Angel Isioma Oparah
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne held its third annual Disability Awareness Fair on the University quad Wednesday to share the resources available to students on- and off campus.
La Verne Buddies, Room4Everyone and Tri-City Mental Health were some of the organizations with booths providing information on disability services and resources. Representatives from academic departments and student service were also present to share accommodations available for disabled students.
Each organization chose a specific disability to represent and help others learn more about the disability through handouts and flyers.
The University clinical science club was also present and held a demonstration on the effects of muscular atrophy, which involved having a student sit with a weighted backpack and then use a manual wheelchair with the weighted backpack to show its effects on the use of muscles.
“We chose to represent muscular atrophy … because many people in the senior citizen community are affected by this, and a lot of them don’t really know that they have this disability, due to the stigma that the older you get the harder it is to move,” Nirvana Delev, president of the clinical science club and senior biology major, said.
During this event, Paws to Share brought therapy dogs to help students combat stress and anxiety and have a little fun.
The Center for Multicultural Services handed out flyers about HIV and AIDS with information about the effects, causes and treatments available.
“I recently started watching this show that goes over the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the ’80s and realized that there is so much we don’t know because this isn’t as prevalent in our time, just because we know how to treat and possibly prevent it from happening and spreading,” Asha Jones, a student assistant for the Center for Multicultural Services and freshman psychology major, said.
Many of the groups also had upcoming sessions for peer mentoring like Tri-City Mental Health.
Michelle Robinson, a program director for Tri-City Mental Health Center in Pomona, said the organization provides innovative mental health programs at a low cost to Pomona, Claremont and La Verne residents.
Other services on campus are available through the residence halls, and the office of accessibility services, which provides tutoring, testing and diagnoses.
Angel Isioma Oparah can be reached at angel.oparah@laverne.edu.
Angel Isioma Oparah is a staff writer for the Campus Times and a sophomore journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing blogs.
Sheridan Lambrook, a senior journalism major with a concentration in visual journalism, is photography editor and a staff writer for the Campus Times.
