The struggle to be assimilated into the classroom setting and mainstream society was the main point of the film "Including Samuel," shown Monday in Bracken Library to kick off Disability Awareness Week.
Josh Mitchell, a graduate student in the Student Affairs Adminsitration in Higher Education program, led a discussion to go along with the film. Mitchell has a mild form of cerebral palsy, which effects the muscles in his legs, making his lower body disproportionately smaller than his upper body.
"Including Samuel" is a film by Dan Habib about his son Samuel, who was born with cerebral palsy. When it was filmed three years ago, Samuel was 7 years old. His parents said they had a hard time adjusting to their role as his parents.
In the film, his mother said she wants people to see his personality instead of his disease.
"If I do all the exercises with him, I become his therapist," she said. "I just want to be his mother."
Samuel's father said constantly worrying about his son's future isn't the best way to deal with his disease. Samuel had many friends in his classroom, but his father said as he gets older, other students might begin to interact with him differently.
The film also included stories of people with other disabilities. A girl named Alana had schizophrenia, and she was shown drawing pictures of the characters she sees in her head. Alana tried to kill herself a few years ago when it seemed too hard to deal with, but now she's taking classes to teach sign language.
Mitchell said living with cerebral palsy wasn't much of a hindrance for him, but it's something he's interested in understanding better.
"Early on, my mom was determined to make sure I was independent," he said. "I was voted class president in high school."
Mitchell said he's lucky, and his story isn't typical.
About 600 students at Ball State University utilize services through Disabled Student Development, the most common being accommodations for test-taking. Associate director Courtney Jarrett said there are actually more than 600 students with disabilities on campus, but that's how many DSD serves.
According to the film, obtaining equal rights for people with disabilities might be the last civil rights struggle.
Sophomore Quinlin Hanson, who works in the Work Studies department, agrees. He said seeing the video helped him realize it's possible for students with disabilities to achieve all the things other people have.
"I think for everyone struggling with civil rights, they all see theirs as the last great struggle," he said.
Disability Awareness Week Activities
Wednesday - Disability Panel: Service Animals
3 p.m., Art and Journalism Building Room 175
March 15 - Service Animal Trainers
3 p.m., Art and Journalism Building Room 175
March 17 - Franklin Roosevelt: Elected in spite of or because of his disability
2 p.m., Student Center Room 301
March 18 - Marcus Roberts Trio
7:30 p.m., Pruis Hall
March 23 and 24 - Free Your Mind: Awareness Table
Student Center Tally
March 24 - Doin' It: Sex, Disability and Videotape film
5 p.m., Student Center Forum Room
March 25- Dance Wheels Demonstration
7 p.m., Student Center Ballroom
March 26 - Quad rugby with the Indy Brawlers
1 p.m., Irving Gym 200A
April 1 - Disabled Student Development Awards Program
3 p.m., Student Center Cardinal Hall B
For more information, visit the Disabled Student Development Web site at http://cms.bsu.edu/About/AdministrativeOffices/DSD.aspx
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