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Beyond Compliance Student Organization
SITE MAP
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DISABILITY LAW SOCIETY coming soon |
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HISTORY, POSITION AND PLATFORM
A brief history of BCCC
The Beyond Compliance Coordination Committee (BCC) was founded by some graduate students with disabilities and allies two years ago engaged in the pursuit of disability studies at SU. The group received a strong encouragement from the faculty members primarily involved in the disability studies concentration at SU as well as those interested in promoting disability related issues on campus. Most of the time in the first year was spent in introducing our group to the high level administrators including the vice-chancellor and faculty members. At the same time, the group also focused on broadening the concept of accommodation for students with disabilities through the Office of Disability Services. Having achieved the basic objective of making our presence felt on the campus and having worked on broadening the concept of accommodations to be provided to students with disabilities through the Office of Disabilities by going beyond the legal mandate under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act in its first year of existence, the group started investing its energy in planning and working for constructive activities. By the end of the first year of our existence, we also made presentations at the Second City Conference on disability studies and Education (June 2002) held in Chicago (organized by the National Louis University and the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at the Louisiana Tech University) as well as the 14th Annual Meeting of the Society for Disability Studies (June 2002) held in Auckland, California.
In the fall semester of 2002, which marked the beginning of second year of our existence, we formed a Working Group to work with the high level administrators to formulate a policy manual on the disability related issues in the university and to look in to the pressing issues concerning the disabled students on campus as well as to establish a channel of communication between the disabled students and university administrators. The Working Group of BCCC continues to work with the university administration on continued bases. At the same time, BCCC started planning to organize a forum of disabled students involving disabled students and the staff of the offices of disability services in the colleges and universities of the central New York and the surrounding areas in order to exchange our experiences as students with disability at the level of higher education level. The proposed forum will be held on November 14 this year. Finally, another highlight of the planning in the second year was the idea of holding a film series on disability on campus. As a result of the rigorous efforts of the film series sub-group of BCCC, we are now having a film series through out the current semester on disability every week with introducers and presenters from within Syracuse University as well as scholars from different parts of United States.
Organization of these activities and our sustained lobbying efforts, have enabled us to be known as a very vibrant, pervasive and active group on campus and disability is now recognized as an aspect of diversity on campus at Syracuse University. We now, continue to lobby for Promoting disability studies and hiring staff with disabilities at Syracuse.
THE BEYOND
COMPLIANCE POSITION STATEMENT
Disability
is more than just a physical or mental impairment. Accessibility is more than just compliance with federal and state
laws. Disability is about the human
condition, and the Syracuse University community would be enhanced by a broader
conceptualization of disability that calls for inclusion, integration, and
equality. Thus, compliance with law is
the starting point, not the bottom line, for the university community, and
disability should be included along with race and gender in what is defined as
a “minority” on campus.
We
set forth the following arguments in support of our platform, strand by strand:
1.
Reshaping
Syracuse University's conception of disability and promoting an understanding
of Disability as a form of Diversity..
Disability is an important aspect of diversity in a
university community of scholars, faculty and students. Inclusion of people with disabilities in the
Syracuse University environment provides a learning experience for all and
reaffirms the dignity of all human beings.
Accordingly, disability should be part and parcel of the university’s
dialogue on diversity.
The current Center on Human Policy at
Syracuse University, which is totally funded by federal grants, focuses mostly
on promoting the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in
American communities. The director,
Professor Steven J. Taylor, also coordinates the Disability Studies program;
Professors Taylor, Doug Biklen, and Robert Bogdan share in the uncompensated
work of teaching courses in this program.
Professor Bogdan’s impending retirement will render the program even
more vulnerable.
Accordingly, the BCCC calls for the creation
of an all-university Center on Disability Studies and Human Policy at Syracuse
University, to be housed at the current Center on Human Policy. While other universities have begun recently
to develop disability courses and related programs, this Center will be the nation's
first truly interdisciplinary institute on disability research, policy, law,
and advocacy. Its mission will be to
bring together faculty and students engaged in disability-related work to
develop new initiatives, which promote the integration of people with
disabilities in society, within the United States and throughout the world.
A fully funded Center on Disability Studies
and Human Policy will have an international and national focus. It will link
the University with other academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and
experts throughout the world working to promote the right of people with
disabilities to inclusion and integration within new and developing
democracies. Nationally, the Center
will link the University with organizations and efforts on behalf of people
with disabilities in the courts, legislatures, academic institutions, and
public life. It will also coordinate
the current disability-related work of the various colleges and departments
within the University and sponsor new programs, new curricula innovations, and
assist with the recruitment of new faculty and students interested in
disability research, policy, law and advocacy.
In addition, the Center will help to integrate disability studies into
the core academic mission of Syracuse University by applying social, cultural,
historical, philosophical, and legal perspectives to the study of disability in
society, and by promoting the integration of disability content and analysis in
research, teaching, professional training, and community service at Syracuse
University, according to the highest academic and research standards.
Disability Studies at Syracuse University has had a
strong national and international profile for years, attracting many
high-caliber students from around the United States and abroad. A growing number of post-secondary
institutions are using Syracuse University’s Disability Studies program as a
model in establishing their own program.
However, in order to remain viable and at the forefront of research and
scholarship in this area, Disability Studies at Syracuse University must be
recognized and given adequate levels of funding for hiring new teachers and
attracting top-flight students.
Thus, the BCCC calls for specific steps in
recognizing and funding Disability Studies: establishing teaching appointments
for faculty in Disability Studies; hiring people with disabilities for these
positions; establishing at least three scholarships for students in the
Disability Studies program for each academic year; and, establishing
undergraduate and graduate programs in Disability Studies.
A pioneering university in the areas of disability
studies and special education, Syracuse University should reflect its
commitment to these disciplines by hiring and promoting people with
disabilities as faculty members throughout the university.
Students with disabilities are entitled to effective
reasonable accommodations and should be included in the decision-making
process. Syracuse University should be
committed to providing the latest in technological advances that would enhance
access for students with disabilities.
The Five Strands
of the Beyond Compliance Platform
The Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC), a group of students with and without disabilities at Syracuse University, seeks to expand the University’s vision and official definition of diversity to include disability. Working to raise and promote disability consciousness on campus, the BCCC sets forth the following strands of its platform in support of our vision:
1)
Reshaping Syracuse University's conception of disability and promoting an
understanding of Disability as a form of Diversity.
2)
Creation
of and funding for an all-university Center on Disability Studies and Human
Policy
3)
University
recognition and funding of the Disability Studies program
4)
Hiring
faculty and staff members with disabilities within departments across the
university
5)
Creating
model accommodations exemplifying the university’s commitment to equality of
opportunity for students with disabilities