The University of New Haven disabled the label on Tuesday April 17. The series of events were hosted by the UNH chapter of Active

Minds, Delta Alpha Pi honor society, and the UNH Safe Zone Program.  If you didn’t get a chance to attend the several events held on campus throughout the day, you missed some very insightful activities and several chances to win amazing prizes. The President of Active Minds, Elizabeth Field, had this to say about the event: “Disabilities Awareness Day was extremely successful! There were over 90 students that participated in all eight events and demonstrations throughout the day.”

The day started at 9:30 a.m. with a presentation by Jane Thierfeild Brown, Ed.D (Doctor of Education). She gave students information on working with and supporting students with Autism, specifically Asperger’s, the highest functioning form of Autism. After this, there was another presentation in the Alumni Lounge, given by Laura DiGalbo, M.Ed, CRC, and LPC (Master of Education, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, and Licensed Professional Counselor, respectively). This presentation was about working with and supporting students with mental illnesses. These informational sessions started off the day on a positive supporting note.

While these lectures were occurring, there were activities set up all throughout campus. In Bartels, there were information stations. At these different stations, students had the chance to do several different disability awareness activities. There was one in four, in which students had to try and identify which celebrity had the given mental disability. Did you know that Justin Timberlake has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

In a different activity, students had to attempt to solve a riddle while everyone was speaking over them and reading different parts of the riddle to simulate Schizophrenia. Not a single person was able to solve the provided riddle. Even though it was entertaining to hear people trying to figure out the riddle, it gave all of us an insight to what people with Schizophrenia experience on a daily basis. It takes people who are extremely strong to be able to control the voices they hear.

Just outside of Bartels, there was a table with Canine Companions and Service Dogs and another with information on Dyslexia. Though students couldn’t touch the Service Dogs, the owners/trainers were very kind and explained what the dogs have to learn to become working Service Dogs.

There were even activities in the Beckerman Recreation Center. Students were playing soccer with crutches and other sports with different aspects of disabilities present to help more people gain an understanding of different disabilities.

Finally after a day of informing activities, there were also several drawings of tickets for prizes. If students participated in each event, they were awarded a ticket or two for doing so. Students took these tickets to a table outside of the Recreation Center and had a dozen or more buckets that they could put their tickets into to have a chance to win the designated prize. There were gift certificates and cards for several different restaurants, iTunes, and Dunkin Donuts. The more activities one participated in, the larger the likelihood of winning any given prize.

Ms. Field and many others believe that the event was “tremendously impactful” on students and their prospective of people with disabilities. The University of New Haven disabled the label and many other schools are doing it as well. The combined efforts will result in a label-free community where everyone is accepted and understood.

UPDATE:

The event was organized and sponsored by the Campus Access Services (CAS) office. ActiveMinds and Delta Alpha Pi cosponsored the event, and co-hosted the activities during the event with the CAS office, CAS Volunteers, and the D.R.E.A.M. Team (student leaders in the CAS office). The Safe Zone Program was not a cosponsor.