ADA

On Friday, the five-day vote to ratify a tentative agreement between academic workers represented by United Auto Workers, or UAW, 2865 and the Students Researchers Union, or SRU, and the University of California will come to an end.

The United States Department of Justice, or DOJ, filed a proposed consent decree in federal court, resolving allegations that UC Berkeley is in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.

When an unregistered voter walks into the polling place at Anna Head Alumnae Hall, they are immediately greeted by a welcoming William Sutton. Sutton helps them to register, cast their ballot and even send a picture of their first voting experience home to mom by the time they walk out.

Learning about what went into the making of laws like the ADA is an emotional experience for a disabled student like me.

As a disabled autistic, I have often wondered about the conversations on inclusion, access and civil rights that still seem to be a work in progress.

The ASUC Disabled Students Ad Hoc Committee, or DSC, was established as an ASUC commission Oct. 14, granting it a larger platform to advocate for UC Berkeley students with disabilities.

We take many aspects of social interaction for granted. But what are these interactions like for Autistics? Society must examine its role in creating an environment that can be exclusionary, and even hostile, toward Autistics.

We don’t take no for an answer. Our group comes from an incredible line of folks who have paved the way to get us what we have now, and we plan to spend this year “passing the torch” to disability advocates to come. 

At one time, there were dozens of wheelchair users on campus, said campus senior Alena Morales. By the time she got into UC Berkeley in 2016, she said she was the only wheelchair user admitted into undergraduate studies that year.

While many students get tested regularly at UC Berkeley's University Health Services, or UHS, coronavirus testing facilities, some students with disabilities find it challenging to access these services.