A Leader at CSULB Disabeled Student Services

California State Long Beach has many exceptional department in it's premisses. Disabled Student Services stands out as one of these magnificant student services that succeeds at meeting CSULB's  high standard everyday. At DSS they assist students with disabilities as they secure their university degree at Caalifornia State University, Long Beach. 




 David Sanfilippo a Director at Disabled Student Services at CSULB tells about how his path in assisting people with disabilities began. 

"I had an opportunity to work with a high school program and they offered a special experience for high school students. I got a chance to work with people with disabilities." 

 

From that a job at a summer camp with kids and adults with disabilities continued for a few summers and a job at community college working with people with disability

  

Sanfilippo is a Director who finds passion in working at DSS here at CSULB.

 The highlights of Sanfilippo’s day are,” making sure students grow and develop…I’m inspired everyday by my students."

 Students come to see Sanfilippo for various reasons: to check up with him, they might be struggling, or they are struggling in class or their disability is getting in their way.

 Sanfilippo admires his students, he says "Our students work hard” 

At the center Sanfilippo worked with student that we deal with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, people who have physiological disabilities, “we deal with a full range,” says Sanfillipo.

  

National regulations and the President of the university are big resources that keep the center going, according to Sanfilippo.

 “The American Disabilities Act signed in 1990 prior to that Rehabilitation act of 1973 required any institution receiving federal financial assisting, to not exclude people with disabilities and make it a required to provide accommodations.” Said Sanfilippo.  

 The President's excellent fund designed at CSULB has also helped the center financially. The program is funded for student success and a $94 fee that each student pays at CSULB funds take.

  

Every year Sanfilippo works on an awareness program.

  

Send Silence Packing David Sanfilippo a Director at Disabled Student Services at CSULB tells about how his path in assisting people with disabilities began. 

"I had an opportunity to work with a high school program and they offered a special experience for high school students. I got a chance to work with people with disabilities." 

 

From that a job at a summer camp with kids and adults with disabilities continued for a few summers and a job at community college working with people with disability

  

Sanfilippo is a Director who finds passion in working at DSS here at CSULB.

 The highlights of Sanfilippo’s day are,” making sure students grow and develop…I’m inspired everyday by my students."

 Students come to see Sanfilippo for various reasons: to check up with him, they might be struggling, or they are struggling in class or their disability is getting in their way.

 Sanfilippo admires his students, he says "Our students work hard” 

At the center Sanfilippo worked with student that we deal with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, people who have physiological disabilities, “we deal with a full range,” says Sanfillipo.

  

National regulations and the President of the university are big resources that keep the center going, according to Sanfilippo.

 “The American Disabilities Act signed in 1990 prior to that Rehabilitation act of 1973 required any institution receiving federal financial assisting, to not exclude people with disabilities and make it a required to provide accommodations.” Said Sanfilippo.  

 The President's excellent fund designed at CSULB has also helped the center financially. The program is funded for student success and a $94 fee that each student pays at CSULB funds take.

  

Every year Sanfilippo works on an awareness program.

  

Send Silence Packing was one of the centers most recent events. Eleven hundred backpacks where placed on upper campus, to raise awareness of the number of students who have died from suicide.

 

Sanfilippo recommend that people go to the DSS website or facebook page in order to keep up to date with DSS events.

  

“There are two things I say I always love about my job. One is passion.  And two I see people grow, developing, maturing,” says Sanfilippo.

  

Wheelchair Users Face Trouble At the Dorms

Some students and faculty who use wheelchairs have decided not to live on campus due to limited wheelchair accessibility at on-campus living sites like Residence Commons and Parkside Commons.

Richard Beaver, a freshman psychology major living at Residence Commons, uses a wheelchair and lives in the Residence dorms. Still, he said he can see how students who are confined to a wheelchair might have difficulties on campus.

The Residence buildings have steep hills, few elevators and minimal ramps.

According to Carol Roberts-Corb, director of housing and residence life at Cal State Long Beach, the most recent on-campus buildings were constructed about 30 years ago and all of the sites meet the Legal Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for buildings of the time.
"We try to work close with DSS, making sure we are legally up to code, and if we are ethically doing what we can to meet all students needs," Roberts-Corb said.



(Photographer: Sean Boyd)



David Sanfilippo, director of disabled student services, said housing may not be completely aware of the situation for disabled students and faculty.

  "It would be nice to have a switchback by the grass areas, but here is the problem: For every inch of height, you have to have 12 inches of length. So for that particular gradation, there is probably four feet, meaning 48 feet of ramp."

Before housing can begin construction on the dorms, it considers three aspects: Whether the buildings legally meet requirements, what the ethical needs are and its costs.

Parkside Commons also falls short in wheelchair accessibility, not for students, but for faculty.

Every professor who is hired at CSULB is eligible for faculty housing, but because there are limited spots, there is a competitive application process for when there is an opening.

Approximately three years have passed since wheelchair-user assistant professor of journalism Danny Paskin was chosen as a candidate for an exclusive spot in faculty housing in Parkside.

Although he was not selected as the final candidate for the on-campus faculty spot at the time, Paskin recollected there being a lack of wheelchair access to faculty housing in Parkside.

Paskin said he was offered a "Plan B," but it was different than what was offered to non-disabled professors. Eventually, Paskin was not selected to live on campus.

Roberts-Corb confirmed that nothing has changed regarding wheelchair accessibility in faculty living in Parkside since three years ago.

  Roberts-Corb said, "We have accessible faculty housing in the Residential Learning College, but currently at Parkside, no."

For the rest of the stor visit  http://www.daily49er.com/news/wheelchair-users-face-trouble-at-dorms-1.267149

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DIsabled Student Services at CSULB Provides Students with disabilities a helping hand.

Disabled Student Services at the University of California State Long Beach assists students with disabilities as they secure their university degrees. 

 The student program's mission "is to assist students with disabilities as they secure their university degrees at California State University, Long Beach."

 Currently DSS serves 1,300 students each semester which range from students who utilize wheelchairs to people who are blind in one eye. 

 The programs at DSS  provide support services for in classroom activities, career development resources, use of and training on adaptive computer equipment and access devices, disability related counseling, and academic advisement.

 In order to qualify to be a DSS student medical proof of the disability has to be submitted to the DSS office and reviewed. 

Once you are a part of the DSS you can have the honor of getting to know the staff: Dave Sanfilippo is the Director, Pam Muilenberg serves as the Office Manger, Valerie Iapello is the Front Office

Coordinator, Rachelle Ang is the Case Manager.

 Over 3,000 students with disabilities have graduated from California State University, Long Beach with support from the DSS program.

For more information on DSS visithttp://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/dss/

Left-Out at CSULB

President Obama, Da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Manroe and Kermit the Frog all face a common challenge with an approximate ten percent of California State Long Beach students, left-handedness!!!! 

Being  left-handed is a challenge? Definitely yes!!! Especially when technically our world primarily caters to people who are right-handed.

For about 3,341 students at CSULB being a lefty means often having to deal with a shortage of left-handed seats in the classroom. Left-handed students at CSULB complain about feeling irritated, uncomfrotable in desks, to students being unwilling to "give up the table for left-handed people,” says Alene Spindel.

Studies show that 10-15 percent of the population is left-handed. If you ask me that is a whole bunch of people that definately deserve to be catered to.

 At CSULB  you dont have to be left-handed  to knotice that the placement of chairs is definatley being neglected.  Marine biology major, Kristiana Marczeski (who is not a lefty) said, “The left handed chairs are always at the back in the dungiest area of the room like being at the back of the bus.”

So if you are still skeptical that left-handed seating is not an isuue, then you should stop an question why so many student are aware of such a "minimal thing like as chairs, and chair placement."

 CSULB Coordinator of Support Services and Advising Disabled Student Services Peter Perbix stated,
“The only thing a school has to really worry about is public safety not whether a lefty has a desk that works for them.” According to Peter, professors are not obligated to request left-handed tables for students. 

 A reasonable statement from Perbix, but most students in fact have no clue about how to make proper chair request.

(Photographer: Alex Voge)

Sue Brown, Director of Physical and Construction Management is in charge of providing reasonable accommodation in classrooms at California State Long Beach. Students who wish to request a left-handed table are asked to contact the Physical Planning and Facilities Management to explore options for accommodation. 

The department has recently ordered 754 new tablet armchairs to replace broken chairs in Liberal Arts 1 and Liberal Arts 5.  Of these, 60 chairs (8%) were left-handed. 

 For the rest of the story visit http://www.daily49er.com/news/campus-faces-shortage-of-left-handed-desks-1.2649251

 

Los Angeles, A Home for Special Olympics

In recent years California has paved grounds with Green Legislation passed in 2008, to this summer's recent banning of plastic bags at grocery stores in Long Beach, and Tuesday morning's city council approval of an ordinance that would ban the sale of fur apparel in West Hollywood.

California is demonstrating another form of awareness by announcing, Los Angeles as the official host to the 2015 Special Olympics.

 Founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics is currently  the world's largest sport competition for the mentally disabled. The Los Angeles Times reported that the games, which have been running for about 40 years will bring, about 7,000 athletes and 40,000 volunteers, organizers said.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the games will be held in locations all-over Los Angels:Griffith Park, Staples Center and the Home Depot Center in Carson while USC and UCLA will host the athletes in student housing.

Before the announcement of the Special Olympics coming to  Los Angeles for 2015, other special need events have been taking place for decades within the city.

California State Long Beach is one of the sites who have been embrassing the special needs community through Special local Special Olympics.

For over 41 years CSULB has been holding, Summer Games for Special Olympics. 

The Daily 49er reported that the  event last for  two days with  about 1,100 athletes participating in six different competitions.

  

The University of California, Davis  and California State University of, Fullerton  also host Special Games on their campuses. 

Kirk Douglas Talks Adversity at CSULB



(Photographer: Victoria Snachez)



Legendary film star and producer Kirk Douglas spoke at an afternoon seminar at Cal State Long Beach's Daniel Recital Hall yesterday about adversity he faced.

"When I had a stroke about 15 years ago, I couldn't speak" Douglas said. "I wrote a play where I played myself and it was successful — eight performances a week."

After talking about his stroke, Douglas sat down and read a poem entitled "Acting Faces" written by Betty McMicken, a CSULB communicative disorders assistant professor an speech-language pathologist.

Speech-language pathologists often aid people, like Douglas, who struggle to speak because of strokes or other speech impairing events.

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"I am happy to have had the opportunity to listen to him and learn more about his personal view on his work," said Helena Haman, a film major on exchange from Germany. .



 For the full storry visit http://www.daily49er.com/news/kirk-douglas-talks-adversity-at-csulb-1.2633341