By Kenya Foster/ reporter
Student Accessibility Resources is celebrating Disability Awareness Month with several events for students, faculty and community members, TR SAR coordinator Kimele Carter said.
A resource fair for students will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 18 on TRTR Main Street. The fair is designed as part of the SAR program to help students begin the thinking process about their academic or workforce future.
Students can also get the needed paperwork completed to transfer to a four-year university after they have completed their work at TCC. Tarleton State University will be one of the four-year colleges represented to help with that process.
A Human Library will also be part of the fair. This international event sheds light on various disabilities, especially those that may not be visible, Carter said.
“A majority of our students have invisible disabilities,” she said. “This allows students to recognize there are more than physical disabilities.”
The Human Library will consist of students, staff and community members who act as books by giving information on their specific disabilities to those who request to check out their specific book.
Temple Grandin, a movie about a successful autistic woman, will be shown continuously 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Idea Store. Popcorn, drinks and candy will be provided. Carter said she picked this movie not only because of its semi-academic nature but also to show that despite having a disability, someone can still have an amazing career.
“The disability does not make the person,” she said. “They are people first.”
The lead character of the movie, despite her autism, is a professor of animal science and a noted consultant with the livestock industry to make the slaughtering of animals more humane.
The SAR program is also holding an art competition this month, Carter said.
“We want students to feel connected to Student Accessibility Resources and to promote the new name,” she said.
SAR was previously Disability Support Services, but the name was changed Aug. 1. For the competition, students are encouraged to incorporate the name SAR into an original work of art. Canvases will be supplied, but students must supply their own paint. All paintings must be submitted to the library by Oct. 21, and judging will end Nov. 11.
Only TCC students are eligible to submit works of art, but community members will pick first-, second-, and third-place winners. The top five winning paintings will be displayed in the SAR office, all of the other competing paintings will be displayed in the TR art gallery connected to the library.
For more information on these events, contact the TR SAR office at 817-515-1295 or in TRTR 3817A.
