CSUSB hosts Annual DisAbility Awareness Event and Access Fair

By Ana Martinez |Staff Writer|

The Annual DisAbility Awareness Event and Access Fair took place Thur., Apr. 11, inside the Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU) Event Center from 10am-1:30pm.

The event allowed students, faculty, and staff to learn about the different accessibility’s offered at CSUSB.

Attendees were first presented with a workshop fair, where students and faculty learned about the different equipment and accessibility’s available on campus to those students with disabilities.

The Department of Services to Students with Disabilities was also there promoting support and equipment available to those CSUSB students with disabilities.

They offered students with disabilities priority registration, note takers, mobility assistance and Zoom Text  among other resources.

The next part of the event featured guest speaker Hal Hargrave, Jr., a 23-year-old college student who is paralyzed from the neck down from a car accident at the age of 18.

Hargrave shared his life story and talked about the Be Perfect Foundation, which helps raise money for those with spinal cord injuries.

According to csusb.news.edu, Hargrave’s foundation has raised over $1.7 million in the past four years.

The money raised is used to purchase wheelchairs, adapt homes, and help families with spinal cord injuries get back on their feet.  

Hargrave’s speech gave the audience an alternative view of how not everyone is born with a disability.

“People say things in life happen for a reason and life acts in mysterious ways sometimes, and through my life experiences I can assure all of you that this couldn’t be any closer to the truth,” said Hargrave in the event flyer.

Lorraine M. Frost, interim vice president and chief information officer at the information resources and technology, hopes the event brings awareness to students, faculty and staff.

“Something so simple as a clear xerox copy can make a huge different for someone with a vision disability,” said Frost.

Frost also explained how a blurry or smudged Xerox copy can throw off a person using a reader who has a vision disability.

“If we make things right from the beginning there will be no reason to have to fix the issue later down the road,” said Frost.

Making websites, for example, accessible to those with disabilities allows everyone to have access to them without having to ask to make them access friendly.

Frost invited everyone, with or without a disability to check out the different resources and events around campus.

The next event is sponsored by CSUSB athletics called The Coyote Color Run 5k run/walk/roll, taking place Sat., May 25.