An open forum was held Friday at Bird Library for Louis Altman, an Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator candidate, to share his vision and answer questions from students, faculty and staff.

The hour-long forum began at 2:30 p.m. and was attended by about 30 members of the Syracuse University community. Altman is one of three finalists in the search for the SU ADA coordinator.

He began the forum with a presentation entitled “Refract The Light: Inclusion of people with disabilities at Syracuse University.”

“Inclusion is not just about receiving equity and services,” Altman said, “It’s also a gift of socialization and establishing dynamic friendships and other linkages one might not expect, powerful alliances.”

A main goal of his work as ADA coordinator would be to combat micro-aggressions, which he described as “quiet” instances of inequity that may occur intentionally or unintentionally. This could include people without proper parking permits parking in spaces authorized for persons with disabilities, or professors forgetting to provide the Office of Disability Services with the exam for a student granted the right to take exams in alternative locations or with extended times, he said.

“There are countless other micro-aggressions that everyone here can conjure, and I would roll up my sleeves to collaborate on unique and global solutions,” Altman said.

Katherine Vroman, a doctoral student pursuing a degree in disability studies and president of the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee, asked Altman to discuss the ADA and its limitations as it’s carried out at SU.

Its minimal standards cannot give individuals the case-specific treatment they’re entitled to, Altman said. He added that some parts of the law could even be undone through new case law or legislation.

“Equality is not enough. The law is not enough. It does not guide the character of humanity, perhaps it is the reverse,” he said.

Nick Holzthum, a junior information management and technology major, asked Altman what strategies he would use to assure that policies are carried out consistently and communicated more transparently on campus.

“There seems to be some discrepancies between the policies that are held by the university and how the policies are described by individual staff and faculty. And sometimes they violate the policies,” Holzthum said.

Altman responded by acknowledging the importance of consistent, sufficient policies, but said that enforcing policies can only go so far. It will be important to reach out to and educate the SU community, building bridges of understanding throughout the campus rather than “twisting arms.”

“I would work very hard to not just do the education and outreach but to be reached out to, to get your feedback and to create a dialogue which would be perpetual,” Altman said. “There’s no end game to inclusion.”

At the end of the forum, those who attended were asked to respond to a survey in regards to Altman’s exhibited knowledge, skills and ability. The responses will be used by the ADA coordinator search committee to make a final selection.

Published on March 27, 2015 at 5:38 pm

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu