57
2007-2008 Student Organization Student Services Fees Request
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC)
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC)
January 24, 2007
Fees Request for 2007-2008 Academic Year
300 Washington Ave. SE Suite 203 Minneapolis, MN 55455
Address
(612) 624-2602 N/A
Phone Fax Email
“We acknowledge that the fees committee does not award actual dollars, but rather a penny fee that earns dollars based upon student enrollment levels. Any differences between anticipated and actual income resulting from changes in enrollment are the responsibility of the
student organization, not of the fees committee.”
______
Rachel Garaghty, Chair Tien Dang, Co-Director
Is your organization an IRS 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit? Yes X No ______
If yes, please provide proof of your organization’s 501(c)(3) status.
As a Campus Life organization, the DSCC’s non-profit status is the same as that of the University of Minnesota.
Funds are being requested for (check all that apply):
General Operating Support X Start-Up Costs ______Capital ______
Project / Program Support X Technical Assistance _____ Other (List) ______
Budget
Dollar Amount Requested $40,696.21
Total Annual Organization Budget $37,692.21
Total Project Budget (Apart from General Operating) $18,910.00
Narrative
§ The History of the DSCC
The DSCC was established in 1991 as an organization to meet the social, academic, and accessibility needs of students with disabilities and to provide a forum in which the University community could learn about and better understand disabilities issues.
§ The DSCC’s Mission, Vision Statement, and Organizational Goals
The DSCC is composed of students with and without disabilities. Our mission is:
o To foster the culture of individuals with a disability
o To provide learning opportunities
o To ensure a completely accessible environment
o To increase the level of disability awareness on campus
o To serve as a resource for disabled students and non-disabled students
o To create a social area for students
Our vision is to implement our See3 motto throughout the campus and wider community: See ability. See disability. See me! Our goals are to raise the level of awareness and acceptance of disability on campus and throughout the wider community. We also desire to increase the level of integration that students with disabilities have in campus life, both through our own activities and by our efforts to ensure that the University of Minnesota is accessible to students with disabilities in all the same ways that it is to students without disabilities.
§ The DSCC’s Relationship with Other Organizations
As a Campus Life organization, the DSCC works closely with Disability Services (DS). DS is a University entity for both staff and students, which ensures accessibility for academic and work-related activities and serves as a resource for other University departments. The DSCC shares similar goals by working to promote accessibility through activism and awareness and is also a resource center for anyone seeking information on disability issues. Because the DSCC is a student-run organization, it has more freedom to make disability issues more visible on campus, as evidenced by our ongoing mission to promote See3.
The DSCC also has a lot in common with another student group, the Queer Student Cultural Center (QSCC). Both the disabled and GLBT community have historically shared social stigmas, exclusion, and lack of a community-based identity until only the past few decades. Despite advantages gained in that period, serious problems of exclusion and misunderstanding persist for both communities and it is part of both groups’ goals to make society more accepting and aware. The DSCC and the QSCC have worked together to plan and co-sponsor events, forming a strong relationship that will continue in the future.
Commonalities between non-University organizations and the DSCC exist, as well. The Interact Center, for example, is a fine arts institution in the Twin Cities that focuses entirely on the work of artists with disabilities. In this way, Interact has the unique role of creating and housing disability culture. As evidenced by its name, the DSCC seeks to foster the culture of individuals with disabilities, as well. The DSCC also shares similarities with Access Press, another organization outside of the University. Access Press is a newspaper focusing on disability issues, ranging from cultural ones to practical ones such as medicine, healthcare, politics, and accessibility. The importance of Access Press is that, though its focus is disability, it serves as a resource for people with and without disabilities alike. The DSCC is also resource for everyone on campus, regardless of ability.
§ The Need for the DSCC in the University Community
Other student organizations, such as the Student Health Advisory Committee, MSA, and the Disability Issues Senate Committee, depend on input from student groups like the DSCC to ensure that the manner in which the campus grows is accessible to all students. Likewise, it is through these groups that the DSCC has become more visible on campus in the past year.
Students with disabilities often report feeling isolated on campus. In addition, it is often difficult to meet with other students who have disabilities and share similar problems and experiences. As a result, the DSCC strives to help students overcome this barrier by ensuring that University programs, activities, and campus structures are accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities.
While other student organizations may offer a place to congregate on campus and build friendships, none focus on the specific needs and issues of students with disabilities. In this way, the DSCC provides a unique service on campus.
The DSCC provides a place for students with disabilities to create lasting ties with students in similar circumstances. The relationships formed through the DSCC are with caring individuals who offer a wide range of advice and expertise. For some students these relationships are the foundation of the support which helps them through the more difficult times of dealing with a disability.
The DSCC offers assistive technology including screen readers, a CCTV, a video phone, and other accessible equipment that no other student organization has available on campus. With the number of reliable accessible computers on campus low, the use of DSCC computers has been on the rise. This is a very important resource for students with disabilities on campus.
The University has reported a lack of leadership opportunities for students with disabilities on campus. The DSCC is an excellent resource for students interested in leadership positions on campus. Many students have found leadership opportunities within the DSCC first as participants at events, then as volunteers at activities, and finally as members of the board.
§ Student Benefits from the DSCC
An important part of the DSCC’s mission is to build relationships and raise awareness. These two key goals are accomplished through events and activities open to all students during the year. The DSCC has co-sponsored popular films in the Coffman theatre and dormitories that relate to disability issues and brought in entertainers with disabilities from across the country to perform in the Whole for all students free of charge. Activities such as these benefit the student body by raising awareness and acceptance of disabilities while providing them with opportunities to relax and enjoy themselves. The fact that most of our events are open to all students and free of charge is beneficial, whether or not students attend the events, since the option to do so is available.
Additionally, the presence on campus of an organization designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities helps to create a community and network of support where none may exist otherwise. Students experiencing disability for the first time have come to the DSCC to connect with a new community and learn about living with a disability. Likewise, students who have lived with disability for all or most of their lives may find an outlet to use their experiences as a type of expertise and as a foundation on which to base relationships.
Yet, the DSCC offers potential benefits to students without disabilities, as well. Many have come to the DSCC in search of information on disabilities for class projects and journalists from the Minnesota Daily have interviewed DSCC members on numerous occasions for articles. Similarly, students without disabilities who are interested in them can find a niche within the DSCC as participants in activities or board members. The DSCC offers a space where students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to build relationships and learn from one another.
§ Student Involvement in the DSCC
The DSCC encourages involvement from students with and without disabilities. By simply entering the office, students are showing an interest in learning about disability culture. This interest eventually grows into the desire to educate other students on campus and work to ensure an accessible, accepting community both within and outside the University. Through the DSCC, students are given the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills while planning events and promoting disability awareness.
§ State the total amount of your student services fees request. Indicate whether this amount is a decrease from last year, an increase from last year, or if this is a first-time request.
This year the DSCC is requesting $40,692.21 which is an increase from last year and reflects our expanded programming.
§ Hours of Operation During Summer 2008
In the summer of 2008, the DSCC will remain open and operational during freshman orientations and information fairs, or, about 50% of the time that it is normally open during the fall and spring semesters.
57
2007-2008 Student Organization Student Services Fees Request
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC)
Organizational Chart
57
2007-2008 Student Organization Student Services Fees Request
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC)
2007-2008 Student Organization Student Services Fees Request
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC)
Performance Report
For sake of convenience, each event for the requested fiscal years is listed in the following pages with attendance figures, cost, openness to students, and descriptions explaining its importance.
Questions and Answers
§ Describe your criteria for success. What does your organization hope to accomplish as a result of its activities? Please describe goals for short-term and long-term success.
A successful event for the DSCC is one that attracts a lot of participants from diverse backgrounds and serves as a genuine, enjoyable learning experience. Since disability is indiscriminate in who it affects, it is important for as many people as possible to learn about it and understand it. In consequence, one of the main goals of all of the DSCC’s activities is to raise awareness. There are many different scopes of disability—cultural, social, health-related, and political, to name just a few—which we incorporate into our events. The DSCC always tries to plan events that are as interesting, informative, and enjoyable as possible. Each year gives us insight into what events were popular and why, in addition to giving us new ideas to try in the future. In the short term, we want our activities to bring together people with and without disabilities, those who have a lot of experience with disability and those who do not, in a meaningful exchange of experiences, ideas, and friendship. In the long term, we hope that our activities will help to bring about positive social change regarding the roles of people with disabilities in society.
§ How will your organization determine whether or not its goals have been met?
Attendance is key to measuring the success of our activities and the magnitude of our presence on campus. The more new people we have coming to events and the greater number of others returning to events is one way of gauging success in achieving our goals. Likewise, the number of people using the DSCC office on a daily basis is also an important means of rating our presence on campus. Over the past year, the DSCC witnessed an increase in the amount of students coming to events and spending time in the office. We see this as an affirmation that our activities are becoming more successful and we intend to make this trend continue.
§ Who will be involved in evaluating your organization?
Like other student organizations, the DSCC is evaluated annually by the student fees committee. Student feedback is also important to us. Beginning this year, we are going to take anonymous surveys at events to keep track of how many people are coming to them, but also to find out what they liked best or did not like about it. We will also put a suggestion box outside our door to encourage feedback. In these ways, we hope that we will be able to better serve the needs and interests of students and improve our activities.
§ What will be done with any collected evaluation results?
In the past, informal head counts were done at DSCC activities when possible (at some very large events, it is only possible to make estimations). Likewise, we tried to keep track of how many people have signed up to be on our mailing list after events. We will continue to do these things in addition to our new plans outlined above and results will be discussed at board meetings and with our adviser.
Performance Report
Summer 2005
Summer of 2005 / Date of Events / Name of Event / Open to All Students / Number of Attendance / Cost of Event / So What?June 5, 2005 / Medtronic Pilot Mentoring Program / No / 10 / $0 / This was a program with Medtronic to match students from the University with disabilities with mentors from Medtronic as a trial program.
June 10, 2005 – August 31, 2005 / Orientation Informational Fair / No / 5,400 / $0 / This was during freshmen orientation in which many of the student organizations held a station to make contacts with the students. This allowed the DSCC to increase awareness, increase the knowledge about the DSCC, and to show students a possible resource for them, of which many have used since then.
July 15, 2005 / Meeting With Russian Delegates / No / 28 / $0 / This was an opportunity to learn about the state of the disabled community in Russia.
August 23, 2005 / New CA Informational Fair / No / 170 / $0 / DSCC representatives presented to the CA’s for the following school year. This training was to answer any questions regarding disabilities and where possible resource was in the case future questions arising.
August 29, 2005 / DSCC Board Retreat / No / 12 / $60.55 / This was an all day meeting of the DSCC board to prepare for the upcoming academic year.
Fall 2005