EDUC 2120 Blog #6

I never realized how privileged I am by not being physically disabled. I am able to walk anywhere, read anything, and see anything I want to. Unfortunately, not everyone is as blessed as I am. Because I am on campus a lot I decided to notice what kind of accessibility there is on campus for a physically disabled person. As I was walking around Newton Oaks and Dunlap this week I started noticing that while there are a few things that help people with physical disabilities, like elevators, there is definitely not accessible enough. A few of the things I noticed in Newton Oaks were that the bottom floor is the only floor with automatic doors, the bottom floor of classrooms are either stadium seating and don't have tables in the front that are wheelchair accessible or the classrooms are filled with desks that some people might not be able to get into, and the doors to the bathroom are extremely heavy and they push while going in, but you have to pull to get out and for a person in a wheelchair, the restrooms are not easily accessible at all. I also noticed that there are not many ramps for wheelchairs and if there is one, it is usually laid out in a maze-like fashion which make it difficult and time consuming for people to use.

One particular building on campus that is not really accessible to any individuals with disabilities is Memorial Hall. They do not have braille on any signs in the building, almost their entire building is not wheelchair accessible, and they do not have a lobby area with someone that can direct people where to go. A good example of someone not being able to participate in an activity is being able to cross the stage used for graduation in Memorial Hall. The stage is not wheelchair accessible, therefore, if a person is not physically walk across the stage, they will miss out on that unique opportunity of receiving their diploma like everyone else.

As for making the more accessible, the college would have to invest in building and installing all of the necessary things to make this college completely accessible, like elevators, ramps, and signs with braille. Because Newton Oaks is one of the newest building on campus it is more accessible to individuals with disabilities, but the other buildings on campus need to get it together!

EDUC 2120 Blog #5

Other than my parents, my grandparents have had the most influence on my gender identity. Growing up whenever I wanted to play with my brothers' friends and have my "tomboy" moments my grandma would sometimes intervene and bring me inside to bake cookies with her or help do the dishes. She would always make comments about how little girls should always wear pretty dresses and act lady-like. It wasn't until a few years ago that I actually was comfortable not being the perfect lady like she wanted me to be.

Honestly, I don't really pay that much attention if someone is acting like the other sex. If they're comfortable being whoever they're being then it's not my place to make a big deal about it. But I definitely do think that guys have a harder time than girls if they are guy. If a guy is more feminine, regardless if they are gay or not, they get picked on, treated differently, etc. because they do not have the manly persona that society says they should have. Girls are more compassionate and understanding, so it is less common for girls to be rude or put down a person who identifies with the opposite gender of who they are. Also, I have heard many times from guys that, "It's hot to see two girls going at it." I feel as if society puts a double standard on heterosexual guys and girls and it is still there even for LGB people.

My gender identity is definitely a woman. I am not the most feminine woman in the world and I have my tomboyish attributes, but at the end of the day I still identify myself as a woman. As for my thoughts about other people's gender identity, as long as they're happy being who they are. For me, it doesn't matter if a male identifies himself as a female or female identifies herself as a male. As long as an individual in comfortable with their own personal gender identity I could care less about all the other technicalities.