Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

I The BluePrint SpelmanPaper@gmail.com September 2013 SPELMANi ALUMNAE SPOTLIGHT On Inclusion and Sensitivity in AUC By: Ayanna Runcie C’20l5 What many people refer to as being handicapped, disabled, or crippled Shatika Duncan simply refers to as being differently abled. The Class of 2013 graduate has mild cerebral palsy. “It’s not that I’m disabled,” Duncan said. “I can do anything I want to do I just have to do it differently.” When Duncan was a small child her mother noticed that she was not developing at the usual rate, and was behind in pivotal milestones in childhood development such as being able to sit up properly. After consulting a medical physician, Duncan was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She has needed technological assistance ever since. She used a wheelchair in elementary school, a walker in high school, and a scooter in college. As someone who had to get around campus on a scooter, Duncan argues that Spelman College is not a very accessible campus. Many doors are hard to open because they do not have buttons that open them elec tronically and sometimes the elevators do not work. For most of her college career she was not even given a key to the lifts in buildings with many stairs, such as Giles Hall. Once, Duncan was not able to take a class she was really passionate about because the classroom was only accessible by stairs. Additionally, the showers act as an other challenge because many lack supportive bars. Dun can recalls falling in the showers several times during her first year at Spelman. Duncan argues that the only recent advancement in Spelman becoming more accessible is the renovation of Laura Spelman, one of her former residence halls. None theless, Duncan struggled with opening and closing doors even in this building. She believes that the only reason that Laura Spelman is accessible is because all new buildings are required to be accessible by federal law. Most of the other residence halls are not accessible because Spelman is not required to meet those standards on such old buildings. Duncan believes that Spelman should make every building acces sible anyway. However, making the campus totally accessible to all students has not been something in which Spelman has chosen to invest. Making the Spelman Safety Shuttle ac cessible is also something that Spelman has not invested in. “If [Spelman] was forced to invest in it, they would probably just shut the shuttle down,” a Spelman Public Safety officer said. Duncan feels as though Spelman’s administration has been really insensitive to the needs of differently IGHT EXCHANGE STUDENTS Students from all over the world By: Dedra Mitchell C’2014 abled students because there are so few of them. “Even if it’s just one student, one student matters,” Duncan said. Duncan was the only graduating senior who need ed to use a scooter. Even still, the administration did not make an effort to make aspects of senior week more com fortable for her. During her time as a student, her peers were very insensitive to her needs as well. A lot of times when Dun can attended events throughout the Atlanta University Center, people have made insensitive or obscene com ments towards her. “People will say things like, ‘why are you here with that scooter, you look stupid,’ or people will stand right in front of me as if I’m not even there,” Duncan said. “It makes me feel really excluded.” During Duncan’s first week of her freshman year, a group of men approached her on the Clark Atlanta cam pus and said “we could rob you right now if we wanted to,” just because she was in a scooter. “I want to go out and have fun just like everybody else but I often can’t because I am scared of what some one might do to me,” Duncan said. As a way to be more sensitive and inclusive towards differently abled people, perhaps Spelman College, as well as the adjacent colleges in the Atlanta University Center, should focus on promoting daily awareness. “Bring more awareness, not just in awareness week,” Marlissa Stalling C’2015 said. “But make it part of the code of conduct. Being disabled doesn’t always mean physically. “If someone who is blind were to attend Spelman, the campus would not know how to react. There would be a lot of stares. So disability awareness should be an everyday code of conduct.” If Spelman’s campus becomes more accessible, a broader array of women would want to attend the insti tution. This would not only further diversify Spelman’s campus, but it would also help students become more accepting of people from different backgrounds, which supports Spelman’s mission of developing freethinking women. Students would learn to navigate difference. Spelman’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), “Going Global”, has catapulted a strong foundation for international exploration. More students are seizing the opportunity to study abroad, thus enhancing the international scope for students at Spelman. However, Spelman is not only sending students across the globe but accepting international students. This semester Spelman has the privilege to host five amazing young ladies hailing from three different continents for the 2013-2014 academic year. The following interview illustrates the students’ exciting, difficult, and authentic experiences at Spelman thus far. 1. Moeko Takizawa Japan International Studies Major Junior 2. Tais Bellini Brazil Computer Science Major Junior 3. Katerina Modra Czech Republic International Studies Major Junior 4. Ana Paula F. Cavalieri Brazil Computer Science Major Junior 5. Isabela Fraga de Andrade Brazil Biology Major Junior 40-Year-Old-Freshwoman By: Karimah Noble, PED Scholar C2015 Walk the manicured campus of Spelman College and what will you find? Gorgeous, young women of every size, shape, and hue of brown. Women from every walk of life, every religious affiliation, and every socioeconomic background. No two have the same story—every Spelman womans journey is different. You might find the Spelmanite who is the first person to attend college in her family or the “generational” Spelman woman whose mother’s mother’s mother graduated from Spelman. The Spelman community welcomes everyone from the little girl who grew up poor and knew only scarcity, to the one whose entire world revolved around affluence. The sisterhood is tangible to all who enter the gates, from the woman who never dreamed she would attend college— let alone Spelman—to the woman, from the day she was conceived, had Spelman DNA encoded within her, and as a result did not bother applying to any other institution because quite frankly, nothing less was expected of her. If you are only looking on the surface, you may only see excited teenagers fresh out of high school experiencing freedom for the first time. However, a closer gaze might reveal a different kind of student—one who has woken up late with just enough time to throw on a pair of sweats before dropping her three children off to school. Amid a sea of flawlessly styled heads, perfectly put together designer ensembles, this student may go unnoticed. Who is she, you ask? Why, it is I, the 40-year-old freshwoman, commonly referred to as one of the Pauline E. Drake Scholar (PEDS), and I represent a small portion of the student population at Spelman College. Perhaps I go unnoticed because I wear skinny jeans, instead of the typical “mom” jeans most have come to associate with mothers—you know the kind, with the 25 inch zipper and God-awful pleats that accentuate, rather than The BluePrint: camouflage, the mid-section. Or perhaps it is because I look younger than I am (so I am told anyway), or maybe it is simply because most students are too busy navigating through their own lives to even notice. Whatever the case may be, there are a handful of mature women who have made the choice to either enter college for the first time or to return to their studies. Of course, we are not all literally 40-year-old freshwomen. Some may be 24-year-old first years, 31-year-old sophomores, 39-year-old juniors (like yours truly), or even 50-something-year-old seniors (absolutely no pun intended). As few and far between as we are, we do walk among you. PEDS do not live the “traditional” life of college students. We own homes and have bills. Some of us are married to Morehouse men (shameless plug); some are single, some have children and some do not. There are PEDS who have jobs, and others, like me, are stay-at- home moms. In other words, we have real life responsibilities that we juggle while attending Spelman. Regardless of our differences, we have a commonality: We have decided that age is not, and should not, be a factor in fulfilling our goal. We have affirmed to ourselves that, just as the tortoise learned in his competition with the hare, the race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endures to the end. We have made the brave choice to pursue this journey despite being older, having children, spouses, jobs, bills, and responsibilities beyond ourselves. Why? To complete a chapter in our lives and be able to say that we wrote, edited, and finished it our way. So the next time you are in class, look around. You might be sitting next to one of these extraordinary women and not even know it. If you happen to be, introduce yourself. You never know what you might learn from her. Karimah Noble with her three children It is the mission of Vie BluePrint to serve as a profound forum that fortifies understanding, unity, and advocacy throughout the Spelman and greater AUC community. The BluePrint strives to produce innovative, fair, and creative journalism that helps its readers understand the nation and world through the lens of African-American and Black Women. Q. Why did you choose Spelman College? . Bellini: “It has a rich culture and it’s beautiful.” Q. What’s your favorite thing about Spelman so far? • Modra: “The people and the classes because they’re so small.” • Cavalieri: “Everyone is so nice and helpful!” • Bellini: “We’re really far away from our families, but I feel so welcomed and comfortable.” Q. What’s your least favorite thing about Spelman so far? • Takizawa: “The food. It’s not healthy and [living conditions] aren’t as clean” • Fraga: “The lines for food are so long, and there are no markets to buy fresh vegetables. And shared bathroom, shared room.” Q.What do you miss most about home? • Takizawa: “My family and friends. But I have some friends in America doing other study abroad programs so I may be able to visit them.” • Fraga: “My mom and cat. I think I can live without everything else but my mom and cat. I don’t really miss my boyfriend.” Q.What would you like to say to the Spelman community? . Takizawa: “Feel free to talk to me.” • Bellini: “Thank you for being so nice to us. People say that first impressions are the ones that matter the most and we will always think of Spelman students and staff as very accepting people.” • Modra: “I am happy to make new friends!” . Cavalieri: “To me it’s like a dream! I’m very happy to be here.” • Fraga: “A lot of people have asked me why I came to a ‘black school’. I’m not at a black college. I’m at a great college. For us, it’s a pleasure and an honor to be here.” FACULTY SPOTLIGHT Honoring the Late Taronda Spencer By: Raquel Rainey C2014 Spelman College has suffered a great loss. Taronda Spencer C’80, college historian and archivist, passed away earlier this summer. As a second-generation archivist, Ms. Spencer knew from childhood that history and archives were her passion. “She was a connoisseur in her work of history and archives,” Eloise Alexis C’86, Vice President of College Relations, said. “She was warm and fuzzy, and [she] was a person who cared about what people were made of, which led to her role as historian.” Ms. Spencer’s extensive knowledge of Spelman’s history stemmed from her undergraduate degree in history from Spelman College. In 1998, Ms. Spencer was extended the opportunity to work as Spelman’s archivist and in 2000 became the college historian. Alumnae, faculty, and students loved her due to her preservation of Spelman traditions. “If you believe in destiny, this was her destiny,” Alexis said. As a charge to the Class of 2017, Alexis shares what Ms. Spencer wrote one year before her passing: “Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles will never meet you, Class of 2017, but you are the embodiment of their vision, of women who would lead and serve. Therefore, with the equipment of an excellent education and value of history of black women, Ms. Spencer’s work will continue to live through all of our works, activism, and teachings. Taronda Spencer 1962-2013 5 Ways To Ensure Justice for Trayvon By: Ain Ealey C’2014 Below are 5 things you can do now in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict to ensure your involvement in the ongoing quest for Justice 1. Register to Vote 2. Vote to repeal the Stand your Ground Law. 3. Spring break, thinking about Panama or Miami? Stop and think. We are financially boycotting the state of Florida to financial strain on the state until they change the law. Fact: The state of Florida makes over 61 billion dollars in tourism money. 4. Letter Campaign to repeal “Stand your Ground” sent to all congressmen of the specific state where the law is enforced. For those who are registered to vote in New York the same will work for “Stop and Frisk.” 5. Headquarter corporations that are based in Florida boycott their products. This is because they help lobby for the laws that devalue the life of American citizens. *A list will be provided.