University of Connecticut | Summer 2009 Vol. 10, No. 2
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Your LettersCenter for Disabilities
Heather Barbour, ‘00 (CLAS), ‘04 M.A. Director of Student Activities & Orientation Nichols College The article ""Disabilities no barrier to campus life" was very informative. I cut it out and sent it to the high school guidance counselors at Horace Greeley High in Chappaqua, N.Y., where I live. Please make sure the UConn recruiting team has copies to hand out when they are out recruiting high school students. Carol O’Leary ’81 M.B.A. Stem cell research at UConnMy heart sank when I read your article touting the embryonic stem cell research being conducted at UConn. The triumphal tone of the piece gives no hint that there might be any moral issues involved in this research, though you must be well aware that embryonic stem cell lines cannot be developed without destroying human embryos. I am very sorry to see that the university which granted me the doctor of philosophy degree is apparently unwilling to engage in a philosophical dialectic concerning fundamental questions such as the definition of a human being. Ben Lockerd ‘84 Ph.D. Professor of English Director, English M.A. Program Grand Valley State University Editor’s Note: UConn’s Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee is charged with ensuring that all stem cell research conducted meets ethical standards. As my wife and I both suffer with neuropathy, I was particularly interested in the work being done at UConn with stem cells. I have lost the use of one eye as a result of this condition and believe that stem cells may be a method of repairing my ruptured optic nerve. Thank you for your work. G. Wayne Cartier (CLAS) ‘54
An excerpt from "Jellyfish, Mandalay Bay," by doctoral student Amber West in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is one of the graphically illustrated poems traveling around on displays inside shuttle buses on the Storrs campus and in the elevators of the Homer Babbidge Library as part of the "Poetic Journeys" program. The illustration was created by Jay Quercia ’09 (SFA). The program originated with Jennifer Spinner ’04 Ph.D. and was directed this year by Jennifer Holley ‘05 M.A. "Poetic Journeys" is a cooperative effort between the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English and the Design Center in the School of Fine Arts.
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I had to write in to thank you for the article on the Center for Students With Disabilities. Although I never used the services of the center, I was an involved student leader at UConn and found Donna Korbel and her staff to be wonderful resources and educators for ALL students. I often think back to the information I learned from Donna about inclusiveness and access. The center serves the whole campus by sensitizing the community to the special needs of its students. The magazine does a great job of updating us about the academic life at UConn, but for some of us our most profound education occurred outside of the classroom.