Physically Disabled Student’s Program

UC Berkeley is known as the home of the disability rights movement due to a rich history of student activism and advocacy.

Nestled behind the popular Golden Bear Cafe is the office of the Disabled Students’ Program, or DSP. Its unassuming exterior belies a program that is both the product of a rich history of disability activism and a reminder that the work is far from done.

Michael Fuss, a campus alumnus and activist, died July 10 from cancer. Fuss was 72.

Roberts, who had post-polio quadriplegia, decided to attend UC Berkeley in 1962 despite the fact that the campus had no accommodations for people with severe disabilities. His advocacy opened the school to more students with disabilities and created the Physically Disabled Student’s Program and then the Center for Independent Living.