STAFF EDITORIAL

Few would deny that Oakland University does an admirable job in offering opportunities to its diverse student body.

Some students are here to secure training for promotions at current jobs while others are studying to get a degree to secure a job in the future.

.Some are here to party and have fun while others are here to maintain health insurance.

OU also does a fine job in providing disabled students with aid that allows them to participate in the traditional college experience.

From guides to note-takers, students with physical disabilities are provided with the tools necessary to intellectually gain as much as any other student would.

OU doesn’t deny prospective social gains from students with physical disabilities either, as it has secured a floor in Vandenberg Hall specifically for those with different needs.

While many universities and community colleges have programs that allow students with cognitive disabilities to attend classes and enjoy the atmosphere, OU truly took an extra step in creating the OPTIONS program in 2007.

By offering a program to assist students with mild cognitive disabilities in both academics and social interaction, OU established a great success in the Michigan landscape of higher learning. Both students participating in the program, and the student body as a whole, benefit from this measure that OU has taken.

Similarly, Micah Fialka-Feldman appears to have established himself as a great success of the OPTIONS program.

He attends classes on a regular basis, takes exams and works with peers on group assignments. His love of politics and public speaking has shone through in his studies and he hopes to parlay his education into a successful career.

According to its informal mission statement, OPTIONS seeks to provide an increase in self-determination, self-direction, assertiveness, goal-setting, the ability to plan to achieve goals, a desire to give back to the community and interpersonal interaction.     

Although many of Fialka-Feldman’s supporters would be quick to call the OPTIONS program a success, few would say that the mission statement has been entirely fulfilled. Failka-Feldman wants to live on campus, but because OPTIONS is not a degree program the university will not allow it.

The traditional college experience encapsulates not only academics and technical skills, but also learning social skills necessary to live on our own in the world: everything from dealing with stubborn roommates to cooking dinner.

With that in mind, would living on campus offer an additional reward to OPTIONS students such as Fialka-Feldman? His supporters say that it definitely would be and we are inclined to agree.

The OPTIONS program was designed to be a “full-inclusion” education program, yet OU administration continues to deny Fialka-Feldman this essential element of a university education.

OU is concerned with the idea of opening up student housing to those in the Continuing Education program. However, OPTIONS sets itself apart from continuing education in that it attempts to offer lessons in social interaction in addition to an academic education.

There are issues with the logistics of offering extra assistance to those in the OPTIONS program. However, special circumstances have been provided to students with physical disabilities for years and should be extended to those with mild cognitive disabilities as well.

Although OU administration deserves great praise for establishing the OPTIONS program in the first place, it is imperative for the school to take the next step and allow Fialka-Feldman to live on campus for the winter 2008 semester.

We understand OU’s concern with the precedent that will be set: how will it be decided who is capable of living on campus? We suggest that OU works with OPTIONS in order to improve the foundation of this home that they have built for students in Michigan with mild cognitive disabilities.