International Day of Persons with Disabilities is coming up on December 3. UW-Whitewater is ranking highly in terms of being disability-friendly, but what does that mean? What kinds of things are in place to benefit disabled students and staff? Let’s get into it.

Besides winning a combined 16 National Championships, the men’s and women’s Wheelchair Basketball teams are also heavily involved in the community. They help out at summer camps for children with mobility impairment and they are a part of a disability awareness program that tours local schools. To learn more about the teams, visit https://www.uww.edu/rec-sports/wheelchair-athletics.  

Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring (DREAM) is an organization that students can get involved with to raise awareness and work to create change on campus and in the community. Although UW-W is considered to be disability-friendly, there are always improvements that can be made to make people with disabilities more comfortable and help them succeed. To learn more about DREAM, visit https://uww.presence.io/organization/disability-rights-education-activism-and-mentoring-dream.  

The Center for Students with Disabilities is the hub for many resources that may be required for students. Located in Anderson Library, this is the place to go with questions about registering a service animal, requesting an interpreter, taking alternative tests, and anything else a student may need. To learn more about the Center for Students with Disabilities, visit https://www.uww.edu/csd.  

Something to be aware of is that UW-W has a Universal Design Policy. This is put in place to ensure that the physical aspects of campus are as universal as possible. This means that things such as doorways, bathrooms, drinking fountains, and more are accessible to as many people as possible. To read the entire policy, visit https://www.uww.edu/policies/universal-design-policy