Section 504 of the Rehabiliation Act and "Disabled" Student-Athletes

by Paul Artale

CRA Vice Chair for Communications 

Coordinator of Leadership Education, Michigan State University

Keynote Speaker (www.paulartale.com)

Last January, the U.S. Department of Educations’ office of Civil Rights created a “dear colleague” letter in which it declared that public institutions needed to offer equal athletic opportunities for disabled athletes under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  The move marked a significant shift in how we view access to athletics and recreation within an educational context.  Equal access was no longer just a gender issue.  In my opinion, the circle of inclusivity has grown and is a win for the disabled community.

With all this in mind little is known about how this rule is going to be enforced or what exactly this will look like for the average school.    Many of the implications are a little cloudy right now.  There is one aspect, however, that is not murky: the right to try out.  All students now have the right to try out for a team and receive a reasonable accommodation regardless of disability. A simple example is the student who is hearing impaired now has the right to request an interpreter to translate instructions during try outs and games.   

Schools also have the option of creating their own leagues for students with disabilities as well.

This true impact of this legislation will likely be felt at the K-12 level in its initial phases.  That being said, there is a trickle up effect into higher education.  As more students with disabilities gain athletic experience and opportunity (particularly in Varsity sports) the more they will gain the talent and confidence to try out at the collegiate level.  The demand for students who wish to play at the recreational or club level will also increase in the coming years.  The demand will increase and higher education administrators must be ready to meet that challenge- especially when it comes to competing in integrated leagues.

The law itself is not the main reason for the increase in demand.  The law definitely has the potential to force the hand of some schools or “less enlightened” coaches to give athletes with disabilities a fair opportunity to try out.  The internet and the growth of fantastic community organizations, however, are what will fuel this long term growth.  

Let me explain.

For the longest time as a kid, I did not have any athletes who were disabled as role models.  There were no communities that promoted athletics beyond the Special Olympics model.  I wanted and was able to compete with everyone else but found myself fighting uphill battles.  Luckily I grew up just as Jim Abbott was making headlines (and winning baseball games).  Jim inspired me.  If Jim could do it, I could do it.  That being said, competing collegiately was a double edged sword.   On one hand I was there and making my dreams come true which was (and still is) totally awesome.  On the other hand I was the only the only player with a limb difference and I didn’t know anybody who could share my experience.

The landscape has improved considerably since I was a child.  Today there are an increasing amount of organizations out there committed to helping athletes with disabilities compete at the highest level possible.  Organizations such as Nubability Athletics whose purpose is to ”to encourage, inspire, and instruct congenital and traumatic amputee kids who want to get out of the stands, off the bench and into the game. “  Every summer Nubability hosts camps where all the coaches themselves are limb different athletes who have competed at high levels.  They are inspiring belief, providing mentorship, and setting an example from a very young age.  The result: a host of future college students who want to get in the game because they know that they can.  They know this because by the time they apply they will have been exposed to countless success stories.

Change is at the doorstep and a new wave of student-athlete is knocking.   As student affairs administrators let us make sure that the door is opened whether are students are asking for a tryout with the football team or the chance to play ultimate frisbee.  The day when athletes such as Anthony Robles, Joe Rogers, or Jim Abbott will become more commonplace is a lot closer than we think.

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Paul Artale is a keynote speaker, trainer, and student affairs administrator at Michigan State University.  He can be contacted at artalepa@msu.edu or by visitng his website at www.paulartale.com

For more information on NubAbility please visit www.nubability.org

Your Life May Depend On It

by Darcy Keith,

Keynote Speaker 

 www.darcykeith.com

 With the recent Frontline documentary on the NFL and their denial of the concussion issue, along with the million dollar settlement for retired NFL players, it’s no wonder why brain injuries are the topic of discussion in the sports world.  But with the increased information available about this subject to make informed playing decisions, why aren’t more athletes considering this information as if their life depended on it?

    Being an NFL Rookie Success Program speaker on the “Traffic Education and Decision Making” module and also an expert on concussion, I’ve had the privilege to give an insider’s view into the topic of concussion.  You see, I sustained two traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) as a college senior.  In one instant, I went from a college senior who had everything going for me to a paralyzed, diaper-wearing individual with the mental ability of a five year-old.  My life, as I thought, was over.  Or was it?  

    Concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries, can occur in just about any sport.  Most of them are recoverable.  In other words, the athlete’s playing career isn’t over.   There is a lot of good information about the signs, symptoms, concussion management, and long-term effects from repeated concussions on the web.  Many sports are implementing new concussion avoidance techniques such as limited contact during practice, new tackling guidelines, wearing “concussion caps” and more.  What else can be done today to help our student-athletes of tomorrow?

    One of the first steps is going to be a tough one for football.  America loves this hard-hitting sport.  From game highlights to the “best of” videos, the public associates football with “getting your bell rung”.  Not only is concussion education needed, we also need a paradigm shift in our thinking.  No longer should the game highlights include a player getting leveled from a hit or a helmet crushing blow, but instead showing good tackles and safer play.  I realize that I will receive much criticism for that statement.  Kids mimic their NFL role models.  If they see hard hits, they give them, too. But, they will also model good tackling demonstrated by their NFL heroes.

    Last year, I received a phone call from a retired Chicago Bears player.  He was experiencing memory issues, which led to depression.  He was calling me for help and guidance.  I’ve seen and talked with some of these retired NFL players, who are now experiencing issues that are very likely caused from multiple concussions.  Some people argue that the retired players would have continued to play knowing the concussion risks of long-term problems, such as dementia.  But, wouldn’t you have wanted to know, as a player going into that decision, the facts of what multiple concussive and subconcussive blows to the head would cause?  Younger athletes can’t make the decision.  Their parents do.  We parents must make informed decisions on their behalf in their best interest, not because there is a full-ride scholarship on the line if they don’t play.  I know of several players college-aged and younger who no longer play football because their doctor told them they’ve had too many concussions.  It’s a tough decision for parents to decide if their child play or not, but they must be armed with necessary information so that what’s best for their child is taken into consideration.

    When I ask the NFL rookies if they want to admit receiving a concussion while playing, many of them raise their hands like it was a badge of honor.  Asking them how they feel after receiving a concussion, some told me experiences including lights in a room being too bright, loud noises now bothered them, and they had been dazed.  With the threat of other teammates wanting to be the “next man up”, the rookies were going to play through the concussion.  But, that begs the question, “When is enough, enough?”

    Almost all players in sports want to continue playing despite injury.  That’s a fact.  If a player has a torn ACL, broken arm or leg, the injured area isn’t used until it heals. But, a concussion isn’t something that can be seen like a broken arm or leg.  If a player says his/her head doesn’t feel right, he/she runs the risk of being looked down on, lose future playing time, or some other consequence.  They play through it, not wanting to sit on the sidelines or let the team down.  Many others just love to play the game and will do so at all costs.  Whatever the motivation, it’s important to recognize these issues with the student-athletes and employ practical strategies to help them.

    Football is not just a game.  It’s about people.  It’s about a player’s long-term health.  It’s about the quality of life as we get older.  My life wasn’t over after receiving two traumatic brain injuries.  In fact, I went back to college, and despite memory issues, graduated and now am a professional speaker, sharing my secrets of success with others.  The key is gathering information and being educated about concussions in order to make informed decisions that affect not only the player, but also his/her family. What we can do to help our student-athletes and parents is to provide them with this information and make sure they understand it.  After all, their lives may depend on it.

Social Justice Training for a New Generation of Outdoor Leaders :Theory to Practice

 

Bill Heinrich                      Sarah C. Woodside

Michigan State University       University of California - Santa Cruz

Introduction

Calls for the development of social justice and diversity training for outdoor leaders have riddled the field of outdoor education and leadership (Warren, 2002). One of the major challenges of providing effective training for outdoor leaders is the lack of training protocols or trainers with the background to teach “Race, gender, and/or class-sensitive outdoor leadership.” (Warren, 2002, p231). The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Recreation Department began to include social justice training as part of the Experiential Leadership Program (ELP)**, which helps develop campus leaders including student organization; employed; and Outdoor Leaders. Recognizing that social justice training needs are present at the individual level and the organizational levels, the Recreation Department demonstrated readiness. But the Recreation Department did not have internal capacity to implement social justice training for individuals. The authors helped to develop capacity by trading some time and expertise to develop and implement a workshop.

Rationale

We think providing social justice training for collegiate outdoor leaders is important for two reasons. First, through inclusive programming, the benefits of outdoor recreation and adventure programming would become available to more students (Bell, 2006; Shellman & Ewert, 2010). Certain U.S. populations have historically underused outdoor/adventure recreation (Cavin, 2008), and we believe the same holds true in our context (Helms & Cook, 2005). Therefore our students were missing out! Second, peer-to-peer leadership has the power to make positive change in campus or department culture and in individual behavior among college students (Ender & Newton, 2000; Hunter, 2004). Our focus on student Outdoor Leaders combines social justice training with peer leadership in outdoor programming.

Social Justice training is helpful for many kinds of leaders, and we chose to focus on outdoor leadership because a contextual, specific outreach was needed to affect the atmosphere of social justice awareness among student leaders at UCSC. By working with individuals, social justice workshops aim first to augment and influence current skills, and ultimately aim to redefine an organization by changing individual perspectives. A shared assumption by trainers and hosts was that the culture of student leadership could change with social justice training, and the culture of the organization would necessarily respond to support students. Because the organization was embarking on a major new inclusive leadership initiative (ELP), the timing was right to offer this workshop.

Learning Outcomes

Institutional, departmental, and workshop goals were aligned when making decisions about learning outcomes. Our workshop learning outcomes were identified through literature on the topic and aligned with ELP outcomes: communication, resilience, confidence, competence, and group tone and management. ELP uses a modified version of Astin & Astin’s (1996) Social Change Model of Leadership Development (SCMLD) so we mirrored social justice outcomes language to reflect organizational congruence within the programs (see Table 1). 

 

Outcomes and Alignments

By starting with outcomes in mind, we developed criteria for success that are appropriate for social justice training and organizationally relevant. We aligned our activities so each component of the training was developed to help participants meet one of the outcomes. We addressed Awareness, Confidence, Competence, and Resilience outcomes through various activities that were developed specifically for UCSC Outdoor Leaders (Table 1).

For example, a values clarification exercise in workshop #1 allowed participants to build awareness of their own values as they related to the experiences and values of others around them (learning outcome #1, and SCMLD # 1-3). In workshop #2, we created an experiential learning opportunity for participants to identify their own competence with topics of privilege and oppression. Through workshop outcomes #2 and #3, and SCMLD #4-6, we continue to surface assumptions, confront bias, and clarify values. Workshop #3 addresses the need for resilience in social justice practice since there is no one “right” way to be a social justice ally, and feedback is constant (learning outcome #4, and SCMLD #6).

We articulated our successes through alignment, competence development, and organizational embeddedness. First, we aligned activities to the SCMLD (Astin & Astin, 1996), ELP goals, and UCSC institutional goals (Table 1). Our next category for success was competence among participants. We currently see evidence of utilization and application of these concepts by Outdoor Leaders on their trips. In conversations with leaders, we find out how they integrate knowledge, skills, and behavior from the workshops. Finally, knowing that social justice takes considerable time to develop competence, we were cautious about expecting deep changes in individuals in three workshops. Instead, we hoped to engage the host organization (ELP) by providing workshops that are grounded in relevant theory and backed up with good practice to create inclusive outdoor programming. We conduct workshop evaluations assessing workshop climate and outcomes.

The three-part/three-week series was implemented in Spring 2010 and each Spring thereafter as a regular offering in the Experiential Leadership Program. For 2.5 hours each session, (7.5 total contact hours), students are challenged to participate actively and hold respectful, ‘Brave Space’ for one another as they approach a new set of ideas and actions.

Outputs and Implications

Conversations about social justice in the field began at an introductory level, but quickly became deeper among participants We emphasize that the introduction to social justice topics we offer are intended to be integrated throughout the organization, creating an expectation of use among student leaders. Student leaders are expected to use the training they receive by their supervisors, so this expectation is not a stretch. As a metric, we ask how student leaders experience difference differently on their trips after training.

Participants demonstrated a piqued awareness of the presence of cultural difference as well as a sense of empowerment to include different voices in the conversations while in the field. For example one participant from 2012 offered:

“I learned that there are ways to lead groups (and the world) towards positive social outcomes by recognizing the social injustices that currently exist and learning more about my treatment of others on a personal level.”

Peer-to-peer conversations are extremely important in delivering benefits of outdoor programming. Students on trips need to feel integrated in the experience for the transfer of academic and social benefits to persist beyond the trip (Gass, et. al, 2003). Some of the benefits (socialization, problem solving, resource development) could be especially helpful for students who may enter college underprepared (some students of color, some low income students). One concern of outdoor program managers is that social justice training (or any non-technical training) would interfere with safety training. But no role confusion has been reported by program managers or student leaders due to social justice training co-existing with safety protocols. Our evaluations show that our workshops build knowledge and awareness of self and others noted here in the words of a participant, (Spring 2012): 

“...This definitely helped me become more aware of my actions and who I am as a person”

Our next step, a qualitative evaluation and a survey, will help determine how social justice messages are spreading in the ELP and UCSC Recreation organization. Because of the high turnover with student leaders, it is possible to lose institutional knowledge, But it is also possible, with consistent messaging, to change a student culture in three to four training cycles.

Conclusion

In this project we are focused on developing potential benefits to students from underrepresented groups in outdoor and adventure activities by training outdoor leaders in social justice knowledge, skills, and behaviors. Outdoor leadership is a field with a high number of perceived barriers to entry (e.g gear, training, cultural expectation) (Cavin, 2008), so we worked specifically with the Outdoor Leaders. After access, cost, and invitation were addressed by the Recreation Program, we sought here to address social justice knowledge, skills, and behavior directly by training students to make an impact in the lives of other students. UCSC Outdoor Leaders lead a student population that is diverse along lines of race, class, and first generation status. The Outdoor Leaders responded by engaging directly in social justice conversations and improving the opportunities for more kinds of students in collegiate outdoor recreation.

References

  

Astin, H. S. & Astin, A. W. (1996) A Social Change Model of Leadership Development

Guidebook Version III. The National Clearinghouse of Leadership Programs.

Bell, B. J. (2006). Wilderness Orientation: Exploring the Relationship Between College

Preorientation Programs and Social Support. The Journal of Experiential Education, 29(2), 145-

167.

Cavin, D. A. (2008, August). UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN

AMERICAN OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS (Dissertation). Texas A & M, Texas.

Ender, S.C. & Newton, F.B. (2000). Students helping students: A guide for peer educators on

college campuses. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

Gass, M. A., Garvey, D. E., & Sugerman, D. A. (2003). The long-term effects of a first-year

student wilderness orientation program. The Journal of Experiential Education, 26(1), 34.

Helms, J. E. & Cook, D.A. (2005). Models of racial oppression and sociorace. In M. Wilson &

L. Wolf-Wendel (Eds.), ASHE reader on college student development theory (pp. 235-258).

Boston, MA: Pearson. (Reprinted from Using Race and Culture in Counseling and

Psychotherapy, by Helms, J.E. & Cook, D.A., 1999), Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Hunter, D. (May/Jun 2004). Peer to peer: Effective college learning. Change 36,3,40-44.

Shellman, A., & Ewert, A. (2010). A Multi-Method Approach to Understanding Empowerment

Processes and Outcomes of Adventure Education Program Experiences. The Journal of

Experiential Education, 32(3), 275.

Warren, K. (2002). Preparing the next generation: Social justice in outdoor leadership education

and training. The Journal of Experiential Education; Spring 2002; 25, 1; 231-238