By Jasmine Hsieh
The Scene staff
Forest Park has a new club with purpose and passion.
The Disabilities Awareness Club has been formed to educate the public, help students with disabilities and make the campus more convenient and accessible.
“There are a lot of college students with disabilities,” said Paige Karius, club president. “And I think we need to bring awareness to all students about that particular group of people.”
Karius, 20, is a business major who was born with cerebral palsy. She came up with the club idea through her involvement with Paraquad, a St. Louis organization that helps people with disabilities become more independent.
The club became official on Oct. 15. It has about a dozen members.
“We have a very diverse group,” Karius said. “Some people, like me, are in wheelchairs.”
The club is not exclusively for students with disabilities. It’s open to all.
“We’d love to have anybody who is interested,” Karius said.
The club’s first activity will be membership recruitment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 17-18, in the cafeteria. Members will distribute candy and information.
Not all club members have physical disabilities. Deandre Bell has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. He said people often tell him he looks “normal” and that nothing is wrong with him.
“When I explain to them, they kind of understand,” said Bell, 36, a general transfer student. “But they don’t understand what I have been through, because my disabilities are not visible.”
Club adviser Lallie McDonald, an educational assistant in counseling at Forest Park, said Bell’s experience is not uncommon.
“Not all disabilities are visible or tangible, as if you can actually put your hands on it,” she said.
Bell hopes the club will prompt people to educate themselves about different disabilities before they judge by appearances.
Another club member, Terry Artis, echoed Bell’s sentiments.
“I have many disabilities, such as learning disabilities,” said Artis, 37, who plans to study culinary arts. “But people tell me the same thing: ‘You ain’t got any disability.’”
Artis said he joined the club because he wants to become part of a community of people with disabilities.
Member Stephanie Mason, who had to repeat third grade and attended special-education classes as a child, hopes to draw on her own experiences to help others and perhaps learn more about herself.
“I’ve always had problems with learning and focusing,” said Mason, 34, who is studying to be an office information coordinator.
The Disability Awareness Club flier states, “Join our group because being normal is over-rated.”
The slogan reflects Karius’ belief that there is no such thing as “normal.” She said all people have disabilities that will cause them trouble sooner or later, whether or not they are ready to come to terms with them.
“I hope people will join so they’ll know and teach other people that they’re not alone, because everybody’s got disability problems,” she said.
McDonald said she hopes to bring about changes in the physical structure of campus, making it more convenient and safe for students with disabilities.
Those in wheelchairs have only two exits where they can leave the main campus buildings on their own because they can’t push the doors open elsewhere without help, she said. One is on the first floor of E Tower and the other is the main Student Center entrance.
Karius said that during an unexpected fire alarm on Oct. 28, a security officer told her that in a real emergency, she should wait for campus police to send people to take her out of her wheelchair and carry her down stairs.
“But I wasn’t aware of such an arrangement prior to that day,” she said.
McDonald said this incident shows a lack of information on campus.
“The conversation needs to be had (on) where the defibrillators and first-aid kits are, and who around the school has CPR training,” she said. “Those are the things that should be public information and known across the board.”
McDonald also hopes to change some common behaviors on and off the Forest Park campus and encourage the use of proper terminology.
“For example, you shouldn’t say ‘blind people,’” she said. “It should be, ‘A person who is visually impaired.’”
Professionals in disability-related fields dislike the term “disabled people,” preferring “people with disabilities.”
McDonald also would like more people to recognize that people with disabilities not only have limitations but also strengths.
“Often times, people will rush to help those who are in wheelchairs or use a cane,” she said. “But really, unless someone asks you to help, let them do what they can do.”