The Student News Site of Stony Brook University

The Statesman
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The Student News Site of Stony Brook University

The Statesman
The Student News Site of Stony Brook University

The Statesman
A window in the Student Activities Center adorned sticky notes about how disabilities have effected their life. GARY GHAYRAT/THE STATESMAN

Don’t make it tougher for people with disabilities

Joshua Blake • October 21, 2019
I decided to look up “Disability Reporting Jobs” on Google, with hopes of receiving information regarding job openings for journalists with disabilities such as myself. The results that popped up were articles about employment issues involving people with disabilities and how Social Security can help if you have one. Although none of this was relevant to my situation, I did find one article intriguing.
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A parking lot handicap sign. According to the World Health Organization, over 1 billion people, about 15% of the world's population, lives with some form of disability. STEVE JOHNSON/FLICKR VIA CC BY 2.0

We need to rethink the word “disability”

Joshua Blake • February 8, 2019
Why do we categorize people with physical or mental limitations as disabled? This never made sense to me, even when I was a kid. I'd prefer the term handicapped over disabled because, in my mind, I was never a non-functional human.
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Actor Bryan Cranston at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival. MARTIN J KRAFT/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS VIA CC BY SA 3.0

Questioning the appropriate definition of “disability”

Joshua Blake • January 20, 2019
We can’t handle seeing a disabled actor in a lead role on screen in this country, because we don't understand what the word “disability” really means.
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CAPS. STATESMAN FILE

CAPS helped me; maybe it can help you too

Joshua Blake • December 2, 2018
I decided to seek counseling at the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) office.
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Protesters at a disability rights rally. SINN FEIN/FLICKR VIA CC BY 2.0

My fears about the future

Joshua Blake • November 27, 2018
It’s weird being a college student for seven years. You start to wonder if you’ll pull through this journey, and then you start wondering when?
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The walk-in clinic at the campus recreation center is one of the resources available to students in need of healthcare services. However, many students feel the university attendance policy does not support student health. MARIE MATSUNAGA/STATESMAN FILE

The human cost of health care

Joshua Blake • November 14, 2018
I’ve been receiving intravenous Remicade treatment for the last five and a half years, and it’s sent my ulcerative colitis into remission. It’s allowed me to pursue a college career, and helped me get my life back. Visits to the emergency room are long gone, but not long forgotten.
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. COURTESY OF JOSHUA BLAKE

My life with cerebral palsy

Joshua Blake • October 28, 2018
We make ourselves what we want to be, but I can never be a man without my disability.
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