I read the article called Students with Disabilities, Financial Aid Policy Issues, which was written by Thomas R. Wolanin. Over my semester last year I worked at UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center with people with disabilities, so I was quite saddened by the reality that will face many of those clients when they want to attend college in the future years. There are many challenges that face low-income students with disabilities. Wolanin talked about how there are 1.3 million students with disabilities, 37% which are low-come. This is a higher percentage of low-income students than within the students without disabilities. These 1.3 million students are part of the same financial aid system as the rest of the college students, when in fact they are the ones that have many hurdles to cross when trying to go through college. These hurdles may include getting financial aid for additional costs of having a disability, such as a wheelchair, or they may be that listening to a lecture is slower than reviewing notes when the student is blind.
I agree with his statements in this article and I think that attention should be brought to the college boards in order to figure out how to distribute financial aid equally in terms of percentages in the student body. I do not know if there are other groups that also have a higher percentage within them of low-income students, but changes should be made in the financial aid system so the percentage of financial aid for each requiring group is correct.
I myself have used financial aid to help me receive a college education for the past four years. I don't think I would be able to attend if I didn't receive help from the government. Unfortunately your parents have to make a certain amount of income in order to be considered for this help. If they make to much money in a year then you will not be qualified to receive as much help. I think it's sad that those with disabilities have to go through a more harsh process to achieve help with attending college. I agree that there should be changes made to the system so that everyone receives the correct amount needed to further their education.
ReplyDeleteYeah. It's really sad to think how because of people having disabilities they cannot control, they are stuck in a worse situation regarding financial aid in college. I wonder if any colleges across the US have realized this.
ReplyDeleteHere is a great example where two forms of oppression, ableism and classism, are interlocking and intersecting. One compounds the other. I worry that this is just getting worse given the soaring costs of higher education and the ways in which so many campuses continue to be inaccessible and resistant to countering ableism in the institution.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the majority of college students nowadays experience these oppressions. I did. I wrote an article about the wheelchair accessibility of our school. In 2006, our school was financed by a donor with over 250,000 dollars which would have been able to make the campus completely wheelchair accessible on every floor in every building. This was at a time when disabled students were complaining to the school about their wheelchair accessibility. The school decided to invest in a wildcat sculpture that looks hideous. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.izaak.unh.edu%2Farchives%2Fhistory%2Fmascot%2Fwildcatsculpture.shtml&rct=j&q=unh%20wildcat%20statue&ei=fwUxTdb2D4OclgfL0uiwCg&usg=AFQjCNHYqs36WOEBnlUod90nCZqYDD4uXw&cad=rja
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to think how much people take for granted they can get around without ramps etc, now whenever I travel I think about how it would be if I were not able to walk so easily. I believe the core to these issues and oppressions is education. People need to really learn how life is for others and how privileged some people are.
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