with Disabilities Act was signed into law . After spending seven months in the hospital and completing my physical therapy rehab , I came home and started to live my life . But I wanted to go to college as I had planned .
The importance of advocacy
JUDY : I attended Long Island University and was interested in going to that university because it was small and I didn ’ t have to cross the street . I registered to live on campus and was living in a dorm that was not accessible . My roommate was to be my personal assistant but that summer , I received a call from the head of the dorm letting me know that the lady who was going to help me had backed out . It turned out she backed out because the head of the dorm had told her ridiculous things about me , such as I frequently fall out of my wheelchair , which of course was not true . I was able to find somebody else but I decided I was going to call the President of the university and Head of the Board to complain . Everyone thought this was a crazy thing to do , but I did get to the Chair of the Board ’ s office , who referred me to the Dean of Students , who called out the lady in charge of the dorm . The Dean of Students came with me the day I moved into the dorm in my sophomore year ! I was at that time beginning to learn that I should not just accept what was given to me . This was important even though at that point , it was scary !
I graduated from Long Island University in 1969 with an undergraduate degree in Speech Communications and a minor in Education . My Master ’ s Degree in Public Health was obtained from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975 .
Disabled in Action , an organization I formed in 1970 with friends , aimed at ending discrimination of people with disabilities .
FRED : After my accident , college was delayed for about a year because I had spent so much time in the hospital for physical rehab and the college I had originally planned to attend was not adapted and not wheelchair accessible . So , I enrolled in a small local college , Widener University ’ s Delaware campus . I took a few summer courses at Widener and helped to adapt the college campus because I was the first student to use a wheelchair and graduate from there in 1983 . I remember the biggest class I had might have had 15 students in it . I was a commuter student and had friends on and off campus . Parties and dances were held on the second floor of a building that only had stairs , so I would be carried up and down the stairs by friends . When I transferred from Widener In Delaware to West Chester University in Pennsylvania , I became a voice on campus , advocating for it to be made more accessible . This was at the time when Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was already passed , therefore colleges and universities that were not complying were actually in violation of the law .
Not socially isolated
JUDY : I was active on campus , a member of a sorority and student council . I was a bit of an activist even then , involved in anti-war demonstrations ; there was a big issue going on in our campus around tuition being raised and there was a student movement against pollution , and I was involved in those activities . I also held a number of jobs on campus . I worked in the president ’ s office and the alumni office .
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