Micah Fialka-Feldman and the Oakland University Board

Micah, as part of the Options program at OU, is attempting to gain access to on-campus living. Friends and family rally behind him at the November OU Board meeting.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• inclusion
• activism

[PioneerGrrrl]

Your son and other people with disabilities will have a very difficult time reaching his potential when the facilities which they and other prospective college students intend to use for obtaining their degree, are 'crash pads' for the general public 'just because'. This is not corageous, it deprives properly enrolled college students (including those with disabilities) of the very resources and facilities which they neeed to perform their studies and successfully complete their degrees.

[PioneerGrrrl]

I am also a person with a disability. Residence halls are restricted to anybody who has been admitted to and enrolled at a university as a college student. Some even require people to take a minimum number of hours to live on campus. But participating in a program sponsored by a university is not at all the same as being a college student. And so the university needs to conserve it's facilities for enrolled college students, including those with disabilities.

[Arlind86]

I kinda agree with you to an extent. I'm not sure why the whole campaign is/was done. From the description it seems as the disabled student "is not allowed" in the resident halls? If that's the case I find it hard to believe as I've seen residents w/ dissab. who live on campus.I even kno them by name, One of which is blind and another without arms.I've also seen a guy on a wheel chair who always had a car come and pick him up to and from the cafe.I guess I don't get why he cant live on campus

[radiogirl68]

i am so inspired by this campaign. Micah does have the right to have reasonable accommodations - including on-campus living - to participate in college. as a mother with a 3.5 year old son with similar developmental disabilities. i am deeply thankful that Micah and others have the courage to take this fight on. I know it will benefit my son, and thousands of other youth with disabilities to reach their greatest potential.

[PioneerGrrrl]

This whole 'battle' is a joke undercutting the ADA's intent. Because non-enrolled people without disabilities are inelgible to live in university dorms when they are not obtaining college credit, non-enrolled people with disabilities should never get such exceptions. The university has every legal right to restrict all of its dorm space only to enrolled university students, including college students with disabilities.