|
||
greater safety risk than its other guests. Here is what their
|
||
proposed settlement language said: "In the event that the ride
|
||
admission policy changes set forth above lead directly or
|
||
indirectly to a serious accident involving a blind or sighted
|
||
patron, Valleyfair reserves the right to modify further the ride
|
||
admission policy to reduce potential risk of injury to other
|
||
patrons and or to preserve its insurance coverage." Based on this
|
||
language, we had no desire to sign a settlement agreement which
|
||
boldly proclaimed that the blind were indeed a greater safety
|
||
risk.
|
||
While these negotiations were going on, I flew back to
|
||
Minnesota for my deposition in preparation for the coming
|
||
hearing. Valleyfair's attorney deposed me for well over five
|
||
hours, and its strategy became clear. Over and over Mr. Ginsburg
|
||
tried to demonstrate that I was exceptional and not an ordinary
|
||
blind person. He also asked me several dozen questions about the
|
||
NFB and the organization's structure. He tried to paint us as a
|
||
radical and militant organization which did not reflect the views
|
||
of the blind. Mr. Ginsburg also asked me whether I had ever been
|
||
injured because of my blindness.
|
||
I assured Mr. Ginsburg that blindness was not a tragedy and
|
||
that it certainly did not affect our ability to enjoy amusement
|
||
parks. I told him that blind people have visited amusement parks
|
||
for decades without difficulty or harassment. For example, two
|
||
other blind staff members and I took several blind teenagers to a
|
||
large amusement park in Denver as part of the Colorado Center for
|
||
the Blind's summer program for blind high school students. The
|
||
only problem we faced on that trip was sunburn. Finally Mr.
|
||
Ginsburg concluded the deposition by asking me if I thought that
|
||
Valleyfair should be concerned with safety.
|
||
Question: "You do acknowledge, Mr. LaBarre, that Valleyfair
|
||
or any other amusement park has a legitimate interest in the
|
||
safety of its patrons, sighted and blind alike?
|
||
Answer: "If an amusement park does not have a legitimate
|
||
interest in the safety of its guests, then that amusement park
|
||
ought not to be in operation. So I guess I agree with you on
|
||
that."
|
||
Winter came again, and we had still not settled the case.
|
||
Valleyfair still insisted on reserving the right to change its
|
||
policy if there were material changes in circumstances. So in
|
||
January we had another meeting with Judge Erickson and actually
|
||
set a date for a formal hearing. Through the next several weeks
|
||
negotiations continued. Slowly and painfully we seemed to be
|
||
inching towards a settlement.
|
||
Finally, in March of 1994 the parties struck an agreement.
|
||
Valleyfair relinquished its insistence that it have the right to
|
||
change its policy on a whim under any circumstances. To allow
|
||
Valleyfair to pontificate about safety, we agreed that the park
|
||
could change its ride admission policies based on safety concerns
|
||
as long as such modifications were not based on blindness in any
|
||
form. Here are some of the key provisions of the agreement:
|
||
|
||
(E) Nothing in this agreement shall be construed
|
||
to prevent Valleyfair from taking additional safety
|
||
precautions for all patrons (blind and sighted alike)
|
||
with respect to any ride at any time, regardless of
|
||
whether the Office of Administrative Hearings has first
|
||
evaluated the situation;
|
||
|
||
Modification of Valleyfair's Ride Admission Policy
|
||
|
||
(F) During 1989 through 1992, Valleyfair required
|
||
blind individuals to be accompanied on Valleyfair's
|
||
rides by a sighted individual (Valleyfair's "1989-1992
|
||
Ride Admission Policy");
|
||
(G) After its 1992 season Valleyfair voluntarily
|
||
changed its 1989-1992 Ride Admission Policy;
|
||
(H) During its 1993 season Valleyfair did not
|
||
require blind individuals to be accompanied on
|
||
Valleyfair's rides by a sighted individual (except with
|
||
respect to the three rides covered by Valleyfair's
|
||
"Ride-Along Policy") but did require blind individuals
|
||
to be accompanied by sighted individuals at the
|
||
boarding area of a ride to explain ride dynamics and
|
||
provide boarding and de-boarding assistance
|
||
(Valleyfair's "1993 Ride Admission Policy");
|
||
(I) Valleyfair agrees to discontinue its "1993
|
||
Ride Admission Policy" and to allow blind individuals
|
||
to ride all rides (except the three rides covered by
|
||
Valleyfair's "Ride-Along Policy") without being
|
||
accompanied by a sighted individual, either on the
|
||
rides or at the boarding area;
|
||
(J) Valleyfair agrees not to reinstitute or
|
||
reestablish its "1989-1992 Ride Admission Policy" or
|
||
its "1993 Ride Admission Policy";
|
||
(K) Valleyfair agrees not to establish any new
|
||
policy which restricts the opportunity of blind persons
|
||
to ride Valleyfair's rides or otherwise use the
|
||
amusement park on the same terms and conditions as
|
||
sighted persons, and Valleyfair further agrees not to
|
||
establish any new policy which implies that blind or
|
||
visually impaired persons are less capable than sighted
|
||
persons of taking care of themselves and safely using
|
||
the park;
|
||
(L) Valleyfair has suggested that material changes
|
||
in circumstances may require re-examination and/or
|
||
modification of some of the provisions in this
|
||
agreement. To deal with such a possibility, the parties
|
||
agree to the following dispute resolution procedures:
|
||
If Valleyfair believes that material changes in
|
||
circumstances require re-examination and/or
|
||
modification of this agreement, Valleyfair will pursue
|
||
one or more of the following options: a) Valleyfair
|
||
will contact the MDHR and attempt to reach an informal
|
||
resolution of the issue; and/or b) Valleyfair will
|
||
submit the issue to the Office of Administrative
|
||
Hearings for non-binding mediation; and/or c)
|
||
Valleyfair will submit the issue to the Office of
|
||
Administrative Hearings (Judge Erickson or his
|
||
designee) for resolution as a contested case
|
||
proceeding. In such a contested case proceeding,
|
||
Valleyfair would bear the burden of proving (1) that
|
||
material changes in circumstances occurred, (2) that
|
||
those changes require modification of the agreement,
|
||
and (3) that the modification proposed by Valleyfair
|
||
complies with the Minnesota Human Rights Act;
|
||
If Valleyfair pursues one or more of the three
|
||
options discussed above, each party shall bear its own
|
||
costs and attorneys' fees. Valleyfair shall pay any
|
||
costs of the Office of Administrative Hearings, except
|
||
as follows. If the administrative law judge decides in
|
||
a contested case proceeding that material changes in
|
||
circumstances occurred and that those changes require
|
||
modification of the agreement, any costs of the Office
|
||
of Administrative Hearings shall be divided equally by
|
||
Valleyfair and the MDHR;
|
||
If Valleyfair believes it is necessary to suspend
|
||
one or more provisions of this agreement while the
|
||
provision is being re-examined, Valleyfair shall
|
||
contact the Office of Administrative Hearings (Judge
|
||
Erickson or his designee) in writing requesting
|
||
suspension of one or more specific provisions of the
|
||
agreement and fax a copy of the request to the attorney
|
||
for the MDHR. In any request for suspension Valleyfair
|
||
shall bear the burden of establishing that it is likely
|
||
to succeed in proving (1) material changes in
|
||
circumstances occurred, (2) those changes require
|
||
suspension of the provision(s) Valleyfair has requested
|
||
be suspended, and (3) the suspension proposed by
|
||
Valleyfair complies with the Minnesota Human Rights
|
||
Act. If Valleyfair satisfies this burden of proof,
|
||
Judge Erickson or his designee may enter an ex parte
|
||
order, which will remain in effect only until the
|
||
administrative law judge hears from the MDHR, and/or a
|
||
temporary order, which will remain in effect while the
|
||
parties attempt to resolve the dispute through one or
|
||
more of the three mechanisms described above.
|
||
Valleyfair will be solely responsible for all its own
|
||
costs, attorneys' fees, and for the costs of the Office
|
||
of Administrative Hearings associated with its request
|
||
for suspension. Judge Erickson's preliminary
|
||
determination, either suspending or maintaining the
|
||
provision in dispute, shall not be considered by any
|
||
mediator, Judge Erickson, or his designee when the
|
||
agreement is re-examined in either a mediation or
|
||
contested case context;
|
||
The parties agree that they will attempt to
|
||
resolve any disputed issue expeditiously and in good
|
||
faith.
|
||
|
||
There you have the actual language of the agreement, and it
|
||
is clearly a victory for the blind. Valleyfair has recognized
|
||
that it must treat blind patrons on the same terms and apply the
|
||
same conditions as it does with its sighted guests. The only
|
||
negative part of the agreement is that it did not encompass three
|
||
rides at Valleyfair: the bumper cars, the antique cars, and the
|
||
go-carts. Unfortunately, when the complaint was filed by the
|
||
Attorney General's office, it did not include those rides because
|
||
they had not been part of the complaints we filed as a result of
|
||
our visit in September of 1990. The agreement does, however, make
|
||
clear that, if we choose, we can challenge this minor restriction
|
||
in the future.
|
||
In all other ways the agreement is much more specific and
|
||
thorough than any order which we would have received from Judge
|
||
Erickson in a hearing, even if we had won the case.
|
||
In an interview with the Braille Monitor, Erica Jacobson,
|
||
the Assistant Attorney General who was assigned to work with us,
|
||
said, "I think that it is a wonderful settlement. If the case had
|
||
been litigated, the judge's order would have focused only on
|
||
whether present and past policies were discriminatory. The
|
||
settlement agreement goes far beyond that. Valleyfair cannot
|
||
develop any future policies which may be discriminatory toward
|
||
the blind. Furthermore, if Valleyfair does want to modify its
|
||
policies with regard to the blind in any way, it must prove both
|
||
that the modification is necessary and that it would not violate
|
||
the Minnesota Human Rights Act. At every step Valleyfair has the
|
||
burden of proof."
|
||
The agreement also contains language about the way in which
|
||
Valleyfair can inform its blind guests about the park. We agreed
|
||
that Valleyfair could pass out to blind guests pamphlets in
|
||
Braille or large print or cassette with information about the
|
||
park, as long as it did not use language that singled out the
|
||
blind for special treatment. In fact, the agreement says:
|
||
|
||
Acquiring Information about Valleyfair's Rides
|
||
|
||
(T) Notwithstanding Valleyfair's decision to
|
||
modify its "1993 Ride Admission Policy," Valleyfair
|
||
continues to believe strongly that patrons, blind and
|
||
sighted alike, who are unfamiliar with Valleyfair's
|
||
rides and who, for whatever reason, may not fully
|
||
appreciate the ride dynamics and/or the risks attendant
|
||
with the rides, should seek information from
|
||
Valleyfair's management, ride operators, and/or other
|
||
employees, as well as the patrons' companions;
|
||
(U) To facilitate the ability of Valleyfair's
|
||
patrons to obtain information about Valleyfair's rides
|
||
and to encourage those unfamiliar with Valleyfair to
|
||
acquire the knowledge to enable patrons to understand
|
||
both the ride dynamics and the risks associated with
|
||
the rides, Valleyfair will erect signage at the park's
|
||
entrance and/or at the ticket booth, notifying those
|
||
unfamiliar with Valleyfair that they may obtain
|
||
information, if they wish to do so, by visiting the
|
||
Guest Relations Booth; in addition, Valleyfair will
|
||
distribute cards, printed in Braille, to blind patrons
|
||
of the park when those individuals enter the park; the
|
||
signage and the cards will contain identical wording
|
||
and will not single out blind or visually impaired
|
||
persons for different treatment;
|
||
(V) In addition to providing the information to
|
||
patrons at the front entrance of the park, Valleyfair
|
||
will have available in its Guest Relations Booth more
|
||
extensive information regarding the rides, ride
|
||
dynamics, and ride risks; this information will be
|
||
available in a pamphlet, prepared both in print and in
|
||
Braille, and in an audio form; the information
|
||
contained in the printed and Braille pamphlets and
|
||
audio will be identical; except when discussing
|
||
Valleyfair's "Ride-Along Policy," the information
|
||
available at Valleyfair's Guest Relations Booth will
|
||
not use the words "blind" or "visually impaired" and
|
||
will recognize that blind persons may safely ride
|
||
Valleyfair's rides and enjoy the park on the same basis
|
||
and terms as sighted persons;
|
||
(W) Nothing contained in the subparagraphs above
|
||
is intended to suggest or imply that virtually all of
|
||
Valleyfair's patrons, including its blind patrons, are
|
||
not fully able to appreciate and assume the risks
|
||
associated with any particular ride. The MDHR and the
|
||
charging parties represent that blind persons have
|
||
visited amusement parks in the past without special
|
||
restrictions and have safely enjoyed rides on the same
|
||
terms and conditions as sighted persons. The parties
|
||
recognize that amusement parks have risks for all
|
||
patrons (both sighted and blind) and that individuals
|
||
who visit amusement parks must and do recognize and
|
||
assume certain risks. The parties further agree that
|
||
blind persons who visit Valleyfair are capable of
|
||
obtaining necessary information and safely enjoying the
|
||
park.
|
||
|
||
That was the exact language. On March 24, 1994, the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind and the Minnesota Attorney General's
|
||
Office issued press releases about the settlement. They generated
|
||
several statewide stories on Radio and TV and in newspapers.
|
||
So the roller coaster ride with Valleyfair has finally
|
||
ended. The park has now publicly acknowledged that blind people
|
||
are first-class citizens and deserve to be treated as such.
|
||
Throughout this battle many people have asked me why we have
|
||
expended so much effort on a case about an amusement park when
|
||
serious issues like illiteracy among blind children and
|
||
employment discrimination need to be addressed. My answer is
|
||
simply this: whenever blind people are treated like children and
|
||
told that we must have responsible adults accompany us
|
||
everywhere; whenever we are told that normal, everyday
|
||
surroundings are too dangerous for us; whenever we are told that
|
||
we are inherent safety risks, we must respond quickly and firmly.
|
||
When the Valleyfair case began, we did not imagine that it would
|
||
take five years to resolve, but we determined to keep on battling
|
||
until we secured a victory. There is only one reason why the
|
||
blind are now free to visit Valleyfair on the same terms and
|
||
conditions as the sighted. That reason is, of course, the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Eric Duffy]
|
||
|
||
THE BLIND OF OHIO WIN THE RIGHT TO RIDE
|
||
by Eric Duffy
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: Like Federationists in Minnesota, those in
|
||
Ohio have been struggling to teach management personnel at
|
||
amusement parks that blind people are no more or less likely than
|
||
others who frequent their establishments to be hurt or frightened
|
||
by their rides. Some of us don't like being turned upside-down
|
||
and thrown around at high speeds, and others love the sensations.
|
||
Those in the first category (blind and sighted alike) stick to
|
||
the self-propelled boats, people-movers, and benches. The others
|
||
delight in excitement and gravitate to the surprise and
|
||
stimulation of the rides--the wilder, the better.
|
||
For years--certainly all the time I was growing up and
|
||
worrying my stay-on-the-ground mother at amusement parks--blind
|
||
people were assumed to be the appropriate judges of their own
|
||
limitations. When snugly fitting lap-bars would not engage
|
||
because of my white cane, I gave it to the attendant with the
|
||
understanding that it would be returned as soon as my car pulled
|
||
into the station again or my gondola landed. Years later, when I
|
||
led my young children onto spinning rides and swings that sailed
|
||
through the heavens, no one talked about who was supervising
|
||
whom. It was all as it should have been, and no one got hurt or
|
||
was demeaned by the experience.
|
||
But no more! Amusement parks like the airlines have
|
||
discovered the disabled; and, knowing nothing about the field,
|
||
they have devised safety measures that are compatible with
|
||
nothing but their own misunderstanding of the situation. Not
|
||
surprisingly, the result has been a flurry of cases in which
|
||
blind people have objected to being treated like children or
|
||
incompetents. We are pleased to report that in two of these (see
|
||
the preceding article) the blind Federationists involved have
|
||
successfully argued their position.
|
||
Eric Duffy is one of the leaders of the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind of Ohio. At the time of his clash with the Amusement
|
||
Corporation of America, he was President of the Capital Chapter
|
||
of the NFB of Ohio and First Vice President of the affiliate.
|
||
Here is his story as he told it in the Spring, 1994, edition of
|
||
the Buckeye Bulletin, the publication of the NFB of Ohio:
|
||
|
||
It was a hot August night, and Garth Brooks was the main
|
||
attraction at the 1991 Ohio State Fair. Carol Akers, a new member
|
||
of our Parents Division, was hoping to see Garth on her birthday,
|
||
and she brought her daughter Tiffany to share in the excitement.
|
||
I met them at the fairgrounds after work. Tiffany and I were
|
||
going to get our fill of amusement rides before the concert
|
||
began. We knew that the show was sold out; however, we planned to
|
||
catch it on the giant screen just outside the Celeste Center. We
|
||
knew without a doubt that we would not get into the building. We
|
||
were prepared for that, but we were not prepared for what
|
||
occurred during the rest of that evening.
|
||
Tiffany and I enjoyed several rides without incident. We
|
||
then found Carol and made our way to the giant screen. Much to
|
||
our surprise, we discovered that the concert would not be
|
||
broadcast. Making our way toward another ride, Tiffany and I
|
||
agreed that it was really too bad. What else could we do? We
|
||
couldn't see the concert, and we didn't want Tiffany to have come
|
||
all the way from Shelby only to ride a few rides and then go
|
||
home. So we thought we had better get some more rides in. As it
|
||
turned out, we should have quit while we were ahead.
|
||
We got in line for the Rainbow Ride. Like everyone else in
|
||
the line, we patiently waited for our turn to board. When we
|
||
arrived on the platform, I heard a man say: "He can't ride this
|
||
ride. Miss, he can't ride this ride." Assuming that I was the
|
||
"he" in question, I said that I could ride and that it would not
|
||
be a problem. The only response was once again, "Miss, he can't
|
||
ride this ride." I inquired why and did not receive an answer.
|
||
The ride operator simply refused to talk to me. At that point I
|
||
knew that I had two choices. I could stand on the platform at the
|
||
top of the stairs and perhaps shut the ride down for a time, or I
|
||
could walk away and pursue other means of resolving the problem.
|
||
The one thing I could not do was to walk away, ignoring the
|
||
insult and pretend the injustice had never occurred. I decided to
|
||
leave the Rainbow Ride without ever boarding it. But the
|
||
confrontation was only beginning.
|
||
Though it was well after midnight when I unlocked the door
|
||
to my house, I immediately began calling the press. I told them
|
||
about the disgraceful incident which had just taken place at our
|
||
State Fair. I said that I thought the fair should be something
|
||
the citizens of Ohio could take pride in and that most people
|
||
would be shocked to learn that I had been refused access to a
|
||
ride solely because I was blind. The story got good coverage in
|
||
the Columbus area. But as we might have expected, even those who
|
||
should have known better wondered if I had gone to the fair
|
||
knowing that this incident might happen. Of course, I did not.
|
||
Had I been looking for trouble, I would have chosen a night other
|
||
than Carol Akers's birthday. If I had planned to call attention
|
||
to the kind of discrimination practiced by this carnival owner, I
|
||
would have chosen someone a little older than Tiffany to help me
|
||
wage the fight. Be that as it may, life goes on, and we fight the
|
||
battles we are handed.
|
||
The next day I contacted the Ohio Expositions Commission to
|
||
determine who was responsible for the rides at the fair. The
|
||
Commission referred me to Marilyn Link of the Amusement
|
||
Corporation of America. I talked to Ms. Link by telephone. After
|
||
hearing my account of what had happened the previous evening, Ms.
|
||
Link began to defend the action of her employee. She told me that
|
||
the ride operator was simply enforcing company policy. I asked
|
||
her to tell me what the policy was. She said that the company
|
||
could not allow pregnant women, children below a certain height,
|
||
and disabled persons to ride the spectacular rides. I asked her
|
||
how this policy applied to me as a blind person, and she said
|
||
that I would not be permitted to ride certain rides or--believe
|
||
it or not--to walk through dark places such as the fun house.
|
||
When questioned about the origin of this policy, Ms. Link said
|
||
that her insurance company was responsible for the policy.
|
||
When asked for a copy of the letter stipulating this policy
|
||
from her insurance company, Ms. Link very willingly provided it.
|
||
The letter speaks for itself. Here it is:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
August 5, 1991
|
||
Ms. Marilyn Link
|
||
Amusement Corporation of America
|
||
Freemont, Ohio
|
||
|
||
Dear Marilyn:
|
||
|
||
Because your Insurance Carrier, this Insurance Agency, and
|
||
your good family-owned carnival have safety as our primary
|
||
concern, we urge you to instruct your staff to prohibit wherever
|
||
possible: admissions of pregnant women, children below
|
||
acceptable height standards, and disabled persons whose handicaps
|
||
would endanger their well being to ride some of the spectacular
|
||
rides such as the Zyclon, Roundup, Spider, Tilt, and Pirate Ship,
|
||
and "dark walk-throughs" such as the Castle.
|
||
The Ride Admission Policy was developed using industry
|
||
knowledge and the American Society for Testing and Materials
|
||
Standards on Amusement Rides and Devices. Patrons having
|
||
characteristics described above have had an extremely high
|
||
frequency of mishaps totally out of the norm. Therefore, our
|
||
mutual concern for their well being motivates this strict
|
||
adherence. We will appreciate your cooperation and understanding
|
||
in the event we have to restrict access to particular amusement
|
||
devices. Safety must come first.
|
||
Your show is one of the safest in the country, and that
|
||
record can only be achieved by your diligence.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Mitchell H. Kaliff
|
||
|
||
Once it was clear that I was not going to make any progress
|
||
by talking with Ms. Link or Fair officials, I contacted the Ohio
|
||
Civil Rights Commission. My initial contact with this agency was
|
||
rather discouraging. The person doing the intake said that I had
|
||
to understand that the company did have to be concerned about
|
||
safety. When it was apparent that I was not about to be
|
||
dissuaded, the Commission employee then scheduled a time for me
|
||
to come in to file a charge. Although I was calling in August, my
|
||
appointment was not scheduled until October. On October 8, 1991,
|
||
I arrived at the Commission to file a charge of discrimination
|
||
against the Amusement Corporation of America. It wasn't until
|
||
January of 1992 that I heard from the Commission again, but the
|
||
results were worth the delay. The Commission ruled that there was
|
||
probable cause for discrimination on the part of Amusement
|
||
Corporation of America.
|
||
Later the Commission began conciliation efforts. The company
|
||
made a written offer to allow me to ride any of its spectacular
|
||
rides, provided that I was accompanied by a sighted person. I
|
||
refused that offer because it perpetuated the notion that
|
||
independent blind adults require the supervision of a sighted
|
||
person in order to be safe. The Commission then asked me if I
|
||
would accept an offer that would allow me to ride all rides after
|
||
signing a waiver saying that the company would not be held liable
|
||
in the event of an accident. I told them that I would be happy to
|
||
sign such a waiver provided that everyone else attending the fair
|
||
was also required to sign one. After these conciliatory efforts
|
||
failed, a hearing in this matter was ordered and eventually took
|
||
place on March 5, 1993.
|
||
Needless to say, a great deal of time had passed between
|
||
August of 1991 and March of 1993. Several things kept me strong
|
||
during this time. The first, of course, was the support of this
|
||
affiliate and our President, Barbara Pierce. The second thing was
|
||
the knowledge that Joyce Scanlan, Curtis Chong, and others were
|
||
dealing with a similar situation in Minnesota. Finally, I knew
|
||
that what I did would affect the blind of Ohio and perhaps the
|
||
nation for many years to come. An important precedent could be
|
||
set with this case. With some persistence on my part, the help of
|
||
the Federation, and a good dollop of luck it would be one that we
|
||
could all be proud of.
|
||
I was fortunate to have a competent Assistant Attorney
|
||
General arguing my case. With the assistance of the Federation,
|
||
Duffy Jamieson wrote a sensible, closely reasoned argument. What
|
||
follow are portions of his post-hearing brief:
|
||
|
||
Another safety concern raised by the respondent
|
||
was that a person who is blind cannot safely ingress
|
||
and egress the Rainbow Ride, but respondent's concern
|
||
was not credible. On cross-examination Mr. Link even
|
||
admitted, "I had far more concern before today than I
|
||
did after the explanation of how they do that [use a
|
||
white cane]." Mr. Link, after a little education by
|
||
Barbara Pierce, President of the Ohio Chapter of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind, began to realize that
|
||
he did not know the abilities of blind people. Mr. Link
|
||
also controverted himself by saying that a person who
|
||
is blind could not ride the Rainbow Ride but could ride
|
||
the Pirate ride, a ride manufactured by the same
|
||
corporation as the Rainbow Ride. Yet the Pirate ride
|
||
has the same kind of platform and steps as the Rainbow
|
||
Ride. Mr. Link felt that a blind person would be more
|
||
likely to trip in a large crowd when negotiating the
|
||
line and steps going to and from the ride. Naturally,
|
||
respondent has no evidence to support this allegation.
|
||
This is merely an ignorant assertion made by him which
|
||
perpetuates the stereotypes about the abilities of
|
||
blind people. [Mr. Jamieson, you speak our language.]
|
||
If this was a genuine concern, why doesn't respondent
|
||
deny admittance to other individuals similarly situated
|
||
such as the elderly?
|
||
|
||
In a footnote Mr. Jamieson says: "The term common sense was
|
||
used as a justification by respondent for denying blind
|
||
individuals the opportunity to ride the Rainbow Ride. Lacking the
|
||
sense of sight is far from common, and the abilities of people
|
||
who are blind are certainly not within the common understanding
|
||
of sighted people."
|
||
After this small sample of my attorney's written argument to
|
||
the Commission and knowing that Barbara Pierce appeared as an
|
||
expert witness testifying about the abilities of the blind, it is
|
||
easy to see why the hearing examiner recommended that the
|
||
Commission issue a cease-and-desist order: "Requiring respondent
|
||
to provide visually impaired persons access to its Rainbow Ride."
|
||
This hearing examiner's report was signed by Deborah J. Tucker on
|
||
October 29, 1993.
|
||
As might be expected, the respondent objected to Ms.
|
||
Tucker's report. The respondent alleged that as hearing examiner
|
||
she had ignored its safety arguments, but the Commission upheld
|
||
the examiner's report.
|
||
At the time of this writing we cannot be certain whether or
|
||
not the Amusement Corporation of America will pursue this matter
|
||
further. In any event we have scored a clear victory for the
|
||
blind of Ohio and of the nation. I could not have prevailed in
|
||
this case were it not for the National Federation of the Blind.
|
||
This case is another clear example of why the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind and why we must always be ready to defend the rights
|
||
of blind Americans.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: A young Marc Maurer sits between two fenceposts. CAPTION: Marc Maurer
|
||
as a child]
|
||
|
||
KEEPING WITHIN THE LINES
|
||
by Marc Maurer
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The following story by President Maurer
|
||
first appeared in The Journey, the most recent of the NFB's
|
||
paperback books in the Kernel Book Series. It begins with Dr.
|
||
Jernigan's introduction. Here it is:
|
||
|
||
As readers of previous Kernel Books know, Marc Maurer is
|
||
President of the National Federation of the Blind. He is a
|
||
graduate of Notre Dame and the University of Indiana Law School
|
||
and a member of the bar of several states and the United States
|
||
Supreme Court. He is also the father of two young children.
|
||
Braille is an important tool for him--in his career and in his
|
||
home. Here is what he has to say about some of his early
|
||
experiences with Braille:
|
||
The kindergarten in the public school that I attended when I
|
||
was five left me with a feeling of alienation and frustration--
|
||
though I didn't know the words to describe the problem. My
|
||
teacher was a kind and gentle lady, who tried to help me, but I
|
||
presented difficulties which she felt unable to solve. Many of
|
||
the kindergarten activities were done visually. Learning colors,
|
||
drawing, recognizing letters and numbers, naming the geometric
|
||
shapes--all of these were presented visually. Some kindergarten
|
||
tasks could be done quite effectively without sight--counting,
|
||
reciting the alphabet, remembering your own address and telephone
|
||
number, listing in order the days of the week or the months of
|
||
the year. But in the drawing classes I was unable to "keep within
|
||
the lines," and "keeping within the lines" was important.
|
||
I learned the shapes of the print capital letters from the
|
||
building blocks we had, and I came to know the forms of numbers
|
||
in the same way. By the time kindergarten had come to an end, I
|
||
had learned to print my name, M-A-R-C, but I usually got it
|
||
backwards--C-R-A-M. As I viewed it, the experiment with
|
||
kindergarten was only marginally successful. Although it was
|
||
never stated, the lesson of kindergarten was unmistakable--blind
|
||
people are different from others; they require kindness; they
|
||
can't do the ordinary things that other people do; they can't
|
||
keep within the lines.
|
||
My parents decided that I would attend the school for the
|
||
blind even though doing so meant that I would be away from home
|
||
during most of the school year. Of course, I could return home
|
||
for holidays and during some weekends, but the rest of the time I
|
||
would live in a dormitory with my classmates at the school. At
|
||
the age of six I left home. The school for the blind was over a
|
||
hundred miles from our house. It was the beginning of a different
|
||
kind of life.
|
||
Because I was at that time almost totally blind, I was
|
||
expected to learn Braille. We started the learning process with
|
||
flash cards. There was a straight line of Braille dots across the
|
||
top of each card and a single word in the center. I still
|
||
remember the first flash card I ever read; it contained the word
|
||
"go."
|
||
Each of us was given our first reading book--the primer
|
||
about Dick and Jane and Spot. It was the first Braille book I
|
||
ever had in my hands. My book seemed to be about a foot square
|
||
and about a half an inch thick. The teacher told us to open our
|
||
books to page one. My desk was in the first row, about the sixth
|
||
or seventh from the front. The first child in the row was asked
|
||
to read page one. When there were mistakes, the teacher corrected
|
||
them.
|
||
Then the second student was asked to read the same page.
|
||
Again, when there were mistakes, the teacher corrected them. The
|
||
lesson continued in the same manner. Each student in the first
|
||
row was asked to read page one. By the time the teacher got to
|
||
me, my job was clear, and my performance flawless. With my
|
||
fingers on the page, I spoke the words of page one with never an
|
||
error or hesitation. The teacher praised me highly and asked me
|
||
to come to the front of the room. She produced a gold star from
|
||
her desk drawer and pasted it to page one of my book. She told me
|
||
to take my book home and show it to my mother. This is exactly
|
||
what I did. On Friday night after the journey home I proudly
|
||
produced my primer, opened it to page one, and recited the words
|
||
which appeared on the page.
|
||
My mother is a properly suspicious woman. She had learned
|
||
Braille in the years before I attended school because she thought
|
||
it might be helpful to me. She asked me if she could borrow the
|
||
book, and of course I gave it to her. Later during the weekend
|
||
she brought me a page of Braille and asked me to read it. Without
|
||
much concern I confessed that I could not. My mother told me that
|
||
it was an exact copy of page one of my book. I had memorized the
|
||
words, but I was not able to read them.
|
||
During the summer between my first and second grade years,
|
||
my mother took matters in hand. She told me that I must learn to
|
||
read, and she said that she would teach me. For an hour every
|
||
morning I was going to study Braille. I complained. The other
|
||
kids got to go outside to play, but I could not. Nobody else had
|
||
summer school at home--only me. But none of my griping did any
|
||
good. My mother had made up her mind; I was going to learn to
|
||
read.
|
||
When I returned to the school for the blind for second
|
||
grade, I discovered the library of Braille books--that collection
|
||
of sweet-smelling Braille volumes almost a foot square and about
|
||
two and a half inches thick. During the next four years I read
|
||
every book that the librarian would let me have. I developed the
|
||
habit of reading at night. Blindness has some advantages. I
|
||
would slide the book under the bed sometime during the evening.
|
||
Bedtime was 8:00. The house parent made his rounds between 8:30
|
||
and 8:45. I could hear his shoes coming down the hall and then
|
||
receding in the distance. When the footsteps had faded, the book
|
||
came out. No light is needed for Braille. Sometimes it was cold,
|
||
but the Braille book would fit under the covers.
|
||
I tried the same system at home, and it worked most of the
|
||
time. When I got caught, which happened occasionally, my mother
|
||
spanked me. The punishments were fair, but the reading was worth
|
||
it.
|
||
Although I complained bitterly about learning Braille, I am
|
||
deeply grateful to my mother for insisting that I learn it. How
|
||
fortunate I am that she understood the necessity for me to read.
|
||
How fortunate I am that she was persistent and demanding. How
|
||
fortunate I am that she had learned Braille herself and was able
|
||
to teach me.
|
||
Today we in the National Federation of the Blind do much to
|
||
help make Braille available to blind students and to encourage
|
||
the teaching of Braille both to children and adults who are
|
||
blind. But this is not how it has always been. There was a time
|
||
when Braille was regarded as inferior, and all too often today it
|
||
does not get the attention it deserves. Much of my work as a
|
||
lawyer could not have been done without Braille. I now read to my
|
||
children most evenings. They enjoy the stories, and I enjoy the
|
||
reading as much as they do. How different my life would have been
|
||
without the ability to read Braille. How different it can be for
|
||
the children of this generation if we give them the chance to
|
||
learn. The message should not be that blind people are different
|
||
and unable to take part. Even though I might not be able to draw,
|
||
my mother felt certain that I could keep within the lines. We in
|
||
the National Federation of the Blind are doing what we can to
|
||
make it come true.
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: David Andrews]
|
||
|
||
RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRAILLE DOCUMENTATION
|
||
by David Andrews
|
||
|
||
As Monitor readers know, David Andrews is the Director of
|
||
the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind. He
|
||
has definite ideas about the responsibility of vendors of
|
||
technology to provide Braille documentation with the products
|
||
they sell. Here is what he has to say:
|
||
At the second U.S./Canada Conference on Technology for the
|
||
Blind I gave a speech in which, among other things, I talked
|
||
about some of the problems in the access technology field. My
|
||
main objection concerned the unavailability of Braille
|
||
documentation. For a variety of reasons a number of expensive
|
||
Braille-oriented products had been marketed without instruction
|
||
manuals in Braille. Over six months have passed since I wrote
|
||
those remarks, and an update seems in order.
|
||
In January of 1994 the International Braille and Technology
|
||
Center for the Blind ordered two refreshable Braille displays
|
||
from HumanWare of Loomis, California. They were portable and
|
||
desktop models of the Alva Braille Terminal, which is
|
||
manufactured in the Netherlands and imported by HumanWare. The
|
||
value of this purchase was over $15,000.00. The two displays
|
||
arrived in February without Braille manuals. Documentation was
|
||
provided on disk and in print. The Braille manuals finally did
|
||
arrive in late March, at least six months after the products were
|
||
introduced by HumanWare.
|
||
The seriousness of this problem was brought home to me by a
|
||
telephone conversation I have just concluded. It was a 45-minute
|
||
relay call from a deaf-blind person. For this group of users
|
||
Braille documentation is the only alternative. The woman with
|
||
whom I spoke has an Alva product, but it is an older model, for
|
||
which there was a manual. However, if she had purchased one of
|
||
the new models last October, what would she have done--wait six
|
||
months until the Braille manual was ready?
|
||
I do understand that offering a new product is a complex
|
||
undertaking, particularly when importing something from overseas,
|
||
and that things don't always happen in an ideal way. However, it
|
||
also seems to me that a company should not offer a product for
|
||
sale until all the manuals are ready and available.
|
||
I expressed my dissatisfaction to my local HumanWare
|
||
representative and to one of the company's technical support
|
||
personnel. I was assured that I would get one of the Braille
|
||
manuals as soon as they were available, which I did. Someone also
|
||
conveyed my unhappiness to Jim Halliday, the president of
|
||
HumanWare, because I received a letter from him. I also heard
|
||
from a third party that Halliday said this situation was
|
||
inexcusable. He is right; it is. It wouldn't be so bad except
|
||
that I was told independently by two people who attended the
|
||
second U.S./Canada Conference on Technology for the Blind that
|
||
Halliday complained bitterly about my remarks concerning Braille
|
||
documentation, saying that they were unfair. I did not think they
|
||
were unfair then, and I still do not. In my speech I came down
|
||
hard on Baum U.S.A. for taking a year to get out Braille manuals
|
||
for their products. They are currently delaying the introduction
|
||
of a new Braille display, the INKA, until the Braille manual is
|
||
ready. They were also very gracious about my remarks and said at
|
||
the time that they were fair.
|
||
Here is the text of the letter which I received from Jim
|
||
Halliday.
|
||
HumanWare, Inc.
|
||
|
||
March 22, 1994
|
||
|
||
Dear Mr. Andrews:
|
||
|
||
Mr. Ed Smith, HumanWare's representative on the East Coast,
|
||
conveyed to me today your concerns about not receiving braille
|
||
documentation with your recent shipment of two 40-cell ALVA
|
||
Braille Terminals. I apologize for this oversight and have
|
||
directed our shipping department to send the documentation to you
|
||
via Federal Express overnight delivery. Furthermore, I have
|
||
requested that our warehouse be especially cognizant of future
|
||
shipments to ensure all supporting documentation is enclosed in
|
||
the packaging.
|
||
Please be assured that each of us at HumanWare is committed
|
||
to providing the best possible service to the people who use the
|
||
equipment we provide. Your feedback is always welcome, whether
|
||
positive or negative, for we can learn and grow from our mistakes
|
||
as well as our successes. Again, please accept my apologies.
|
||
|
||
Warm regards,
|
||
Jim Halliday, President
|
||
|
||
This letter implies that we did not receive the manuals due
|
||
to a shipping oversight. As I understand it, this in fact was not
|
||
the case. We did not receive the manuals because they were not
|
||
ready. HumanWare sold expensive, Braille-only devices for at
|
||
least six months without Braille manuals.
|
||
HumanWare is not alone in the Braille arena--or more
|
||
accurately, the missing Braille arena. Over a year ago the
|
||
International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind
|
||
purchased a Braillex 2D, a $16,500.00 refreshable Braille
|
||
display, from ATR Computer Technology. ATR is the importer of
|
||
this product, which is made by the Papenmeier company of Germany.
|
||
At the time we received a few loose Braille pages which contained
|
||
a list of commands. The manual was on disk, but there was no
|
||
Braille version present. Jack Wood, the President of ATR, kept
|
||
telling me, "We are working on it. It will be available soon."
|
||
We did finally receive a Braille manual in March, some ten and a
|
||
half months after we had purchased the display. However, it was
|
||
unreadable. It was printed using an interpoint printer--that is,
|
||
one that prints Braille on both sides of a page. The Braille on
|
||
the back of each page wasn't lined up properly, so the first
|
||
three or four cells of each line were missing. I like the
|
||
Braillex 2D display, and Wood has been willing to help with set-
|
||
up and training, but the Braille documentation is still not
|
||
forthcoming. In fact, the company that distributed the Papenmeier
|
||
products prior to ATR Technology, Adhoc Reading Systems, never
|
||
provided us with proper Braille documentation either.
|
||
We also purchased the Notex486, a $10,500.00 computer with a
|
||
40-cell refreshable Braille display at the same time we ordered
|
||
the Braillex 2D, and it did not come with a Braille manual. Tommy
|
||
Craig, who works with Jack Wood, told me in early April that the
|
||
Notex486 manual is now completed.
|
||
Braille is important for a number of reasons. It is a
|
||
primary medium for deaf-blind persons. Much of the documentation
|
||
and many of the tutorials available to us are speech-oriented.
|
||
Deaf-blind persons, like the caller mentioned earlier, often find
|
||
it difficult to learn to use computer software with the available
|
||
materials. Vendors should remember when writing manuals that not
|
||
everyone is going to be speech-oriented. There are those of us
|
||
who learn best from Braille. While I realize that it would be
|
||
prohibitively expensive to put some manuals into Braille, I also
|
||
think that other alternatives are available. One such manual that
|
||
comes to mind is that for Vocal-Eyes, a screen review program
|
||
from GW Micro. The manual is written in a chatty tutorial style
|
||
and is quite long. It would be unduly costly to Braille this
|
||
manual. GW Micro recently started offering its newsletter in
|
||
Braille, which is commendable. However, I would rather see the
|
||
company put limited resources into producing a Braille reference
|
||
card for Vocal-Eyes. The newsletter is a throw-away, while the
|
||
reference card would be used again and again.
|
||
I believe that blind people will never get everything in
|
||
Braille that we would like. However, I also believe that it is
|
||
reasonable to expect to get high-quality and timely Braille
|
||
documentation with expensive Braille-oriented computer products.
|
||
The price of providing these materials is a cost of doing
|
||
business with blind people. The access technology companies
|
||
should have enough respect for us to give the details, including
|
||
proper documentation, the attention they deserve. To do otherwise
|
||
is to treat us as if making money from us is the only thing that
|
||
counts. There are many good products on the market today, and the
|
||
level of competition continues to escalate. Those companies that
|
||
operate in a sloppy, seat-of-the-pants manner will soon find
|
||
themselves left in the dust. The same high technology that these
|
||
companies are trying to sell has made Braille relatively easy and
|
||
inexpensive to produce, and we have the right to expect more of
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Karl Smith and Representative Darrell Jorgensen stand
|
||
behind Governor Michael Leavitt, who is seated. CAPTION: Pictured
|
||
here from left to right are Karl Smith, President of the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind of Utah; Governor Michael Leavitt signing
|
||
the Blind Persons' Literacy Rights and Education Act; and
|
||
Representative Darrell Jorgensen, sponsor of the bill]
|
||
|
||
MORE BRAILLE BILLS BECOME LAW
|
||
by Barbara Pierce
|
||
|
||
This past winter and early spring have witnessed a good deal
|
||
of activity on the Braille bill front. Four new pieces of state
|
||
legislation have been signed into law: in Ohio, Utah, Colorado,
|
||
and Georgia. This brings the number of states with some form of
|
||
Braille legislation to twenty-five. We will report in more detail
|
||
about Colorado and Georgia in future months, but the following
|
||
are accounts of the Ohio and Utah experiences. The Ohio report is
|
||
taken from an article that appeared in the Spring, 1994, issue of
|
||
the Buckeye Bulletin, the publication of the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind of Ohio. Karl Smith, President of the NFB of Utah,
|
||
describes the events in his state. Here is the Ohio story:
|
||
On Thursday, March 10, 1994, Substitute House Bill 164
|
||
passed the Ohio House of Representatives on a vote of eighty-two
|
||
to twelve. With that action our five-year struggle to protect the
|
||
right of the state's blind children to learn Braille came quietly
|
||
to a close in a victory that will forever change the lives of
|
||
blind youngsters in Ohio.
|
||
H.B. 164, sponsored by Representative Ronald Gerberry, first
|
||
passed the House last June and went on to the Senate, where it
|
||
ran into trouble when members of the Senate Education Committee
|
||
began insisting that we address the concerns of various groups
|
||
with an interest in the education of blind children. The
|
||
Committee had received materials from the Association for
|
||
Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired
|
||
of Ohio (AERO) which raised questions and concerns about the
|
||
advisability of our proposed legislation. In the fall Eric Duffy
|
||
began working to gather a group together to hammer out the
|
||
problems. Dennis Holmes, Superintendent of the Ohio State School
|
||
for the Blind, was a valuable ally in this effort. He offered to
|
||
facilitate the group's work and did so with fairness, skill, and
|
||
good temper.
|
||
During December and January, representatives from the NFB,
|
||
ACB, AERO, the Bureau of Services for the Blind and Visually
|
||
Impaired, the state Division for Special Education, Ohio Resource
|
||
Center for Low Incidence and Severely Handicapped, the Ohio State
|
||
University teacher education program for the visually impaired,
|
||
and the Ohio State School for the Blind met repeatedly to debate
|
||
and tinker with several sections of the Braille bill. The group
|
||
made a few changes, but the bill's intent was never compromised.
|
||
The original protections of the NFB's model Braille bill remain
|
||
in the finished Ohio legislation: the presumption is that legally
|
||
blind students and those who will clearly not be able to use
|
||
print effectively in the future will have the right to learn
|
||
Braille. In fact, if Braille is not to be taught to them, the
|
||
reasons for not doing so must be included in the IEP. There will
|
||
be an annual assessment of Braille for each youngster learning
|
||
it, and the expectation will be that he or she shall demonstrate
|
||
the same facility with Braille that his or her sighted peers
|
||
would show with print. Special education teachers of the blind
|
||
must demonstrate their competency to read and write Braille by
|
||
passing a test which is consistent with the Literary Braille
|
||
Competency Test developed for this purpose by the National
|
||
Library Service. And finally, textbook producers who wish to sell
|
||
books to the school districts of Ohio must agree to provide
|
||
machine-readable versions of these books for preparation as a
|
||
Braille text if there is a student who needs the text in that
|
||
medium.
|
||
As soon as the negotiated changes could be incorporated into
|
||
the actual language of the Braille bill, a document known as
|
||
Substitute House Bill 164 was brought before the Senate Education
|
||
Committee. The first hearing was on the evening of February 23.
|
||
Several Federationists testified, and written materials were
|
||
circulated to the members of the committee. But the hit of the
|
||
evening was clearly Jennica Ferguson, age eleven, who read her
|
||
remarks in Braille. Committee Chairman Cooper Snyder insisted on
|
||
passing her text to each of the Senators so that they could see
|
||
what Braille looked like.
|
||
The following week the Education committee voted six to one
|
||
to send the bill on to the Senate floor for passage. On Tuesday,
|
||
March 8, it sailed through the Senate with only one Senator
|
||
voting against it.
|
||
Once it had passed the Senate, the revised version of the
|
||
bill had to be taken back to the House for final passage, which
|
||
came on March 10. A word should be said here about the invaluable
|
||
contribution to this success made by both Representative Ron
|
||
Gerberry and his aide, Susan Dean. From beginning to end they
|
||
have been steadfast supporters of this legislation and wise
|
||
guides through the maze of the legislative process. Mr. Gerberry
|
||
gave us the benefit of his skill in shepherding the bill through
|
||
the House, and Susan kept us informed and kept the process moving
|
||
despite the pressure of all her other responsibilities. Without
|
||
Representative Gerberry and his staff, this law would never have
|
||
seen the light of day. The blind of Ohio owe a great debt of
|
||
gratitude to the two of them.
|
||
H.B. 164 was signed into law by Governor George Voinovich on
|
||
March 21, 1994. Now the job of educating parents and teachers of
|
||
blind children about the ramifications of the law begins. Unless
|
||
parents understand how important Braille is to their children's
|
||
future, little will have been gained. It is vital for us all to
|
||
understand that in the most important ways this battle is just
|
||
beginning.
|
||
That's the way it happened in Ohio. Now here is the Utah
|
||
story:
|
||
|
||
On Tuesday, April 5, 1994, Michael Leavitt, Governor of
|
||
Utah, signed into law the Blind Persons' Literacy Rights and
|
||
Education Act, making Utah the twenty-third state to pass such
|
||
legislation. The event marked the culmination of two years of
|
||
hard work by the members of the National Federation of the Blind
|
||
of Utah to get a Braille literacy bill passed.
|
||
In late 1992 Kristen Jocums, President of our Salt Lake City
|
||
Chapter, submitted the NFB model Braille bill to Senator Scott
|
||
Howell for consideration during the 1993 legislative session. The
|
||
measure passed the Senate unanimously early in the session but
|
||
languished in the House because of opposition from the education
|
||
community and a large fiscal impact projection. Even with these
|
||
drawbacks the bill cleared everything but the final House vote
|
||
but died during the press of last-minute business at the end of
|
||
the session.
|
||
Over the next several months Karl Smith met with teachers,
|
||
administrators, and others to work out a measure which could be
|
||
supported by all parties involved. This was completed in late
|
||
November, 1993. The final version contained the following
|
||
provisions:
|
||
|
||
1. Braille training will be offered to all blind and visually
|
||
impaired students who request it and is presumed to be the
|
||
reading and writing mode for the blind.
|
||
2. As a provision of the contract for providing instructional
|
||
materials to Utah schools, all textbook publishers are
|
||
required to provide computer-readable versions of their
|
||
materials for use in producing Braille versions for blind
|
||
and visually-impaired students.
|
||
3. Teachers of the blind and visually impaired are required to
|
||
demonstrate competency in Braille reading and writing.
|
||
|
||
Because the bill was tied up in the House last year, we
|
||
asked Representative Darrell Jorgensen to introduce our revised
|
||
legislation in the House this year. The measure passed the House
|
||
unanimously on January 24, the day before our legislative
|
||
breakfast. Ironically, in retaliation for alleged delaying
|
||
tactics by the 1993 House, the Senate held House bills until all
|
||
their Senate work was completed this year. After many long days
|
||
of work the bill finally passed the Senate unanimously at 3:32
|
||
p.m. on March 2, just hours before the end of the 1994 session.
|
||
Approximately forty people, a cross section of the blind
|
||
community (including Federationists, teachers, administrators,
|
||
legislators, and others), attended the signing ceremony. Because
|
||
of the large crowd the ceremony had to be moved from the
|
||
Governor's office to an adjoining board room.
|
||
After the signing we presented the Governor with a walnut
|
||
plaque expressing our appreciation for his support. Featured on
|
||
the plaque was his name in print and Braille. We also presented
|
||
him with a copy of the legislation in Braille. Finally, in the
|
||
rotunda of the Capitol we hosted a reception featuring a cake
|
||
decorated with the Braille alphabet. All those in attendance felt
|
||
good about the future prospects for literacy for Utah's blind
|
||
children. It was a time of good will and cooperation for all the
|
||
groups involved.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Peggy Elliott stands at microphone. CAPTION: Peggy Elliott]
|
||
|
||
WHERE AM I?
|
||
by Peggy Pinder
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The most recent of the little paperbacks in
|
||
the Kernel Books series of publications produced by the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind is titled The Journey. The following
|
||
article is taken from the book. It was written shortly before
|
||
Peggy Pinder became Peggy Elliott. In both guises she is Second
|
||
Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind and
|
||
President of the NFB of Iowa. This is what she has to say. It
|
||
begins with Dr. Jernigan's introduction:
|
||
Peggy Pinder is no stranger to readers of previous Kernel
|
||
Books. Here she tells of experiences she had as a teenager--
|
||
experiences which laid the foundation for her career as a
|
||
successful blind lawyer:
|
||
I am a lawyer, living in Iowa with a Yale Law School degree,
|
||
five years of prosecutorial experience behind me, and a private
|
||
practice. I am also blind.
|
||
In the course of my practice I have appeared in courts in
|
||
states other than my own. When this is done, the out-of-town
|
||
lawyer needs to have a local lawyer to help with local
|
||
procedures. I was representing a blind woman several years ago in
|
||
a case in a different state. As we had worked things out between
|
||
us, I was serving as lead counsel, and he was second chair. As
|
||
the terms imply, the lead counsel sits in the first chair,
|
||
nearest to the judge.
|
||
When we walked into the courtroom, I happened to be in front
|
||
of Allan, the local person, when we reached the bar. I walked
|
||
through the gate first, around the table to the plaintiff's side,
|
||
and up to the first chair. Allan followed and stood behind the
|
||
second chair. I could tell he was bemused by something as he made
|
||
the introductions, but I didn't learn until later just what had
|
||
happened.
|
||
As I came around the table and stopped behind the first
|
||
chair, the judge nearly fell off the bench, motioning to Allan to
|
||
enforce usual courtroom procedure. It never occurred to the judge
|
||
that I might be a lawyer. He knew the plaintiff was a blind
|
||
woman, and he assumed I was she. He presumed I did not know where
|
||
I was or where I was going and that I was inadvertently breaking
|
||
courtroom etiquette which dictates that the plaintiff sit in the
|
||
seat farthest from the judge. He hoped to remedy the situation by
|
||
silent hand and facial motions between himself and my lawyer so
|
||
that court could proceed with everyone in their proper places.
|
||
Without ever indicating to the judge that he understood the
|
||
signals, Allan as a good local lawyer quickly and efficiently
|
||
made introductions, identifying me as lead counsel. He also
|
||
mentioned that the plaintiff (as is permissible) was not there
|
||
for argument on the motion. The judge subsided.
|
||
I only wish the judge had spoken directly to me and
|
||
straightened out the misunderstanding with me instead of
|
||
attempting to do it silently and without my knowledge. I think I
|
||
would have felt better about it if he had. But I also would have
|
||
understood very well how he reached the conclusion that I did not
|
||
know where I was, because for years I thought the same thing.
|
||
When I first lost my sight, I was suddenly the only blind
|
||
person I knew. There were no role models of successful, capable
|
||
blind persons in my life. I only knew what I thought blind people
|
||
could do: not much. I thought that college would be impossible
|
||
for me now, that a job was out of the question, that these
|
||
considerations were far too abstract to worry about because I now
|
||
had a much bigger problem on my hands: how would I know where I
|
||
was if I was blind?
|
||
I had always known where I was with visual cues--street
|
||
signs, the appearance of buildings, store names above the doors,
|
||
tables and chairs in a room. Now, as a blind person, none of this
|
||
was available to me. How would I know where I was? The best way
|
||
to handle this problem was never to go anywhere. So I mostly
|
||
didn't.
|
||
My family urged me to get out and do things like everybody
|
||
else. I did every now and then, just to please them. But I didn't
|
||
like it, and I did as little as I could. I didn't have any skills
|
||
in getting information as a blind person, and I didn't have any
|
||
way of finding any. I didn't know any other blind people who
|
||
could get around on their own. I figured it couldn't be done.
|
||
And, when my family insisted that a blind person could do
|
||
things, I would say to myself: "Yeah, sure. That's easy for you
|
||
to say. But you don't have to do it and feel stupid and clumsy
|
||
and not know where you are. You have your sight. That makes all
|
||
the difference." I knew they meant well, but they couldn't teach
|
||
me the skills. They didn't know them, and they didn't use them.
|
||
All this occurred during high school, a hard time anyway for
|
||
people to live through. My adolescence completely disappeared
|
||
behind a wall of lack of confidence and certainty of failure. You
|
||
put up a brave front and say words like independence and
|
||
employment, but you just don't believe it.
|
||
Then I found other blind people. It was quite by accident,
|
||
and I am still grateful for that turn of fate. I encountered a
|
||
blind person walking normally, setting his own course, deciding
|
||
where he was going, and knowing where he was. We didn't speak. I
|
||
just observed him as he passed by. And from that observation I
|
||
was sure that he knew where he was, not only in the building we
|
||
were in, but in his life as well. I wanted to be able to do that.
|
||
I found out where he had learned to move about so
|
||
confidently. There was a training program, run by blind people
|
||
with blind people as teachers. But that wasn't all. They were
|
||
self-confident, successful, good at getting around. They knew
|
||
where they were, and they were willing to teach me the skills. I
|
||
was initially hesitant. Then I jumped in with both feet.
|
||
My sister has recently told me a story from that era. I
|
||
don't remember this at all, but it is a very clear childhood
|
||
memory of hers. She is my baby sister, the one born eight years
|
||
after me, for whom I was the attentive big sister. When I lost my
|
||
sight, it didn't matter to her. I was still her big sister, the
|
||
one who had always taken care of her.
|
||
My sister and my mom came to visit me, she says, when I had
|
||
been at the training program only a few weeks. While Mom talked
|
||
with the teachers, I grandly announced that Martha and I were
|
||
going for a walk. We come from a town of 8,000, and the program
|
||
was in a town of 250,000. Lots of noise, lots of traffic, lots of
|
||
ways to get hurt if you don't know what you are doing or where
|
||
you are. My sister says that she remembers very clearly that my
|
||
mom didn't hesitate. If I said I could take Martha for a walk,
|
||
then Mom believed that I could. Martha, of course, never
|
||
questioned whether I could. I was the big sister who had always
|
||
taken care of her.
|
||
As I say, I remember none of this. Martha says now that the
|
||
idea of our going for a walk must have been more than a simple
|
||
matter to Mom. Here was her blind daughter, barely into the
|
||
training program, planning to take the eight-year-old baby of the
|
||
family out into the streets of a big city. But Martha says that
|
||
Mom didn't hesitate. We left.
|
||
I promptly got lost. Martha says that, as we walked (always
|
||
safely on the sidewalk and crossing with the lights, of course),
|
||
it slowly dawned on her that I didn't know where we were. But she
|
||
says that this didn't bother her since she knew her big sister
|
||
would figure out what needed to be done. Martha says that I
|
||
started asking her what she saw and, when I got vague answers,
|
||
would insist on her being precise about the location and angle
|
||
from us that the objects were. As I got some more information, I
|
||
figured out where we were and how to return to Mom. Martha says
|
||
that, looking back, she does not remember any sense of worry or
|
||
panic. She knew I would take care of her.
|
||
As I practiced under the guidance of fellow blind people to
|
||
learn new ways of gathering information and using it to travel
|
||
about safely and efficiently, the incidents of my not knowing
|
||
where I was grew fewer and fewer. This was because my skill and
|
||
my confidence were both being increased under practice and with
|
||
the guidance of experienced blind persons. I was learning to know
|
||
where I was.
|
||
The other thing that happened was that, when I did lose
|
||
track of where I was, I learned how to find my way again. Using
|
||
information as I was being taught by other blind people, I was
|
||
learning what my little sister already knew--that I could find my
|
||
way even when I had temporarily lost it. In fact, the final test
|
||
in my training was for the teacher to get me disoriented
|
||
deliberately and then to drop me off several miles from the
|
||
training center. Using my own common sense and my developing
|
||
skills, I had to find my way back. I did. That was the final
|
||
proof to me that, even when I didn't know where I was, I could
|
||
find out.
|
||
My family believed in me and encouraged me. But they didn't
|
||
know the skills, and they couldn't be role models. I could always
|
||
dismiss them as "not really understanding." But other blind
|
||
people, doing what I thought I couldn't, had taught me by their
|
||
example, by their explicit instruction, by their generosity, that
|
||
I could know where I am, both geographically and in the shaping
|
||
of my own life. The lesson of learning to travel safely and
|
||
efficiently, while it was vital in itself, spilled over into the
|
||
rest of my view of myself. I found the self-confidence that I had
|
||
once so envied in that other self-confident blind person as he
|
||
walked by.
|
||
My blind teachers, my blind friends, my blind colleagues:
|
||
all learned their self-confidence through the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind, and I have learned also that the Federation is
|
||
vital to my life. Not only did the Federation through its
|
||
thousands of members around the country teach me how to believe
|
||
in myself, the Federation also taught me something more.
|
||
It doesn't have to be the way it was for me. If blind
|
||
children can be reached, if their parents can be reached, if
|
||
persons who lose their sight can be reached at an early point
|
||
with the same message and the same examples and the same
|
||
opportunities to learn where they are, then these blind men and
|
||
women, boys and girls can learn right away what it took me so
|
||
very long to learn: that as a blind person you can know where you
|
||
are and you can know where you are going and you can make those
|
||
decisions for yourself.
|
||
That is my hope for the Federation, that we can reach blind
|
||
people and sighted citizens as well with our message. My little
|
||
sister had it right all along. It took me a little longer to get
|
||
there. The judge hasn't quite figured it out yet. But, if we in
|
||
the Federation keep spreading the message, he will.
|
||
Where am I? In the National Federation of the Blind and
|
||
grateful to be there, grateful for the chance I received from
|
||
Federation members and grateful for the chance to pass it on to
|
||
others.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Elizabeth Browne]
|
||
|
||
TO DIG I AM NOT ABLE; TO BEG I AM ASHAMED
|
||
by Elizabeth Browne
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The following article was adapted by the
|
||
author from a presentation she made at the 1993 convention of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. It was part of a
|
||
panel discussion on jobs and job hunting. Dr. Elizabeth Browne
|
||
holds a Ph.D. in English and has taught for many years at the
|
||
college and graduate levels. Here is what she has to say:
|
||
|
||
Someone asked me, as we began getting ready for our state
|
||
convention, what contributions I could make about the art of
|
||
getting a job? What advice or what suggestions might be of worth
|
||
to those eagerly hoping to ply their trade in the fields of
|
||
profitable labor? Voluntarism is good, is needed, but there comes
|
||
a time in the life of every individual when pecuniary reward is
|
||
essential to maintain one's dignity and contribute to society.
|
||
As one who has primarily frequented the halls of academe in
|
||
my work endeavors and since digging and begging are not my forte,
|
||
I turned for direction to some of the writers I admire. I
|
||
recalled that once a would-be author, an ambitious novice seeking
|
||
to enter the writing game, wisely approached E. B. White, one of
|
||
the greatest essayists of our century, and asked for his advice.
|
||
White's words to that novice might well have been directed to me:
|
||
"Write (or in the case of this talk today, "Speak") about what
|
||
you know. Write about what you are familiar with, and it will be
|
||
good, will reach the souls of those for whom you write." He goes
|
||
on to tell the young man, "The rewards of such endeavor are not
|
||
that I have acquired an audience or a following, as you suggest
|
||
(fame of any kind being a Pyrrhic victory), but that, sometimes,
|
||
writing of myself--which is the only subject anyone knows
|
||
intimately--I have occasionally had the exquisite thrill of
|
||
putting my finger on a little capsule of truth and heard it give
|
||
the faint squeak of mortality under my pressure, an antic sound."
|
||
Well, let me share some of my own experiences as a
|
||
professional, but also some of my own personal experiences which
|
||
may be of help, which may touch that common chord of which White
|
||
speaks. I do hope so. Let me begin.
|
||
At present I am a professor in the Department of English of
|
||
Loyola University, Chicago, on the Lake Shore campus. I have been
|
||
working in colleges and universities since receiving my Ph.D. in
|
||
1973. I've taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels--
|
||
sometimes full-time, sometimes part-time: once, oddly enough,
|
||
three-quarters time.
|
||
I received the doctoral degree amidst thunderous applause at
|
||
the Chicago Stadium, where the huge bulletin board outside
|
||
trumpeted for all to read: Loyola Graduation, 1973! Coming
|
||
tonight, Sonny and Cher!
|
||
Senator Charles Percy read my achievement into the
|
||
Congressional Record, for such an accomplishment was most unusual
|
||
at that time. Not so today, for many blind individuals are
|
||
receiving graduate degrees in many professions, but
|
||
discrimination and stereotyping still exist.
|
||
My first teaching position was at Governors State University
|
||
in Park Forest South, which is one of five senior universities in
|
||
Illinois. After GSU, I taught at St. Xavier's College, not far
|
||
from my home in Chicago.
|
||
Then, thinking I would change my direction, I joined the
|
||
Federal Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, as an
|
||
investigator on the post-secondary level. But that was not where
|
||
my heart lay, and I was very happy to return to teaching at the
|
||
first opportunity. This found me at the seminary of the Arch-
|
||
diocese of Chicago, Niles College, where I taught in both the
|
||
English and Philosophy Departments.
|
||
When I left Niles and joined the faculty of Mundelein
|
||
College, the last college exclusively for women in the state of
|
||
Illinois until its merger with Loyola University in 1991, the
|
||
all-female student body, a number of them Muslim women,
|
||
represented quite a different type of student from the all-male,
|
||
all-Catholic student population of Niles College seminary. At
|
||
present I am working exclusively in the Department of English at
|
||
Loyola University.
|
||
On another track, however, during the last few years I have
|
||
yielded to a long-time desire to do graduate study in theology
|
||
and have had the exciting experience of attending Catholic
|
||
Theological Union in Hyde Park, receiving a master's degree there
|
||
as the institution's first blind graduate. I have a thing about
|
||
obtaining degrees. I love to learn more and more about things I
|
||
don't know, so obtaining this degree in theology simply added to
|
||
my insatiable seeking after more and more knowledge. I think I
|
||
will be doing that until they start shoveling in the dirt.
|
||
Since then I have been invited to become a support person
|
||
for a group of lay missioners, all college graduates. It is my
|
||
modest contribution to the feminine presence in the Catholic
|
||
Church. These missioners are comparable to Vista or the Peace
|
||
Corps, working in the less desirable parts of our cities, far
|
||
from their homes, to help outcasts, street people, abused women,
|
||
and children. During their year of commitment they dedicate
|
||
themselves to live a simple life in very poor neighborhoods and
|
||
to focus on community, spirituality, social justice, and
|
||
environmental safety. It is good to find such dedicated young
|
||
people at such troubled times.
|
||
I joined the ranks of the blind or, as we say in polite
|
||
society these days, the visually impaired, when I was ten years
|
||
old. I had a roller-skating accident. I'm still not sure I ever
|
||
told my poor parents about it, because I had no business in the
|
||
skating rink when they had not given permission.
|
||
Nevertheless, always an independent-minded creature, I went
|
||
and ended up on the bottom of a pileup with someone's roller
|
||
skate kicking me in the head. Soon after that eventful fall, in
|
||
August, I began to see double and get colors mixed up, which made
|
||
working on a citywide art contest rather difficult. I was one of
|
||
two students chosen from my elementary school to participate in
|
||
this American history contest.
|
||
My assignment was to draw Daniel Boone with his rifle,
|
||
riding along in a covered wagon. Colors were becoming
|
||
increasingly perplexing, and Daniel Boone was emerging from the
|
||
art paper with rich, red eyes. The art teacher mentioned that
|
||
they ought to be brown. (Perhaps red was closer to reality since
|
||
he was putatively quite a lush.) I was also dealing then with
|
||
hideous headaches which made the fractions on the blackboard
|
||
dance about oddly. I still have trouble with fractions and like
|
||
to round all my numbers.
|
||
By November I was blind. Not too long after, a truant
|
||
officer came to visit my mother, and when my mother told her what
|
||
had happened to me, she advised doing nothing because, as she
|
||
said, "What's the good of education in her condition?" Young as I
|
||
then was, this comment troubled me and festered inside me,
|
||
driving me to look for a way to express my reaction to this
|
||
belief or lack of belief in my abilities. I was no Jane Eyre, no
|
||
Oliver Twist, seeking to go up against the uninformed structures
|
||
of society, but I sensed that the truant officer's dismissal was
|
||
wrong.
|
||
When I joined the ranks of the blind, it never crossed my
|
||
mind that in the future I would not be doing whatever I had been
|
||
doing before my fall. I don't remember thinking that anything
|
||
would be different for me except that I would have to learn
|
||
different ways of doing what I had done before. For example, I
|
||
wanted to be back out with my friends and playmates, jumping
|
||
rope--yes, roller-skating too--going to school and doing all the
|
||
things I had to look forward to: dating, dancing, marrying, and
|
||
so on.
|
||
One day, hearing the kids outside playing something--hop
|
||
scotch, double dutch, something--I found a trophy my brother had
|
||
won at a local carnival, a little cane with a large die for a
|
||
handle. With this I took off, casting the dice for freedom as it
|
||
were--my first mobility adventure. I used the cane to keep me on
|
||
the sidewalk as I walked along the edge and touched the grass or
|
||
dirt with it. It worked fine, but my father happened to look out
|
||
of the window, came quickly after me, and put an end to my
|
||
mobility training.
|
||
My parents realized that I was restless and needed to get
|
||
back into school. We discovered the Board of Education's answer
|
||
to the question of what to do with little blind kids. It was that
|
||
medieval institution they called the Braille room. There were
|
||
three or four, I think, and I was sent thither to be kept again
|
||
apart from so-called normal kids, and confined to a room with
|
||
other blind kids and a few Braille writers. (We were even locked
|
||
in at lunch time when the teacher went out for a bite.) That
|
||
wasn't my style either.
|
||
To remain imprisoned in a loving, caring home with concerned
|
||
parents or to remain imprisoned in an educational structure that
|
||
told me I was not normal: I was on the horns of a true dilemma.
|
||
In the Braille room we learned Braille reading and writing, but
|
||
we learned something else, too: that we were to be kept apart
|
||
because we were not normal. This early educational indoctrination
|
||
leaves a frightful, in some cases an indelible mark that stains
|
||
our self-perception, our self-confidence, for a lifetime.
|
||
The first thing these educators did was to administer an IQ
|
||
test to place me properly. The test was in Braille, and I had
|
||
only been in the Braille room a few days and did not yet know
|
||
Braille, so I failed miserably. They placed me, at the age of
|
||
twelve, in the first grade, reinforcing the belief that I was not
|
||
normal.
|
||
The cane episode and now this new experience taught me one
|
||
thing, though I didn't know the word: for me mainstreaming, and
|
||
through it the world, was the only way to go. I wanted back into
|
||
the world I had so recently occupied--skating, going to school
|
||
with neighborhood kids, playing with my friends outdoors. I
|
||
wanted the life toward which I had been headed. Instead, we were
|
||
being given the old lie that "dulce et decorum est," loosely
|
||
translated, "O how good and noble it is" for little blind
|
||
children to accept this concept of separate but not equal
|
||
education.
|
||
This was not what I wanted. I wanted all that I had had
|
||
before I became blind. I wanted everything I had and hoped to
|
||
have from the life I had just left. In fact, segregated living
|
||
was simply not for me. Basically, separate but equal anything is
|
||
separate but never equal.
|
||
As yet I didn't know what to do, but I kept my secret to
|
||
myself and waited for the chance to change what I did not like.
|
||
Some might call this intuitive networking; others might call it
|
||
opportunism; others would say it was waiting for the prompting of
|
||
the Holy Spirit. Whatever it was or is, it is like keeping your
|
||
antennae up, alert and aware for what you might not be able to
|
||
name but what you know will come.
|
||
In the movie Field of Dreams we find the same universal
|
||
theme which runs through our poetry, our faith, and our inner
|
||
convictions. Browning had the same idea in his poem, "Andrea del
|
||
Sarto": "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a
|
||
heaven for?" On the contrary, Langston Hughes vividly describes
|
||
what happens when our dream is deferred. "Does it wither like a
|
||
raisin in the sun? / Or fester like a sore and then run? /
|
||
Perhaps it sags like a heavy load, / Or, does it explode!" Too
|
||
many of these suppressed dreams have festered; sagged; and, too
|
||
often, exploded. I could feel the rage building inside of me as
|
||
we were kept apart from other kids.
|
||
Luckily, a forward-thinking substitute arrived one year and
|
||
began to allow us out of the Braille room to be with normal kids
|
||
in certain classes like history and English. Incidentally, she
|
||
re-evaluated me and placed me in the seventh grade, where I
|
||
belonged.
|
||
In one of these forays into regular classes--the real world-
|
||
-for that is how we thought of these times, I heard the teacher
|
||
giving an assignment to the class to create a poster for safety
|
||
week. Turning to us refugees from the Braille room, she said,
|
||
"You won't have to do the assignment."
|
||
I didn't like that at all, so I returned to the Braille room
|
||
and did my safety poster on the typewriter, describing in detail
|
||
what it should look like, the colors, the figures, and the motto
|
||
written in large letters. Then I turned it in. The teacher seemed
|
||
surprised when I handed in my assignment with the rest of the
|
||
class, then she asked the other two blind students for theirs.
|
||
"You told us we didn't have to do it," they said.
|
||
That was my juvenile manifestation of mainstreaming, for
|
||
ultimately mainstreaming is the only way of existing if you want
|
||
to live in the real world. I knew it as a child and have never
|
||
changed my belief. I still know it is the only way to go. That
|
||
doesn't mean that you won't often come close to drowning; your
|
||
lungs will ache; you may gasp for air a little; but oh how sweet
|
||
it will taste for having struggled to enjoy its delicious flavor.
|
||
Mainstreaming has been my philosophy, so it is in all truth
|
||
that I say I think I belonged to the Federation even before I
|
||
knew it existed. Life is to live, and the wealth of good things
|
||
to do and to enjoy is in the world, in the main stream of life.
|
||
You don't get to enjoy all these things by resigning yourself to
|
||
the tender, loving blandishments of concerned parents or by
|
||
resigning yourself to the back of the bus or the safe spot on the
|
||
bench of a sheltered workshop. It's out in the mainstream, where
|
||
the waters get rough at times and the current tries to pull you
|
||
under, but the struggle will increase your strength and from
|
||
struggle comes character.
|
||
But what did I want when I joined the throng of blind
|
||
individuals living in the world? One thing and one thing only: to
|
||
get on with my life without any pity or extra gimmicks, just to
|
||
live and do all the things others were doing and I wanted to do.
|
||
The first thing was to seize the day, learn what I had to learn
|
||
and begin living. In other words, no self-pity, no
|
||
sentimentality, but simply get busy learning what must be learned
|
||
and deciding what plans were necessary to achieve my goal. Of
|
||
course, education was the path that would lead to freedom and
|
||
self-fulfillment.
|
||
After graduation from elementary school I joined other blind
|
||
students in the high school equivalent of separate and unequal
|
||
education. There, continuing the pattern that we were different
|
||
and less capable, I was told that I could not take algebra and
|
||
geometry because those were for students preparing to enter
|
||
college. The assumption was obvious, and I objected to no avail.
|
||
The required science courses, exciting and challenging, were
|
||
beyond the blind students' capability, the teacher told me as he
|
||
remarked my efforts to achieve high grades: "Blind students
|
||
simply can't compete with sighted students, so you will never get
|
||
an A in this course." I persevered and at the end of the first
|
||
year was given the A I worked hard for.
|
||
But kind fates were drawing near, and one day I had the good
|
||
fortune of meeting a socially minded, forward-looking bishop, who
|
||
came to observe us in our segregated Braille room. Pausing by my
|
||
desk, my clerical fairy godmother asked me, "What can I do for
|
||
you, Cinderella?" (He really didn't call me Cinderella, but you
|
||
get the idea.) I was ready. Since that first day I had ventured
|
||
forth with my brother's cane from the local carnival, since that
|
||
IQ test consigned me to the ignominy of the first grade at the
|
||
age of twelve, inwardly I had been waiting for this chance; and I
|
||
replied, "I want to go to a Catholic high school in my own
|
||
neighborhood." Such an unexpected request caught him a little off
|
||
guard, but not for long. The stars, the fates, my guardian angel-
|
||
-someone was watching over me and had sent me the right person, a
|
||
truly socially conscious man with lots of power. With this
|
||
opportunity I went to a private school in my own neighborhood as
|
||
the protege of the bishop.
|
||
The front page of the paper trumpeted: "She's first!" The
|
||
bishop made news. I made news. The fated school, chosen for its
|
||
proximity to my home, made news. Now that I was enrolled in a
|
||
private neighborhood school, I began mainstreaming my life in
|
||
earnest. I avoided the tender trap of rehabilitation counselors
|
||
and competed academically for scholarships which would allow me
|
||
to go to college and graduate school and to achieve my dream of
|
||
becoming a professor.
|
||
Meanwhile the fates stepped in in the person of a handsome
|
||
prince who swept me off course and into another exciting and
|
||
challenging new sort of mainstreaming as his wife and the mother
|
||
of five children. Both of us have been active in neighborhood,
|
||
church, and community affairs throughout these years. Once I was
|
||
almost arrested with my guide dog and three-year-old son, while
|
||
successfully protecting some young students who had integrated
|
||
our local school. This was mainstreaming in deep waters, and with
|
||
perseverance and determination we were instrumental in these
|
||
brave children's completing their elementary school education and
|
||
going on to a good high school and college.
|
||
So it was after some of these dreams had been achieved--
|
||
dating, marriage, and five children--that I determined that I
|
||
could get nowhere without further academic degrees. I returned
|
||
for post-graduate studies in preparation for achieving a doctoral
|
||
degree. In 1973, known as the dark ages for those of you under
|
||
twenty-nine, I received the Ph.D. degree from Loyola University.
|
||
Was it easy? Academically speaking there were challenges,
|
||
but the biggest hurdle was the intensity of low-level
|
||
discrimination which awaited me at every crucial point. I never
|
||
backed off or gave up, so after a great deal of innuendo and
|
||
covert incredulity, I made it. But how can my experiences and my
|
||
struggles be of assistance to some of you who are at the brink of
|
||
your own lives, at the edge of realizing your own epiphanies?
|
||
Some Suggestions:
|
||
Remember my reference to E. B. White at the outset of this
|
||
presentation? Well I have some suggestions that may, like "a
|
||
little capsule of truth," give the faint squeak of mortality
|
||
under my pressure and may prove useful to you in your own
|
||
journey. I offer these suggestions in the hope that they will be
|
||
of help:
|
||
|
||
Whatever area you select, prepare yourself well without any
|
||
waivers, qualifications, bypasses. Be sure not to omit any
|
||
essential element. For instance, beware of the friendly advisor
|
||
who wants to make things easy for you or the patronizing
|
||
professor who whispers that you can skip this or that. "After
|
||
all, you will still get your grade." Certainly you will: an A for
|
||
acceptance of your lot, or a B for blindness. Avoid that tender
|
||
trap. It's the gentle slope that leads to despair. For example,
|
||
on the academic road certain courses are required, and you must
|
||
not try to avoid them.
|
||
In my own academic journey several courses in Old English
|
||
literature were essential, and the only one who taught several of
|
||
them was a professor who did not like blind people, who did not
|
||
want me in this required course, who did not want me in the
|
||
class. He simply decided not to include me in the roster and
|
||
would not call on me. I think he thought I would quietly go away.
|
||
But I did not.
|
||
I knew that, if he skipped me for the entire semester and
|
||
did not allow me to translate the Old English texts as everyone
|
||
else was doing, I would be in trouble when it came time to grade
|
||
my work. So I wrote him a note, placed it on his podium, and sat
|
||
down. The note said, "My name is Browne. I sit in the front row,
|
||
right in front of your desk. I am alive and well, ready and eager
|
||
to translate." I was told that he read the note; paused; looked
|
||
over his spectacles at me; and, after a long look and a long
|
||
pause, called on me. I lumbered along through the text in Braille
|
||
and received the proper corrections. Then he called on the next
|
||
victim. From that night on he never neglected me again.
|
||
|
||
Quit blowing your trumpet. Stop beating a drum so everyone will
|
||
feel sorry for you. Do whatever you have to do without all that
|
||
noise, those attention-getting sidesteps. In other words, skip
|
||
playing the poor-me game. Terry Waite, British envoy of the
|
||
Anglican Church who spent four of his years in captivity in
|
||
solitary confinement, had three phrases which kept him going
|
||
through his ordeal and which are clearly applicable to our
|
||
situation: "no regrets, no self-pity, no sentimentality."
|
||
|
||
If you cannot do the preparation without unreasonable amounts
|
||
of extra help, get out and into something you can manage. Better
|
||
to make a good broom than to be a poor teacher or lazy mechanic.
|
||
Another useful example that comes to mind occurred in the
|
||
requirements for the doctoral degree: a class in Beowulf was
|
||
essential. For me Braille is vital for reading foreign languages
|
||
and in teaching poetry. I sought for a Braille copy of this
|
||
ancient text. There was one in the world, and it was in the
|
||
British Museum, London, England. After learning of its existence,
|
||
I followed through and, much to my chagrin, learned that some
|
||
other eager graduate student was using it. Not to be discouraged
|
||
or plead for pity, I hunted down a willing transcriber and
|
||
obtained my own copy of the rare text. In other words, age quod
|
||
agis: Do what you have to do!
|
||
|
||
The question of what to do about your resum<75> or filling out an
|
||
application is rather difficult. I never put down that I am blind
|
||
or even visually impaired. I am applying for something for which
|
||
I am highly qualified, accomplished, certified, and trained. They
|
||
are not hiring me because I am or am not blind.
|
||
A good friend of mine, someone I greatly respect, disagrees
|
||
with my strategy. Rami Rabbi wrote a book, Take Charge, and I had
|
||
just finished reading it when I received a phone call from the
|
||
chair of the English Department at Mundelein College, who had my
|
||
resum<EFBFBD> in hand. She offered me a job sight unseen, and I had to
|
||
stop and reflect on that book which I had just read. I began to
|
||
doubt myself. Several phone calls to the chair of the department
|
||
did not resolve my concern. She simply was too busy to see me and
|
||
insisted that I sign the contract and leave it in her mailbox and
|
||
she would meet me after the first class.
|
||
That is what actually happened. I was hired, sight unseen,
|
||
on the basis of my qualifications. It was truly a rewarding
|
||
experience. Teaching under those conditions was like living in
|
||
Camelot, and that doesn't often happen in this world. But, when
|
||
it does, it is sweet. It provides nourishment when the times are
|
||
rough and the going is difficult, but don't pause too long
|
||
reflecting.
|
||
|
||
If you are compelled to take legal measures, do it with all
|
||
firmness of purpose. Don't be lukewarm in your efforts. If you
|
||
are interviewed for a job and you do not get it, check out the
|
||
reasons why thoroughly. If indeed discrimination has occurred,
|
||
pursue legal measures with all deliberate speed.
|
||
However, attempt with all your skill to maintain a dignified
|
||
and open presence and to keep an open door. Often the cause for
|
||
your denial may only be someone who may be replaced. In other
|
||
words, networking is vital, and you can never tell precisely
|
||
where a connection may take place. I have made mistakes before
|
||
and with thunderous indignation neatly burned all my bridges. Be
|
||
circumspect, dignified, but thorough. It will pay off.
|
||
|
||
Finally, I would like to leave you with some kernels of
|
||
wisdom, some aphorisms which may lift up your spirits as you
|
||
trudge along the journey, seeking rewarding employment. I use
|
||
epigrams when I teach and when I write, and often they hit the
|
||
mark sharply, right to the point. I hope you find these helpful,
|
||
such as the words Pete Seeger uses in a song, "From here on up
|
||
the hills don't get any higher, but the valleys get deeper and
|
||
deeper." Or, from Shakespeare's Macbeth, "Screw your courage to
|
||
the sticking point, and you'll not fail!" or, from Browning, "A
|
||
man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
|
||
My favorite one, though, is affixed to my office door. It
|
||
runs, "Illegitimi non carborundum!" Quite loosely this might be
|
||
translated, refuse to be discouraged by those of questionable
|
||
parentage. You can no doubt render your own more colloquial
|
||
version.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Elizabeth Campbell speaks at microphone. CAPTION: Elizabeth Campbell]
|
||
|
||
ELIZABETH CAMPBELL: BILINGUAL REPORTER
|
||
FOR A MAJOR DAILY NEWSPAPER
|
||
by Lorraine Rovig
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The following article first appeared in the
|
||
January, 1994, JOB Recorded Bulletin, a bimonthly publication of
|
||
the Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) Program, which is
|
||
jointly conducted by the National Federation of the Blind and the
|
||
United States Department of Labor. Lorraine Rovig directs that
|
||
program. Elizabeth Campbell is a hard-working and energetic
|
||
Federationist who currently serves as President of the Ft. Worth
|
||
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas.
|
||
Congratulations to Liz Campbell on her new assignment and to the
|
||
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram for its good sense in promoting her. Here
|
||
is the story:
|
||
Elizabeth Campbell has worked for the Ft. Worth Star-
|
||
Telegram for ten years--first in the Metro section, then for four
|
||
and a half years as a features department writer. She has handled
|
||
all kinds of articles: hard-hitting research, opinion pieces,
|
||
travelogues on landmarks to visit in Texas, society news, and
|
||
assessments of current culture. As fulfilling as her jobs have
|
||
been, Miss Campbell has long had a wish to combine her love of
|
||
reporting with her knowledge of Spanish and of the Hispanic
|
||
community in Texas. Now her chance has come.
|
||
On February 4 the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram published the
|
||
first edition of La Estrella (Es-stray-ya). This new bilingual
|
||
section of the daily paper appears every Friday. A whole new
|
||
department has been created to handle the work, with Miss
|
||
Campbell and one other reporter working full-time. They will be
|
||
assisted by a city editor and several part-time copy editors and
|
||
translators. Miss Campbell said that the Ft. Worth paper is among
|
||
the first in the United States to try this idea.
|
||
Some of the stories in La Estrella will be in Spanish and
|
||
some in English, depending on the subject and source. For
|
||
example, articles such as soccer scores from South America might
|
||
be published in Spanish while articles on Texas politicians might
|
||
run in English.
|
||
Miss Campbell is enthusiastic about this new venture. She
|
||
said she believes she was chosen for the project because of the
|
||
many story ideas she developed and wrote on issues of interest or
|
||
concern to Texans in the Texas Hispanic community. Miss Campbell
|
||
had this recommendation for other blind persons who have a long-
|
||
time dream assignment--she said it's a good idea to take every
|
||
opportunity within the scope of your present job to show your
|
||
ability to do the dream position. Find ways to let management
|
||
know of your other talents.
|
||
Now Miss Campbell is on a search for computer equipment with
|
||
both Spanish and English voice-output devices. As a part of its
|
||
reasonable accommodation to the fact that she is totally blind,
|
||
the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram has offered to purchase such programs
|
||
if they exist. Miss Campbell would also be interested in
|
||
networking with other individuals who use both Spanish and
|
||
English on their computers. The Job Opportunities for the Blind
|
||
Program would be happy to pass along names and phone numbers of
|
||
any readers who could give her information. To contact the Job
|
||
Opportunities for the Blind Program call (800) 638-7518.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION PROFESSOR URGES BLIND PEOPLE
|
||
TO BREAK TRADITIONAL JOB BARRIERS
|
||
by Lea Levavi
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: Lea Levavi is an experienced journalist who
|
||
is now seeking to change careers and is using the resources of
|
||
the NFB's Job Opportunities for the Blind Program, conducted in
|
||
partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor. She wrote the
|
||
following article for the March, 1994, Recorded JOB Bulletin, the
|
||
bimonthly publication of the JOB Program. Here it is:
|
||
Dr. Sushil Oswal, Assistant Professor of Technical
|
||
Communication at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), found
|
||
out about this new and growing field in a chance meeting with a
|
||
practitioner while awaiting eye surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio. When
|
||
it turned out his sight, lost in a car accident, could not be
|
||
restored, he decided to pursue graduate study in technical
|
||
communication because, aside from being interested in it, he
|
||
thought he would have a better chance of finding a job in a new
|
||
field which needed qualified people. His undergraduate training
|
||
had included a good deal of science and engineering, and he had
|
||
worked in industry before losing his sight. He wanted a solution
|
||
which would offer him a way to pursue his technological interests
|
||
and to return to industry.
|
||
Most people think technical communication is technical
|
||
writing, he explained, but it's really much broader than that.
|
||
Technical writing is part of it, but technical communication also
|
||
includes the methods by which computers talk to each other and
|
||
the way new technology is introduced to workers or consumers.
|
||
"Some people call technical communication specialists boundary
|
||
spanners," he said, "because we span the boundaries between new
|
||
technology, existing technologies, and the people who are going
|
||
to use technology. I think technical communication would be ideal
|
||
training for technical sales and support personnel, for example,
|
||
and it helps engineers do a better job both as engineers and as
|
||
managers."
|
||
Blind people, on the other hand, have to be not only
|
||
boundary spanners but also boundary breakers, he believes. "I
|
||
have heard encouraging things through Job Opportunities for the
|
||
Blind about blind people going into fields like geology or
|
||
chemistry," he said, "but we should be hearing about this more
|
||
often. Unfortunately, many blind people still think they're
|
||
limited by what rehabilitation counselors say they can do or are
|
||
limited because they or their parents or teachers don't think
|
||
they can learn math or science. Sometimes people tell me I could
|
||
get into a field like this only because I was previously sighted,
|
||
but that just isn't true. One of the people who was very
|
||
inspiring to me while I was adjusting to blindness was a man
|
||
blind from birth who was doing graduate work in chemistry."
|
||
Dr. Oswal faced some resistance in graduate school, first
|
||
from faculty who thought any kind of graduate work would be too
|
||
demanding for a blind person, particularly someone newly blinded,
|
||
and later in connection with his doctoral project, which involved
|
||
field work in industry. "I solved the problems blindness might
|
||
have created in the field work by choosing a cultural
|
||
anthropology research method instead of statistical number
|
||
crunching, but even if I had decided to do statistical work,
|
||
there are several statistical computer programs today which work
|
||
well with speech or Braille. You have to insist on doing what you
|
||
want to do and then make the effort to find innovative ways to do
|
||
it. Don't settle for someone else's decision that you can't."
|
||
Oswal insisted on teaching throughout graduate school,
|
||
despite the advice of those who told him teaching plus graduate-
|
||
level research would be too hard. He succeeded academically
|
||
despite those predictions, and the teaching experience he gained
|
||
as a graduate student was important work experience when he went
|
||
looking for a faculty position. (He abandoned his idea of working
|
||
in industry because large companies were laying off employees
|
||
while universities were having difficulty attracting qualified
|
||
professors.)
|
||
Three universities offered him jobs, but he chose MTSU
|
||
because he felt the attitude during the interview process was the
|
||
most positive. "They asked me questions, such as how I would keep
|
||
track of my students, because they were curious. But they assured
|
||
me they knew I could do it; they just wondered exactly how. I
|
||
told them I would take attendance, and if I ever found out that a
|
||
student had walked out during class after roll call, I would
|
||
recommend that such a student be suspended from school. I knew
|
||
from my teaching experience as a graduate student that, once my
|
||
students got to know me, they would respect me and have no
|
||
interest in sneaking out of class."
|
||
Dr. Oswal uses Braille for personal notes such as class
|
||
attendance records, speech for his computer work, and a scanner
|
||
to deal with print. "I think teaching is by no means the only
|
||
area of technical communication in which a blind person could
|
||
work. For example, someone interested in computers who doesn't
|
||
want to be a programmer could learn to manage a computer lab or
|
||
could become an entrepreneur who sets up computer systems for
|
||
small companies or government agencies. Someone interested in
|
||
writing who gets the necessary science and technology courses in
|
||
college could be a technical writer. I think a blind person might
|
||
even be a better technical writer than someone with sight,
|
||
because technical writers prepare user manuals for products, and
|
||
a blind person really has to study a product carefully to learn
|
||
how it works and how to use it. Since the eye is usually faster
|
||
than the hand, a sighted person may examine the product
|
||
superficially and miss things."
|
||
For students who want to study science in college, he
|
||
recommends contacting East Carolina University in Greenville,
|
||
North Carolina, which has adapted the chemistry lab for students
|
||
who are blind and which is willing to share information with
|
||
students or with other universities. "Students should also
|
||
remember that you don't necessarily have to see something with
|
||
your own eyes or do it with your own hands to learn about it. You
|
||
can have a classmate in biology explain to you what he sees and
|
||
what he is doing while he dissects the frog, and there are some
|
||
things you can touch. It will take extra effort, but it's worth
|
||
it."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Barbara Walker walks with cane. CAPTION: Barbara Walker]
|
||
|
||
THE SOLO
|
||
by Barbara Walker
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: Barbara Walker is a dedicated Federationist
|
||
and a thoughtful, loving mother of two. She frequently writes of
|
||
her experience as a blind person for the NFB's Kernel Series of
|
||
paperbacks. The following story appeared in the latest of these
|
||
books, The Journey. It begins with Dr. Jernigan's introduction.
|
||
Here it is:
|
||
For all of us, life is full of choices. A frequent choice
|
||
those of us who are blind face is whether to accept more help
|
||
than we really need (thus furthering misconceptions which exist
|
||
about us) or to refuse such help and risk creating a scene or
|
||
causing embarrassment to a valued colleague. Here Barbara Walker
|
||
describes just such a situation:
|
||
It is often hard to know where to draw the line between
|
||
acceptance of what is and the necessity to take a stand for
|
||
change. And for me, mostly this struggle has been played out in
|
||
little things. One such instance involved my singing a solo in
|
||
church.
|
||
For quite some time, the choir director at my church had
|
||
been asking me to sing a solo. She said people had approached her
|
||
wanting me to do that, and wanting her to encourage me, since
|
||
they knew I wouldn't be likely to request the privilege when
|
||
opportunities were given to do so. I had finally agreed to invite
|
||
my sister to come and sing a duet with me, but it became obvious
|
||
that our church schedules were such that it might be a long time
|
||
before that would be workable. The director's next request was
|
||
that I choose something to sing and perhaps a member of the choir
|
||
to sing with, and ask an accompanist to play if I preferred not
|
||
to play my guitar.
|
||
All of those seemed like piece-of-cake kinds of things to
|
||
her, I'm sure. But for me, a person whose ministry through music
|
||
is not an assertive one, those suggestions sounded unthinkable.
|
||
Assuming I had the nerve to approach another choir member to sing
|
||
with me (which I didn't), how would the person respond?
|
||
Also I learn music by hearing and memorizing it. I don't do
|
||
solos and don't have a storehouse of options to present to a
|
||
potential accompanist. As I stood before the director in the
|
||
presence of a friend with whom I ride to choir, I felt the
|
||
familiar longing to be assertive struggling with the urge to run
|
||
to some place where I could be inconspicuous.
|
||
The visible result of that struggle was a period of silence
|
||
followed by an explanation to her of the situation as I saw it. I
|
||
wanted very much to be able to thank her for her suggestions and
|
||
follow them through. But the mere thought of doing that
|
||
constricted my throat, weakened my knees, and sent my tongue
|
||
between my teeth to stifle their chattering. Ultimately I
|
||
reminded her that I was not a soloist requesting an opportunity
|
||
to perform, but a servant shyly preparing to answer a call to
|
||
minister. The potential duet discussed that night also fell
|
||
through due to scheduling difficulties.
|
||
Shortly after that I received a call from the director
|
||
asking if I would sing a short portion of an upcoming anthem as a
|
||
solo. Knowing that, although it was a familiar hymn tune, the
|
||
lyrics were different, I said I would be glad to do it but would
|
||
need someone to read the words to me before we practiced it. I
|
||
said I would bring my Braille `n Speak for that purpose.
|
||
During practice, when it came time to work on that anthem,
|
||
she announced that I would be singing the first verse. She had
|
||
all of the women sing it through one time, and I entered the
|
||
words into my Braille 'n Speak as they sang. There was one part I
|
||
didn't understand, so I asked for clarification before singing it
|
||
myself as she had requested. Her response both surprised and
|
||
humiliated me. "Oh, just sing the words you know, or sing la la
|
||
la. They'll love whatever you do, and no one will know if you're
|
||
singing what's written or not."
|
||
There it was again--the old "anything you do will be
|
||
wonderful, Honey" routine. Suddenly the most surprising thing to
|
||
me was why I still, after all these years, found it catching me
|
||
off guard. I sat for a moment in the silence of belittlement,
|
||
thinking thoughts of the obvious: "She would know. The choir
|
||
would know. God would know." And as the silence seemed to be
|
||
melting into the rustling of papers and shifting of weight on
|
||
chairs, I heard my voice from somewhere saying, "I would know."
|
||
With the barely audible prompting of a fellow choir member
|
||
who has often responded to my real requests for her assistance
|
||
rather than her imaginings of what I might need, I rather feebly
|
||
sang my renewed commitment to love and serve Jesus. Before
|
||
leaving that night, the director, the accompanist, and I agreed
|
||
to meet in the sanctuary on Sunday morning prior to the service
|
||
to practice with the microphone.
|
||
When I arrived in the sanctuary on Sunday, the director was
|
||
talking to the sound control person. She announced to me that he
|
||
would place a microphone on a stand and someone would assist me
|
||
to it and stand by me while I sang. I felt again the grip of
|
||
incredulity. For years I had been processing and recessing with
|
||
the choir, not to mention coming in and out of the choir loft and
|
||
chancel area for various other purposes.
|
||
Struggling to keep my composure, I found myself asking the
|
||
kind, bubbly, victim of society's insistence that I be cared for-
|
||
-this choir director whose spirit and freedom to be uninhibited I
|
||
receive as gifts to cherish--questions which sounded harsh and
|
||
unrelenting.
|
||
"Do you think of me as an adult? Why is it necessary that I
|
||
use the microphone differently from the way others have used it?
|
||
What is it that causes people to cast reality and experience to
|
||
the wind and insist that everything be different when working
|
||
with a blind person?" At once, her breezy confidence turned into
|
||
wind-swept confusion. We were swirling toward a trap of
|
||
absurdity--she wanting to protect me, I wanting to educate her,
|
||
both wanting to serve Jesus.
|
||
As each of us shared her concerns with the other, we came to
|
||
terms with the situation. Since only the women were singing that
|
||
day, I agreed to sit in the front rather than in my usual place
|
||
in the second row. The standing microphone would be in front of
|
||
me. Pride wanted me to insist that I sit in my usual row and walk
|
||
down to the microphone. Knowledge said others who prefer not to
|
||
be conspicuous have sat by the microphone or had it passed to
|
||
them where they were seated. Reason suggested I accept the plan.
|
||
Wisdom concurred, reminding me I was there to minister, not to
|
||
win a contest of wills.
|
||
At home after the service, I discussed the situation with my
|
||
children. They were both glad I hadn't allowed the original
|
||
scenario to prevail. John, my eight-year-old, said it wouldn't
|
||
have been right. Marsha, my ten-year-old, elaborated. "I would
|
||
have been embarrassed," she said, "not because anyone should be
|
||
ashamed to get help if it's needed, but because you wouldn't need
|
||
that help and you and we would know it." She felt that for me to
|
||
accept that option would have been to deny progress.
|
||
I recalled the fierce independence of their deceased father,
|
||
who had treated his blindness as a characteristic which, although
|
||
causing some inconvenience, would not have its existence used as
|
||
a basis for buying into society's notion that it should
|
||
debilitate him. I also thought of the tens of thousands of us in
|
||
the National Federation of the Blind who daily deal with
|
||
struggles such as this one. I hoped we had all taken a small step
|
||
forward.
|
||
Since that day I have sung two additional short solos. One
|
||
was at a Sunday evening service, at which I walked to the
|
||
microphone from a place in the congregation and returned to my
|
||
seat during the remainder of the song. The other occasion was
|
||
during a regular service, and the choir director previously
|
||
mentioned was again in charge. This time I stayed in my usual
|
||
place and was handed the mike just prior to my solo. There was no
|
||
discussion, no confusion, no trouble at all.
|
||
The message I sang that day was: "God of many names,
|
||
gathered into one, in your glory come and meet us, moving,
|
||
endlessly becoming." And as it happened within me and within the
|
||
Trinity Church choir director, it happens for all of us. We are
|
||
all "moving, endlessly becoming," and that is a marvelous source
|
||
of hope.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Noel Nightingale]
|
||
|
||
SLOW DOWN, NOT SO FAST!
|
||
by Noel Nightingale
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The last time my family lived in London,
|
||
all three children were enrolled in school, which meant that, by
|
||
planning carefully and watching the time, I could actually dash
|
||
into central London by tube to do an errand or two or have lunch
|
||
with my husband and return home again before school ended for the
|
||
day. Time was of the essence because, if I missed a train and
|
||
stood for twenty minutes waiting for the next one, my schedule
|
||
could be hopelessly thrown off.
|
||
One day, as I was striding along the high street on my way
|
||
to the station, I heard a male voice behind me, repeatedly
|
||
shouting "Madam, please!" Gradually it was born in upon me that I
|
||
was the object of this plea. I looked back, though I did not stop
|
||
walking. As he drew level with me, he demanded in an aggrieved
|
||
and somewhat out-of-breath voice, "Why do you think you must walk
|
||
so fast? You don't have to prove anything."
|
||
I explained as patiently as I could that I was on a tight
|
||
schedule. If I walked to the station as rapidly as I could and
|
||
then found when I arrived that I had just missed a train, I would
|
||
be comforted during my wait for the next one by knowing that
|
||
nothing I could have done would have enabled me to catch the one
|
||
that had gotten away, whereas, if I strolled along the street and
|
||
missed the train, I would be forced to admit that I could have
|
||
made it if I had just exerted a little more effort.
|
||
My explanation had the virtue of shutting the man up, but it
|
||
certainly did not convince him. He went away still believing that
|
||
I was showing off or flirting with danger or just being one of
|
||
those crazy Americans who never know how to behave properly. His
|
||
parting remark was to the effect that blind people had no
|
||
business pelting along the road like everybody else. The entire
|
||
incident annoyed me, but I don't know that I had really thought
|
||
about it again until I read the following article, which was
|
||
first printed in the Winter, 1993, edition of The Washingtonian,
|
||
a publication of the National Federation of the Blind of
|
||
Washington. Noel Nightingale is an active, thoughtful, and
|
||
interesting young woman. She is also the Second Vice President of
|
||
the Greater Seattle Chapter of the NFB of Washington. Here is
|
||
what she has to say:
|
||
On the way from my apartment to the law school at the
|
||
University of Washington one Thursday afternoon, I was crossing
|
||
the intersection at Forty-Second and Brooklyn ahead of a man who
|
||
had something quite revealing to tell me. He came up beside me,
|
||
demanding that I "Slow down, slow down." I looked around,
|
||
expecting to see someone else nearby as the intended object of
|
||
his advice. The case, however, was that I was the only other
|
||
person occupying that corner. I was confused. Why did he want me
|
||
to slow down? I had no reason to reduce my pace since the
|
||
sidewalk was free of obstructions: people, potholes, or
|
||
construction. Why had he issued his command?
|
||
His words settled into a deep part of my mind that I rarely
|
||
take time to explore. As blind people, day in and day out, we are
|
||
told in innumerable ways to slow down. Perhaps because we are
|
||
excelling in careers, engaging in activities thought not to be
|
||
appropriate for blind people, or merely leading normal lives, we
|
||
are told in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to stay in our places.
|
||
Go slowly. Go without confidence.
|
||
Because we in the National Federation of the Blind have
|
||
learned to be vigilant, we know not to let this message become a
|
||
subconscious road map. To do so would deny us the achievement we
|
||
all work toward. Long before the aforementioned concerned citizen
|
||
felt it his duty to prescribe my speed, the same message had been
|
||
planted in that deep part of my head. His message tells me two
|
||
things: that blind people are not supposed to excel and that
|
||
mediocrity is good enough because society expects so little of
|
||
us.
|
||
When I was far away from the corner, nearing the law school,
|
||
I felt tears coming to my eyes as his words resonated in me. Once
|
||
again a deep chord had been struck. I knew it wasn't fair, and it
|
||
wasn't right, but it was painful. It was also a clear reminder of
|
||
how far we still have to go in teaching the public, including
|
||
ourselves, about the capabilities of blind people. The work of
|
||
the National Federation of the Blind is far from finished.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: James Gashel]
|
||
|
||
SSI MODERNIZATION: THE NFB SPEAKS OUT
|
||
by James Gashel
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: For several years now the Social Security
|
||
Administration has been trying to modernize the Supplemental
|
||
Security Income (SSI) program, which has not been significantly
|
||
overhauled since its inception more than twenty years ago. Sharon
|
||
Gold, member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind and President of the NFB of California, served on a
|
||
high-powered team of experts appointed during the Bush
|
||
Administration to recommend changes in the program that should be
|
||
proposed to Congress. Now Congressional committees are beginning
|
||
to look seriously at the issue. On March 1, 1994, the
|
||
Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and
|
||
Means of the House of Representatives conducted hearings, and the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind was asked to present testimony.
|
||
Here it is:
|
||
|
||
Testimony of the National Federation of the Blind
|
||
Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources
|
||
Committee on Ways and Means
|
||
United States House of Representatives
|
||
Washington, D. C.
|
||
March 1, 1994
|
||
|
||
Mr. Chairman, my name is James Gashel. I am the Director of
|
||
Governmental Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind. My
|
||
address is 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230;
|
||
telephone (410) 659-9314. I appreciate very much your invitation
|
||
to testify in this hearing on modernizing the Supplemental
|
||
Security Income (SSI) program. Blind people who meet the income
|
||
and resource limits under SSI are eligible for benefits as a
|
||
categorical group. Therefore, SSI is a high-priority program for
|
||
us.
|
||
The National Federation of the Blind--the organization which
|
||
I represent--has often been described as the "voice of the
|
||
nation's blind." Blind people guide and direct the Federation at
|
||
all levels. All of our elected officers and the vast majority of
|
||
our members are blind. In each state, the District of Columbia,
|
||
and Puerto Rico there is a state affiliate of the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind. Local chapters can be found in most
|
||
sizable population areas. The positions we express before the
|
||
Congress and other public bodies are determined by the blind
|
||
themselves.
|
||
The subject of the hour is modernizing SSI. The key
|
||
provisions and concepts which form Title XVI were crafted by the
|
||
Congress in 1972, and the first cash benefits were paid to
|
||
recipients in 1974. Some amendments have been enacted since that
|
||
time, but certainly in its broad outline and major components the
|
||
SSI law is essentially unchanged. This is in large part a tribute
|
||
to the enlightened policies which Congress incorporated into the
|
||
original bill. Times change, however, bringing new demographic
|
||
patterns and evolving economic conditions.
|
||
A panel of experts assembled by the Social Security
|
||
Administration has acknowledged the need to review and update
|
||
certain legislative provisions in the SSI program. The panel's
|
||
findings point to a need for program restoration to achieve the
|
||
goals which Congress envisioned for SSI. Changing demographic and
|
||
economic conditions have brought with them a gradual
|
||
deterioration in the capacity of the SSI program to respond
|
||
adequately to human need. On behalf of both present and future
|
||
recipients, and indeed on behalf of all Americans, Congress has a
|
||
responsibility to address this situation before deterioration
|
||
becomes a full-scale crisis.
|
||
Mr. Chairman, you are particularly to be commended for
|
||
placing SSI modernization on the agenda for this subcommittee and
|
||
for bringing the present need to the attention of your colleagues
|
||
in the Congress as a whole. No one should doubt the need for
|
||
action to address long-standing and growing deficiencies in this
|
||
program. In my opinion the initiative to bring SSI into the
|
||
mainstream of current social and economic trends must come from
|
||
the Congress. The facts are on the table, and there is no real
|
||
dispute as to the direction which must be taken.
|
||
Mr. Chairman, I want to highlight just a few major points of
|
||
concern to those whom I represent in the SSI, blind, category. In
|
||
many instances the modernization report speaks quite clearly to
|
||
our concerns. In other instances we may have some divergence or
|
||
perhaps give greater emphasis to particular matters. In every
|
||
respect, however, we are foursquare behind the effort to improve
|
||
and update SSI. Here are the reasons why.
|
||
|
||
(1) Payment Standard
|
||
The federal benefit rate leaves most recipients in poverty.
|
||
Congress did not intend that this should happen. The federal
|
||
standard is seventy-five percent of poverty-level income for
|
||
single individuals. For couples the standard slightly exceeds
|
||
eighty percent of the poverty level for two-person families.
|
||
State supplementation, where it occurs, rarely brings the benefit
|
||
rate above the poverty line. The panel has recommended gradually
|
||
increasing the individuals' rate to 120 percent of poverty and
|
||
retaining the couples' standard as 150 percent of the
|
||
individuals' standard.
|
||
We certainly support raising the individuals' benefit rate
|
||
as proposed. As for couples, we would prefer to eliminate this
|
||
classification and treat all SSI recipients as individuals. It is
|
||
generally recognized that SSI benefits are intended to meet the
|
||
basic subsistence needs of recipients. By definition the
|
||
recipients are aged, blind, or disabled. Subsistence needs do not
|
||
take into account the special needs which often arise. For
|
||
example, blind people must obtain and often must compensate
|
||
persons to read printed matter to them. Although their medical
|
||
bills may be covered by Medicaid, special transportation costs
|
||
for medical appointments must be paid by them from their SSI
|
||
funds. It is not uncommon to find that recipients must choose
|
||
between meeting necessary special costs and putting food on their
|
||
tables. Forcing people to live in such circumstances is not
|
||
acceptable.
|
||
|
||
(2) Unearned Income Disregards
|
||
The experts have recommended increasing the general $20
|
||
unearned income disregard to $30. The original level was one-
|
||
seventh of the federal benefit rate. We favor restoring that
|
||
ratio and maintaining it as benefits are increased by automatic
|
||
cost-of-living adjustments. As proposed by the experts,
|
||
eliminating in-kind support and maintenance from being counted as
|
||
income would go a long way toward achieving our objective of
|
||
restoring the value of the unearned income disregard.
|
||
Viewed from the recipients' vantage point, the erosion in
|
||
purchasing power of the original $20 general-income exclusion is
|
||
actually a cut in the standard of living provided under SSI.
|
||
Although the benefit rate has increased with automatic annual
|
||
adjustments, the value of total funds available--SSI and
|
||
disregarded income, combined--is not increasing as much as
|
||
inflation. This should be corrected.
|
||
When Title XVI was first enacted, the benefits were not
|
||
indexed to increases in the cost of living. Congress soon
|
||
discovered, however, that indexing would be necessary.
|
||
Unfortunately the income and resource limits, which are actually
|
||
decreased in value by inflation, were not similarly indexed.
|
||
Until this is done, there will certainly be a need from time to
|
||
time for Congress to update the values which are stated in the
|
||
law. Failure to do so in over twenty years shows the need for
|
||
annual indexing.
|
||
|
||
(3) Earned Income Disregards
|
||
We strongly support the recommendation to increase the basic
|
||
earned income disregard from $65 to $200. Continuing the point
|
||
about indexing, we favor making automatic annual adjustments in
|
||
this exclusion just as in the general income exclusion. We also
|
||
support changing the exemption on earned income above the basic
|
||
exempt amount to two-thirds rather than one-half. Increasing and
|
||
indexing the earned income exclusion is in my opinion the best
|
||
way to help substantial numbers of recipients to become attached
|
||
to the work force and eventually to achieve self-support.
|
||
The experts' report is somewhat confusing in presenting a
|
||
recommendation which could affect the exclusion of "blind work
|
||
expenses." We strongly favor retaining the current exemption and
|
||
applying it after (not before) two-thirds of the remaining earned
|
||
income has been subtracted in the sequence of deductions. This
|
||
would be no change from present law. The experts' report is
|
||
ambiguous in suggesting streamlining of the earned income
|
||
disregard with the proviso that a work expense deduction would
|
||
still be used if more favorable to the recipient. This would be
|
||
confusing and no doubt disadvantageous to most working recipients
|
||
who are blind.
|
||
I have already noted our recommendation that all SSI
|
||
recipients should be treated as individuals, eliminating the
|
||
couples classification altogether. The experts rejected this idea
|
||
with respect to the federal benefit rate but seem to favor it
|
||
with respect to the treatment of earned income. We support their
|
||
recommendation that a full set of earned income exclusions should
|
||
be available to each person in a couple. The earned income
|
||
disregards are expected to serve as work incentives. The effect
|
||
of the present law is to give members of a couple a less
|
||
rewarding work incentive than that provided to individuals. There
|
||
is no rational basis for this distinction. All recipients should
|
||
be given equally beneficial incentives to work.
|
||
|
||
(4) Resource Exclusions
|
||
The current resource exclusions of $2,000 for individuals
|
||
and $3,000 for couples are well below an acceptable standard in
|
||
today's economy. Congress should give high priority to raising
|
||
the resource limits. We favor the proposal to streamline the
|
||
exclusions as proposed and to increase the individuals' limit to
|
||
$7,000. The new higher limit of $7,000 should apply to each SSI
|
||
recipient, whether single or married. This amount should be
|
||
indexed and adjusted annually to retain the value of the
|
||
exclusion.
|
||
With the passage of time, accumulating excess resources is
|
||
more frequently encountered as a reason for overpayments. The
|
||
circumstances which lead to the receipt of countable resources
|
||
are often not within the recipient's control. Also the resource
|
||
exclusion provisions are hard for many people to understand and
|
||
apply in particular situations. How resources are handled can
|
||
make the difference between continuing eligibility and loss of
|
||
benefits and a serious overpayment. Therefore, we support the
|
||
recommendation to limit the amount of an overpayment, if caused
|
||
by excess resources, to no greater than the amount by which the
|
||
resource limit has been exceeded.
|
||
|
||
(5) Plans for Achieving Self-Support
|
||
The Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) provisions have
|
||
become increasingly important, especially to younger recipients.
|
||
A PASS allows for the receipt of income or resources in excess of
|
||
the otherwise applicable limits. The income and resources so
|
||
excluded must be used for costs incurred or anticipated to
|
||
achieve self-support goals. Payment for training or for job-
|
||
related equipment is a typical use for the excluded funds.
|
||
Many if not most activities relating to self-support efforts
|
||
must occur within fairly rigid time schedules, such as in the
|
||
case of vocational training or higher education classes. An
|
||
applicant or recipient who submits a PASS for approval by the
|
||
Administration cannot count on timely action. But the PASS cannot
|
||
be implemented until accepted by Social Security. With the time
|
||
delays that occur, valuable training opportunities can be lost.
|
||
Therefore, we strongly favor the recommendation to establish
|
||
presumptive PASS approval if no action has been taken within
|
||
thirty days of a plan's submission.
|
||
|
||
(6) Outreach Issues
|
||
The modernization report recommends funding for SSI outreach
|
||
activities. Funds should be available to support ongoing
|
||
cooperative agreements with agencies and organizations outside of
|
||
Social Security and to meet internal costs associated with
|
||
outreach provided by the Social Security Administration itself.
|
||
Continuing outreach activities are justified in the SSI program
|
||
by the fact that matters relating to eligibility and payment
|
||
amounts are enormously complex and may often pose a somewhat
|
||
daunting challenge to persons who are potentially eligible. Also
|
||
the conditions for eligibility may easily be misunderstood by
|
||
potential beneficiaries. Since these circumstances are unlikely
|
||
to change, outreach is essential.
|
||
Unfortunately the current approach to outreach largely
|
||
excludes significant projects which could have a substantial
|
||
impact on potentially eligible blind people. This is partly due
|
||
to the fact that blind people are quite thoroughly dispersed in
|
||
the population. Our numbers in any particular local area are
|
||
quite small relative to the disabled or elderly. SSA, however,
|
||
views outreach as a locally based activity--having local groups
|
||
designated to work with local Social Security field offices. This
|
||
approach, while undoubtedly well-suited to finding disabled or
|
||
elderly persons, will never yield significant, cost-beneficial
|
||
results in conducting outreach for blind people.
|
||
The outreach strategy employed should be flexible enough to
|
||
respond to our comparatively small and scattered numbers. In the
|
||
country as a whole, blind people are approximately two percent of
|
||
the eligible SSI population. Therefore, a project on a statewide
|
||
or even regional scale is apt to be more effective than a local
|
||
effort. Several such efforts combined into one national project
|
||
could yield meaningful results for the blind population. So far
|
||
that approach has not been compatible with SSA's plans.
|
||
Targeted outreach for blind persons would meet an important
|
||
and recognized need. Buried within title XVI there are numerous
|
||
provisions which have special application to blind people.
|
||
Blindness, for example, is defined. The substantial gainful
|
||
activity criteria do not apply. There is also a unique work
|
||
expense deduction which must be applied at the correct point in
|
||
the sequence of deductions to obtain countable income. These are
|
||
fine points, and the population of blind people is small.
|
||
Therefore, we experience many errors largely due to lack of
|
||
correct information. Targeted outreach to address this situation
|
||
is definitely justified.
|
||
Mr. Chairman, there is ample documentation that after twenty
|
||
years of operation the SSI program is long overdue for reform.
|
||
Many of the issues which I have presented here are not new or
|
||
unknown. The modernization report discusses most of them quite
|
||
thoroughly. This report and the initiatives and modifications
|
||
related to it should not be allowed to grow dusty on the shelf.
|
||
The quality of life for several million Americans who have the
|
||
lowest income in our country is at stake. President Clinton has
|
||
made a commitment to the public to present a welfare reform plan
|
||
to the Congress. The plan which emerges from the Congress should,
|
||
in addition to reforming Aid to Families with Dependent Children
|
||
and other programs, include SSI modernization provisions as well.
|
||
This must be on our national agenda, and for that reason I once
|
||
again applaud you for holding this important hearing today. On
|
||
behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, I thank you.
|
||
|
||
******************************
|
||
If you or a friend would like to remember the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing
|
||
the following language:
|
||
"I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of
|
||
the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a
|
||
District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or
|
||
"_____ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and
|
||
bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of
|
||
blind persons."
|
||
******************************
|
||
|
||
LAST CHANCE CONVENTION REMINDERS:
|
||
THE ROAR OF '94
|
||
by Sue and Don Drapinski
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: The following article provides the last
|
||
collection of Convention ideas and information from the Michigan
|
||
affiliate. Before we know it, we will be in Detroit, putting
|
||
these suggestions into action. If you have not made your personal
|
||
Convention room reservation, you must not put it off any longer.
|
||
Convention rates are singles $38, doubles and twins $43, triples
|
||
$45, and quads $48, plus tax. The telephone number for Westin
|
||
Hotel reservations is (313) 568-8000. Consult the March and April
|
||
issues of the Braille Monitor for additional registration
|
||
information. Here is the final installment of information about
|
||
where to go and what to do in Detroit:
|
||
As we write the last convention article, we hope that you
|
||
have made your hotel and tour reservations. In this final article
|
||
we will give you several reminders, provide more detailed data on
|
||
matters previously discussed, and offer some new information
|
||
about things to do in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Since we
|
||
have not covered activities specifically for children and
|
||
families before, we will do so in this article.
|
||
Beginning with the reminders: remember that tour
|
||
reservations should be made as soon as possible. Refer to the
|
||
March Monitor for details. If you have any questions regarding
|
||
the tours, please call Sue Drapinski at (810) 546-6910 after 5:00
|
||
p.m. Also, if you are planning a trip to Windsor for shopping,
|
||
dinner, or casino gambling, remember to bring proof of
|
||
citizenship.
|
||
The Windsor Tunnel bus, which stops just outside the
|
||
Renaissance Center, will take you to Windsor and will drop you
|
||
off at one of several stops for shopping or eating. The fare is
|
||
$1.50 each way. For those interested in casino gambling, we have
|
||
been advised that the casino will be open beginning May 17, and
|
||
the hours should accommodate everyone's schedule. It will be open
|
||
Monday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., and from 11:00
|
||
a.m. Friday through 4:00 a.m. Monday. The Windsor Chamber of
|
||
Commerce will have welcome ambassadors near the NFB of Michigan
|
||
information desk on Saturday, July 2, and Sunday, July 3, to
|
||
answer any questions you may have about the attractions in and
|
||
around Windsor.
|
||
For those arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport,
|
||
transportation to the hotel is available through Commuter
|
||
Transportation, Inc. Arrangements can be made at each terminal in
|
||
the baggage claim area. The cost is $13 one way. Advance
|
||
reservations can be made by calling (800) 488-7433. The cost is
|
||
$28 one way per van for up to four people.
|
||
Valet parking at the Westin Hotel is $9.50 per day for hotel
|
||
guests. Parking costs vary from $2.50 to $8.50 per day, depending
|
||
on the kind of facility and proximity to the hotel.
|
||
On Monday evening, July 4, there will be an all-you-can-eat
|
||
barbecue. The menu will include hamburgers, hot dogs, cole slaw,
|
||
beans, pie, iced tea, lemonade, and beer. There will be a live
|
||
band for our listening and dancing pleasure; and for children of
|
||
all ages there will be carnival midway games and prizes. We
|
||
encourage everyone to make plans to attend. It will definitely be
|
||
a family event. We are also working on having a dunk tank, and if
|
||
we are successful, you will have a chance to dunk your favorite
|
||
Federation leader!
|
||
There are many places of interest that we have not mentioned
|
||
previously, including some right in the Westin Hotel and
|
||
Renaissance Center. The Westin Hotel has an indoor pool and
|
||
health club for the use of its guests. Also, on the 72nd floor of
|
||
the Westin is the Summit Observation Deck. It is an enclosed,
|
||
revolving deck which will afford you a 360-degree view of Detroit
|
||
and Windsor. In the Renaissance Center you will find the Ford
|
||
Motor Company's "World of Technology" exhibit.
|
||
The International Freedom Festival will be at Hart Plaza the
|
||
weekend of July 1 to 4, and the Latino World Festival will be
|
||
there July 8 to 10. Hart Plaza is on the Detroit River right next
|
||
to the Renaissance Center.
|
||
There are numerous entertainment choices for those who want
|
||
to enjoy concerts or theater productions. Many schedules have not
|
||
yet been published, but we do know of the following concerts at
|
||
the Pine Knob Outdoor Music Theater in Clarkston (about forty-
|
||
five miles north of Detroit). For ticket information, call (810)
|
||
377-0100. In concert on June 29, Meat Loaf; July 1, Steve Miller;
|
||
July 4, Depeche Mode with Primal Scream; July 5, the B-52's; July
|
||
7, Santana; July 8, Peter Frampton; and on July 9, Bonnie Raitt
|
||
with Bruce Hornsby.
|
||
Phil Collins will be at the Palace of Auburn Hills, June 28
|
||
to 29. Call (810) 377-8600 for tickets or other show information.
|
||
For schedule information for the Fox Theater, Joe Louis Arena,
|
||
Cobo Arena, or Meadowbrook Outdoor Music Theater, call (313) 396-
|
||
7600. For information for the Fisher Theater, call (313) 872-
|
||
1000; the GEM Theater, (313) 963-9800; the Detroit Symphony
|
||
Orchestra, (313) 833-3362; and the Pontiac Silverdome, (810) 456-
|
||
1600. The Pontiac Silverdome will host the last of the World
|
||
Soccer Cup games on June 28 between Brazil and Sweden.
|
||
The Detroit Tigers have home games July 5 to 10. The Chicago
|
||
White Sox are in town July 5 and 6, and the Texas Rangers are
|
||
here July 8, 9, and 10. Ticket prices range from $5 to $20.
|
||
Tickets can be ordered by calling (810) 258-4437.
|
||
Greektown, which is easy to get to on the People Mover, is
|
||
home to Trappers Alley, a five-level mall featuring seventy-five
|
||
stores, boutiques, and restaurants. There are many restaurants to
|
||
choose from in Greektown including the Bouzouki Lounge, Dionysis
|
||
Taverna, New Hella's Cafe, Old Parthenon, Olympia Shish Kabob,
|
||
and Pegasus Taverna. You will also find many authentic Greek
|
||
grocery stores and bakeries.
|
||
Rivertown is an historic converted warehouse district
|
||
located just east of the Renaissance Center. It boasts many rock
|
||
and jazz clubs and restaurants<74>many with outdoor decks to take
|
||
advantage of the summer weather. Notable restaurants include
|
||
Dunleavy's River Place, Rattlesnake Club, Rhinoceros, Rivertown
|
||
Saloon, Soup Kitchen Saloon, and Woodbridge Tavern.
|
||
In Bricktown you will find a little bit of everything in the
|
||
turn-of-the-century buildings that line the streets. Located just
|
||
three blocks north of the Renaissance Center, some of the
|
||
restaurants worthy of a visit are Sweetwater Tavern, Jacoby's,
|
||
and the Franklin Street Brewing Company.
|
||
Mexican crafts and cuisine abound in Mexicantown, just west
|
||
of downtown Detroit and near Tiger Stadium. Restaurant choices
|
||
include Armando's Authentic Mexican Cuisine, El Zocalo's, and
|
||
Xochimilco's.
|
||
If you are looking for jazz entertainment, you can choose
|
||
from Bo-Mac's Club, Serengity's, or Bert's Market Place (all
|
||
within a short distance of the hotel), or Ricardo's Lounge on the
|
||
east side of Detroit, and the Rhythm Room in Hamtramck.
|
||
For those interested in horse racing, Ladbroke DRC is
|
||
approximately fifteen minutes from downtown Detroit and is the
|
||
home of thoroughbred racing from March through November. For
|
||
further information call (313) 525-7300. Hazel Park Racetrack,
|
||
just ten miles north of Detroit, is home to harness racing Monday
|
||
through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
|
||
The Hiram Walker Company in Windsor offers one-and-a-half-
|
||
hour free tours of its Canadian Club Distillery Monday through
|
||
Friday.
|
||
If you are driving or renting a car once you are here, Jack
|
||
Miner's bird sanctuary in Kingsville, Ontario, is about one and a
|
||
half hours from Detroit. It is the home of one of Canada's most
|
||
famous conservationists and the wild bird sanctuary that he
|
||
created there. Admission is free.
|
||
For children, families, or those who just wish to be
|
||
children again, the Children's Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor is
|
||
full of exhibits that children can touch, climb on, or crawl
|
||
under. Admission is $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for children over
|
||
three. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to
|
||
5:30 p.m., 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, and 1:00<30>5:00 p.m.
|
||
on Sunday. For an extra adventure, take the Amtrak train from
|
||
Detroit to Ann Arbor for a round-trip fare of $15, Monday through
|
||
Thursday and Saturday, and $20 on Friday and Sunday.
|
||
Belle Isle Park, just a short distance from the hotel, is
|
||
home to the Belle Isle Aquarium, conservatory, zoo, petting zoo,
|
||
and Dossin's Great Lakes Museum.
|
||
The Detroit Zoo, ten miles north of Detroit and accessible
|
||
by bus, is one of the world's largest zoos. It houses many
|
||
exhibits, both indoor and outdoor, as well as a log cabin
|
||
learning center and a zoo train. It is open daily from 10:00 a.m.
|
||
to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for children two
|
||
to twelve.
|
||
The ultimate in indoor children's fun is found at the
|
||
Discovery Zone in Westland and Leaps and Bounds in Madison
|
||
Heights. Children can climb, crawl, jump, or slide on a variety
|
||
of indoor equipment. Admission to the Discovery Zone for an
|
||
unlimited period of time is $5.99 for children two to twelve;
|
||
under two, admission is $3.99. Leaps and Bounds admission is
|
||
$5.99 per child. Adults accompanied by a child are free at both
|
||
locations.
|
||
For pizza and fun, try Chuck E. Cheese on Michigan Avenue in
|
||
Dearborn. Here you will find a pizza parlor, arcade games, and
|
||
animated singing cartoon characters.
|
||
The Detroit Science Center is located a short distance from
|
||
the hotel and is home to the OmniMax Theater. Admission is $6.50
|
||
for adults and $4.50 for children ages four to twelve. It is open
|
||
Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Saturday and
|
||
Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.
|
||
Your Heritage House is a fine arts museum for children and
|
||
is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays, and Saturday and Sunday
|
||
by appointment. It is also only a short distance from the hotel.
|
||
For further information call (313) 871-1667.
|
||
For outdoor water fun Red Oaks Water Park in Madison Heights
|
||
(thirteen miles north of Downtown) features a water slide and
|
||
wave pool. Four Bears Park in Utica (forty-five minutes north of
|
||
Downtown) has a triple water slide, bumper boats, paddleboats,
|
||
miniature golf, and a petting zoo.
|
||
We can't make your hotel reservations for you, but you can
|
||
see from this article that we can certainly give you enough ideas
|
||
to account for every moment of your free time. We look forward to
|
||
seeing you in July.
|
||
Please remember to send door prizes to Don Drapinski, 111 W.
|
||
Woodward Heights, Hazel Park, Michigan 48030.
|
||
|
||
|
||
RECIPES
|
||
|
||
The recipes this month come from Minnesota. They are drawn
|
||
from the home management classes' recipe collection, which has
|
||
been compiled by present and former students from Blindness:
|
||
Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND, Inc.), the Federation's
|
||
orientation center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
|
||
Joyce Scanlan, Executive Director of BLIND, Inc., invited
|
||
the students to suggest favorite dishes from this collection of
|
||
new foods, family favorites, traditional Minnesota fare, ethnic
|
||
specialties, birthday requests, and a great variety of recipes
|
||
chosen for the students' special two-course guest meal and the
|
||
buffet meal for twenty-five to thirty. They invite you to try
|
||
these recipes.
|
||
|
||
SUPER BARBECUE SAUCE
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 bottle (14 ounces) catsup
|
||
1 medium onion, finely chopped (<28> cup)
|
||
1 tablespoon brown sugar
|
||
1 tablespoon vinegar
|
||
1 tablespoon lemon juice
|
||
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
|
||
1/4 teaspoon salt
|
||
Dash of Liquid Smoke
|
||
|
||
Method: Combine all ingredients (may be processed in a
|
||
blender). Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer covered 5
|
||
minutes. Baste meat with sauce during last part of cooking time.
|
||
Makes 2 cups.
|
||
Note: This sauce brushes on best when the onions are
|
||
processed in the blender at the same time the other ingredients
|
||
are being processed. Sauce may be frozen and used at a later
|
||
time.
|
||
|
||
HEARTY CHILI CON CARNE
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 pound ground beef
|
||
1 medium onion, chopped (about <20> cup)
|
||
1 small green pepper, chopped (about <20> cup)
|
||
2 cloves garlic, minced
|
||
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, undrained and cut up
|
||
1 10-3/4-ounce can tomato soup
|
||
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
|
||
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
|
||
1 cup water
|
||
1 tablespoon chili powder
|
||
1 teaspoon salt
|
||
1/2 teaspoon cumin, crushed
|
||
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
|
||
1/4 teaspoon pepper
|
||
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
|
||
1 15<31>-ounce can chili beans or kidney beans
|
||
|
||
Method: In large sauce pan or Dutch oven brown ground beef
|
||
and onion; drain. Add remaining ingredients except chili beans.
|
||
Cover and simmer over low heat <20> to 1 hour. Add chili beans and
|
||
liquid. Heat through. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
|
||
Note: Try this with a can of hot chili beans and sauce. If
|
||
you like it milder, omit the green chilies and use plain chili
|
||
beans and sauce.
|
||
|
||
MINNESOTA WILD RICE CASSEROLE
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 cup uncooked wild rice
|
||
3 cups water
|
||
1 teaspoon or less salt
|
||
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
|
||
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
|
||
1 pound ground beef
|
||
2 medium stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
|
||
1 medium onion, chopped (about <20> cup)
|
||
1 10-3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
|
||
1 soup can water
|
||
3 tablespoons soy sauce
|
||
|
||
Method: Rinse rice. Heat rice, water, and salt to boiling;
|
||
simmer 40 minutes. Do not drain. Lightly brown mushrooms in
|
||
butter or margarine; remove from skillet or Dutch oven. In same
|
||
pan brown ground beef and drain. Combine all ingredients. Pour
|
||
into 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to
|
||
45 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. If
|
||
mixture is not moist enough, bake covered for most of the baking
|
||
time. If you like a milder wild rice taste, then pre-cook the
|
||
rice for 20 minutes. Pour off the water. Then combine above
|
||
ingredients, but add another 10 3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom
|
||
soup or a 14-ounce can of beef broth. Bake covered for about 1
|
||
hour and uncover toward the end of baking. Stir and taste to
|
||
check for doneness and amount of moisture present.
|
||
|
||
CREAMY COLESLAW DRESSING
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 cup sour cream
|
||
3/4 cup sugar
|
||
1 tablespoon salt
|
||
1/2 cup cider vinegar
|
||
1<EFBFBD> cup half and half
|
||
|
||
Method: Combine ingredients and beat with a whisk until
|
||
smooth. Pour over shredded cabbage (and grated carrot if desired)
|
||
and refrigerate until well chilled. Yields 3<> cups. This recipe
|
||
is from a Minnesota cookbook, indicating it was a specialty of
|
||
Murray's Restaurant, Minneapolis. Murray's is located downtown in
|
||
the block in which BLIND, Inc., was formerly housed.
|
||
|
||
BANANA BARS
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1<EFBFBD> cups sugar
|
||
1/2 cup margarine, softened
|
||
2 eggs
|
||
1 cup dairy sour cream
|
||
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
|
||
2 teaspoons vanilla
|
||
1 teaspoon salt
|
||
1 teaspoon soda
|
||
2 cups flour
|
||
Creamy frosting (below)
|
||
|
||
Method: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream sugar and margarine.
|
||
Add eggs and sour cream; mix. Add bananas and vanilla, then dry
|
||
ingredients and mix well. Spread dough in greased and floured 15-
|
||
by-10-by-1-inch pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cool; spread with
|
||
creamy frosting. Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars. Keep refrigerated.
|
||
|
||
Creamy Frosting:
|
||
1/4 cup margarine
|
||
2 cups powdered sugar
|
||
3 tablespoons dairy sour cream
|
||
Melt margarine in saucepan over low heat, stirring
|
||
constantly until lightly browned and bubbly. Remove from heat.
|
||
Add powdered sugar and sour cream. Beat with electric mixer until
|
||
creamy.
|
||
|
||
LEFSE
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 pound baking potatoes, 4 large pared and quartered (use 3<> cups
|
||
riced potatoes)
|
||
1 teaspoon salt
|
||
1/4 cup butter, melted
|
||
1/4 cup half and half
|
||
2-1/4 cups sifted flour
|
||
|
||
Method: 1) Cook the potatoes with salt until tender. Drain
|
||
well. Immediately rice potatoes using a potato ricer. Cool
|
||
slightly. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 8 hours or
|
||
overnight. 2) Firmly pack chilled riced potatoes in measuring cup
|
||
to make 3<> cups. Place in bowl. Add melted butter and half and
|
||
half. Mix until smooth, using large spoon. Add flour, a little at
|
||
a time, mixing until dough forms. Shape mixture into 12-inch
|
||
roll. (Be sure to remove all air from mixture when shaping roll.)
|
||
Divide roll into 12 pieces. 3) Roll out each piece of dough very
|
||
thin on well-floured pastry cloth (to a 12-inch circle if using a
|
||
round griddle, or into narrower ovals, if using an oblong
|
||
griddle), using a stockinet-covered rolling pin or a lefse
|
||
rolling pin. The lefse should be very thin, about 1/16-inch
|
||
thick. Carefully roll lefse around rolling pin or a lefse stick
|
||
so the lefse can be transferred to the griddle. During rolling,
|
||
shake off excess flour. 4) Bake lefse one at a time on ungreased,
|
||
very hot griddle. When small brown spots appear on the underside
|
||
of the lefse (notice distinctive aroma as a guide, and crusty
|
||
areas), turn over using a lefse stick or long metal spatula. When
|
||
lefse are browned on both sides, fold into fourths using lefse
|
||
stick or spatula. Remove from griddle. Place on a dish towel (not
|
||
made of terry cloth). Bake another lefse and arrange on top of
|
||
first, placing the point in the opposite direction. Re-cover with
|
||
towel. Continue this way until all the lefse are prepared. Cool
|
||
lefse at room temperature. When cooled, wrap lefse in plastic
|
||
wrap, placing six in a package. Then place in plastic bag to keep
|
||
lefse soft. They can be stored up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
|
||
Makes 12 lefse. 5) To serve, lefse should be served at room
|
||
temperature. Unfold lefse and cut in half. Spread with softened
|
||
butter and sprinkle with brown or white sugar. Fold each half in
|
||
thirds, forming pie-shaped wedges.
|
||
Note: An electric griddle works best. Keep it free of excess
|
||
flour. Brush off the extra so it doesn't burn during the cooking
|
||
process.
|
||
|
||
** ** MONITOR MINIATURES ** **
|
||
|
||
[Photo: Fred Schroeder stands at podium, reading Braille. CAPTION: Dr. Fred
|
||
Schroeder]
|
||
|
||
** Congratulations:
|
||
We are delighted to report that on March 23, 1994, Fred
|
||
Schroeder, member of the Board of Directors of the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind, defended his dissertation and was
|
||
awarded a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University
|
||
of New Mexico. His research was in Braille literacy, a subject on
|
||
which he has become a recognized expert. Graduation will take
|
||
place on May 14. Dr. Schroeder completed his doctoral work in
|
||
addition to carrying out a full range of responsibilities as
|
||
husband, father, director of a state rehabilitation agency, and
|
||
active participant in numerous professional organizations in
|
||
which his participation noticeably increased the quotient of
|
||
humanity and common sense. All of us congratulate Fred warmly on
|
||
this very special occasion.
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Professor Adrienne Asch]
|
||
|
||
** Appointed:
|
||
We are pleased to report that Adrienne Asch, a long-time
|
||
Federationist, has just been named to the Henry R. Luce Chair of
|
||
Biology, Ethics, and the Politics of Human Reproduction at
|
||
Wellesley College in Massachusetts. This is a five-year
|
||
appointment with the possibility of an additional three-year
|
||
extension. Dr. Asch was chosen from an international field of
|
||
candidates and will take up her responsibilities this summer in
|
||
preparation for the coming academic year. The requirements of the
|
||
position will give Dr. Asch ample time for research and writing
|
||
in addition to her teaching. This appointment is a signal honor.
|
||
Congratulations from all of us to Professor Adrienne Asch.
|
||
|
||
**Braille-output Computer Newsletter Available:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
VersaNews is a technology magazine which covers developments
|
||
in Braille equipment and the ways in which people use Braille to
|
||
access the benefits of the computer age. Topics include product
|
||
reviews, education, tips from readers, and how-to articles on
|
||
using Braille displays to access such commercially available
|
||
tools as dictionaries, check-writing programs, and information
|
||
services. VersaNews is privately published and covers Braille
|
||
products from all American manufacturers and several imported
|
||
devices. Started twelve years ago for VersaBraille users,
|
||
VersaNews remains one of the few sources of support for teachers
|
||
and others who may have acquired these machines secondhand. It is
|
||
read in fourteen countries by educators, writers, lawyers,
|
||
housewives, and computer programmers who use Braille equipment in
|
||
their daily lives. In many cases a letter or phone call to the
|
||
editor can put subscribers with a particular problem in touch
|
||
with others who have found a solution.
|
||
VersaNews is published three times a year on MS-DOS disk, on
|
||
VersaBraille II disk, and in print. Non-print users must have a
|
||
computer or VersaBraille to read the magazine, because there is
|
||
no paper Braille edition. Subscriptions, which must be paid for
|
||
in U.S. dollars, are $25.00 in the U.S. and Canada and $35
|
||
elsewhere. Please be sure to specify the format desired. Address
|
||
orders and inquiries to VersaNews, c/o David Goldstein, Editor,
|
||
87 Sanford Lane, Stamford, Connecticut 06905; Phone (203) 336-
|
||
4330.
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Tommy Craig]
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
Lola Pace, member of the Board of Directors of the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind of Texas, reports that at its recent
|
||
state convention the National Federation of the Blind of Texas
|
||
held elections with the following results: Tommy Craig,
|
||
President; Doris Henderson, First Vice President; Lawrence
|
||
Doiron, Second Vice President; Manuel Gonzales, Treasurer;
|
||
Elizabeth Campbell, Secretary; Sam Jackson and William Harmon,
|
||
Board Members.
|
||
Glenn Crosby, who has served faithfully and well as
|
||
President for many years, had decided not to seek another term.
|
||
He will be missed as President, but both he and his wife Norma
|
||
will continue to serve as leaders in the Texas affiliate. While
|
||
everyone will miss Glenn's warmth and wisdom in the presidency,
|
||
the affiliate welcomed the new President with enthusiasm and
|
||
energy, and the entire membership has pledged its support.
|
||
Everyone in Texas is looking toward a bright future.
|
||
|
||
** New Chapter Welcomed:
|
||
One of the highlights at the annual convention of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Texas was the awarding of a
|
||
charter to the new Galveston County Chapter. According to Clint
|
||
Hall, the officers and board members of the new chapter are
|
||
William Harmon, President; Stephanie Pruitt, Vice President;
|
||
Clint Hall, Secretary/Treasurer; and Board Member, Shelly Harmon.
|
||
The newest chapter in the Lone Star State is helping to change
|
||
what it means to be blind in Texas.
|
||
|
||
** Information Needed on Implementation of the Americans with
|
||
Disabilities Act:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, together with
|
||
the Heller School, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts,
|
||
and the World Institute on Disability (WID), Berkeley,
|
||
California, received a National Institute on Disability and
|
||
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) three-year grant to conduct an
|
||
exploratory evaluation of the implementation of the Americans
|
||
with Disabilities Act (ADA). The project is based on
|
||
participatory involvement of individuals with disabilities and
|
||
representatives from a variety of advocacy organizations in
|
||
collecting information on ADA activities.
|
||
We would like to get your views on all of the major areas
|
||
covered by the ADA (employment, public/private accommodation,
|
||
transportation, and communication) that affect people with
|
||
disabilities. In particular, we are curious about the following
|
||
types of situations:
|
||
1. Informal negotiations and alternative dispute
|
||
resolution: We would like to learn about your
|
||
experiences in negotiating with employers and other
|
||
agencies for accommodations.
|
||
2. Best practices nominations: Do you have business or
|
||
public accommodations to nominate as outstanding
|
||
examples of innovative employment policies, physical
|
||
accessibility, or service accessibility?
|
||
Please forward any comments or materials to Martha
|
||
McGaughey, Ph.D., The Heller School, Brandeis University, P.O.
|
||
Box 9110, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9110; or call (617) 736-
|
||
3834; Fax: (617) 736-3864, or TDD: (617) 736-8513; Internet (e-
|
||
mail): McGaughey@binah.brandeis.cc.edu
|
||
|
||
** A Handbook of Braille Contractions:
|
||
The original printing of this useful, alphabetically-
|
||
organized, Twin Vision<6F>-format Braille contraction book, which
|
||
was offered free of charge for some time, is now out of stock. A
|
||
second printing is in progress, at a non-profit cost of $4.00 for
|
||
each book. Contractions handbook requests will be filled as books
|
||
are available, and in the order requests are received. Send
|
||
orders with checks for each book, made payable to American Action
|
||
Fund for Blind Children and Adults, 18440 Oxnard Street, Tarzana,
|
||
California 91356.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
At the February 20 meeting the Greater San Antonio Chapter
|
||
of the NFB of Texas elected the following officers and board
|
||
members for two-year terms: Martha LaQue, President; Sam Jackson,
|
||
First Vice President; James Sofka, Second Vice President; Mary
|
||
Donahue, Secretary; Peggy Gonz<6E>lez, Treasurer; and Pete Donahue
|
||
and Geraldine Corbbrey, board members.
|
||
The Austin Chapter of the NFB of Texas elected officers at
|
||
its January meeting. The following were elected: Tommy Craig,
|
||
President; Mary Ward, First Vice President; Buddy Brannan, Second
|
||
Vice President; Norma Gonzales Baker, Secretary; Wanda Hamm,
|
||
Treasurer; and Dale Hamm and Mike Waddles, Board Members.
|
||
|
||
** Publication Information Available:
|
||
Ron Burns, President of the Pompano Beach Chapter of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Florida, has asked us to
|
||
carry the following announcement:
|
||
I have written, edited, copyrighted, published, and recorded
|
||
on cassette tape a book entitled A Shade of Freedom. To obtain
|
||
your copy of this book, make your check in the amount of $12.50
|
||
payable to Ronald Burns, and send it to 605 South State Road 7,
|
||
Apt. 1-B, Margate, Florida 33068.
|
||
The name of my publishing company is the Lord's Faithful
|
||
Publishing Company. We are not necessarily looking for Christian
|
||
manuscripts (as the name of the company might suggest), but we
|
||
are looking for good, moral manuscripts that are literary in
|
||
nature. Please send manuscripts in typewritten form or in
|
||
Braille, and we will edit them for you and put them into Braille
|
||
or recorded format. Please include your name, address, and
|
||
telephone number so that I can give you an update on the progress
|
||
of your manuscript and the price of our work, which will be
|
||
determined by the number of copies you want us to produce for
|
||
you. Contact the Lord's Faithful Publishing Company at the above
|
||
address.
|
||
|
||
** Cookbooks Still Available:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
The Black Hawk County Chapter of the National Federation of
|
||
the Blind of Iowa still has a few cookbooks left. The book, Far
|
||
Flung Favorites From Friends and Family, contains 212 recipes and
|
||
many useful household hints and is available on cassette tape or
|
||
in print. To order your copy, send $6.50 (delivered free matter
|
||
for the blind) or $8.50 (post paid). Make checks payable to Black
|
||
Hawk County NFBI and send to Loren Wakefield, 722 Davenport
|
||
Street, Waterloo, Iowa 50702-2944.
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Steve Benson stands at microphone. CAPTION: Steve Benson]
|
||
|
||
** Illinois Convention Wrap-Up:
|
||
Steve Benson, President of the National Federation of the
|
||
Blind of Illinois, reports the following: More than 150
|
||
Federationists and guests participated in the NFB of Illinois'
|
||
twenty-sixth annual convention, November 5 to 7, 1993, in
|
||
Springfield, Illinois. This year's theme, "Engaging the World
|
||
Around Us," was echoed in every aspect of the convention, from
|
||
the Friday afternoon Job Opportunities for the Blind Seminar to
|
||
the adjourning gavel at noon on Sunday. Bill Isaacs and Bill Reif
|
||
were elected to two-year terms on the Board of Directors. Dr.
|
||
Elizabeth Browne was elected to fill the second year of an
|
||
unexpired seat. And a high-spirited bunch left the convention
|
||
satisfied with the hard work, learning, inspiration, and fun we
|
||
had shared. Now it's time to prepare for the 1994 Convention in
|
||
Detroit. We will move Illinois to Michigan.
|
||
|
||
** Sell:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
I have for sale a Braille 'n Speak with carrying case,
|
||
battery charger, and reference card. Never used, asking $750. For
|
||
more information contact Tonya McCluskey at P.O. Box 68,
|
||
Hamilton, Montana 59840; or call (406) 961-4333.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind of Pennsylvania recently held elections with the
|
||
following results: Leon Conaway, President; Mary Moses, First
|
||
Vice President; Florence Green, Second Vice President; Marilyn
|
||
Klein, Secretary; and Joyce Graves, Treasurer. Joseph Branch,
|
||
Joseph Hardin, Desiree Peterson, and Edna Wiley were elected to
|
||
serve as Board Members.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: John Miller, chief organizer of the new Science and
|
||
Engineering Division]
|
||
|
||
** Attention, Professionals in Science and Engineering:
|
||
Plan to attend the first annual meeting of the Science and
|
||
Engineering Division of the National Federation of the Blind at
|
||
this year's Convention in Detroit. Professionals in science and
|
||
engineering and those interested in these fields are welcome.
|
||
Together we will share our experiences and plan how to further
|
||
opportunities for the blind in our fields. Come join this
|
||
historic gathering and help launch the new division in Federation
|
||
style. Consult your convention agenda for time and place.
|
||
|
||
** For Sale:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
VersaBraille II-C for sale, like new condition, with all
|
||
accessories, including both Braille and print manuals. Will
|
||
accept best offer. Contact Joe Shankle at (804) 672-1557 (home)
|
||
or (804) 644-6720 (work).
|
||
|
||
** Senior Blind to Meet in Detroit:
|
||
Cathy Randall, First Vice President of the NFB of Illinois
|
||
and Chairperson of the NFB Committee on the Senior Blind, writes
|
||
as follows:
|
||
The Committee will meet Saturday, July 2, 1994, at 8:00 p.m.
|
||
Check the convention agenda for our meeting location. Steve
|
||
Hastalis and other Federationists with well-developed travel
|
||
skills will offer tips to seniors on traveling through the Westin
|
||
Hotel complex. I will arrange assisted tours of the exhibit hall
|
||
for seniors. Tour times and other pertinent information will be
|
||
discussed at the meeting.
|
||
Sheri Fernandes and Tina Blatter of the Center for Citizens
|
||
with Disabilities in Boulder, Colorado, will demonstrate their
|
||
methods for teaching Braille to blind seniors. John Ford of the
|
||
NFB of Missouri will discuss macular degeneration, the largest
|
||
cause of blindness among senior citizens today.
|
||
Come make the Senior Blind Committee a driving force in the
|
||
lives of older blind people. For more information, contact
|
||
Committee chairperson Cathy Randall at (217) 243-3529.
|
||
|
||
** Important Additions:
|
||
Twice in recent editions of the Braille Monitor important
|
||
information has been inadvertently omitted. In the February,
|
||
1994, issue the notice announcing the election of officers to
|
||
serve the St. Louis Chapter inadvertently omitted the name of
|
||
Rick Birch as Vice President. In the March Monitor the chocolate
|
||
chip cookie recipe omitted the chocolate chips. Now everyone
|
||
knows that you can't have a chocolate chip cookie without
|
||
chocolate chips, so we suggest that you add two twelve-ounce
|
||
packages of chocolate chips.
|
||
|
||
[PHOTO: Portrait. CAPTION: Floyd Myers, 1919-1994]
|
||
|
||
** In Memoriam:
|
||
We are saddened to report the death on January 17, 1994, of
|
||
Floyd Myers, a dedicated and active member of the Greater
|
||
Cumberland Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
|
||
Maryland and husband of Georgia Myers, who has been a mainstay of
|
||
Federation activities for many years. Many people know Georgia as
|
||
the creator of the delicious rum balls that faithfully appear at
|
||
Federation events. Floyd was a quiet Federationist, always ready
|
||
to notice what had to be done, lend a hand, and work until the
|
||
project was complete. Floyd will be deeply missed by the members
|
||
of the Greater Cumberland Chapter, the Maryland affiliate, and
|
||
all other Federationists who knew and loved him. We are a
|
||
stronger and more effective force for changing what it means to
|
||
be blind because of Floyd's presence among us. Georgia and the
|
||
couple's two daughters have our sympathy in their loss.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
The San Diego County Chapter of the National Federation of
|
||
the Blind of California recently held elections with the
|
||
following results: John Miller, President; Joseph Lopez, Vice
|
||
President; David House, Secretary; James Lyons, Treasurer; and
|
||
Ivan Weich and Valerie Miller, Board Members. |