Toward More Inclusive Campus

By Will Simpson
Hidden Gem Reporter

MOSCOW, Idaho—Visual disabilities challenge our understanding of what diversity means.

Diversity is typically considered in terms of race, gender, and ethnicity, but in 1958, a blind student challenged that. He found his way around the University of Idaho campus using not sight, but instead, he built a mental map of the campus.

His experience and today’s reality highlight the 65-year journey the school has moved toward integrating the visually impaired.

The experiences of blind students and their advocates span decades and illustrate the changing landscape of blindness and education at the University of Idaho.

Megan Fereday and Dana Ard, both recent graduates from the University of Idaho, felt their way in the dark, where others took things for granted. Every individual with a disability has their own unique experiences.

In 1958, Gale Conard, a member of Phi Eta Sigma, an honor recognizing his freshman academic achievements, and a blind sophomore from Orofino, became a top student studying business and law and the only blind student out of a student body of 3,800, according to a feature story in the Argonaut.

This was in an era when disability was often shrouded in stigma. People would look away and whisper.

“What’s the matter? Do you think I’m blind or something?” Conard reportedly would say in response to criticism.

He got help with his studies by having young women from the Delta Gamma sorority take turns reading to him, creating a learning cocoon with their soft voices. He studied by listening to the soothing voices of the sorority coeds who volunteered to read his textbooks aloud over 30 hours a week. These coeds doted on Conard, making all the other male students jealous, according to the Argonaut.

Despite technological advances, accessibility issues persist.

———

Megan Fereday entered the University of Idaho as a sighted student in 2005. Over the next five years, as her vision blurred daily, she felt confused, intimidated, and sometimes even empowered as she adapted and sought new learning solutions as her sight declined.

“I had to learn a lot of the different accessibility things sort of on the fly,” said Fereday.

Her progressive vision loss meant as soon as she got the hang of some adaptive strategy, she’d find herself needing to start all over again. Getting study materials in the form she needed was a constant challenge. The university’s testing system switched from paper-based to online. She had to remind teachers about her testing needs so that her tests were available at the testing center.

University of Idaho graduate Dana Ard emphasizes the challenges of assuring access for visually impaired students. She is blind and, after graduating, went on to a career as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. She is also the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho.

In her professional experience as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and at the National Federation of the Blind, Ard has seen students struggle to obtain accessible materials needed to keep up with coursework and participate in class. The university’s standardization of hardware and software, which lacks essential accessibility features, also poses a significant problem.

According to Ard, self-advocacy plays a big part in the success of visually impaired students. But it’s a two-way street.

Ard said the burden of ensuring equal access often falls on the students’ shoulders. Accessible systems are crucial, and supportive faculty are critical, but students can’t afford to be passive.

Colleges have to meet the needs of all students, making sure every student can access everything equally.

———

Katelyn Gash, the Assistant Director of the Center for Disability Access and Resources at the University of Idaho, has a unique perspective on blindness and disability.

Buildings with ramps and braille signs don’t help visually impaired students study. They need different types of tools to study independently and successfully. Viewing blindness as part of the broader spectrum of disability diversity is crucial. Disability is not a one-size-fits-all.

Gash emphasizes that blindness, like any disability, varies widely, meaning each student needs unique support. For one student, a screen reader is necessary for study; for another, it’s a tutor to explain the highly visual world of statistics.

“Even though someone has the same diagnosis as someone else, they are two completely different students, and they’re going to need different accommodations,” said Gash.

———

Imagine Conard traveling through time to the present. Would he be as successful with the new processes and technology, or would he and his cane immediately tap the way to the welcoming Delta Gamma sorority house?

Imagine a campus where every visually impaired student can navigate their studies and social life. This is within reach, but only when the university embraces disability as central to diversity.

---

References • Ard, D. (2024, October 30). Personal communication [Personal interview]. • Fereday, M. (2024, October 29). Personal communication [Personal interview]. • Gash, K. (2024, October 28). Personal communication [Personal interview]. Online • The Argonaut (1958, May 13). The Argonaut Archive; University of Idaho Library Digital Collections. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/argonaut/items/arg-1958-05-13.html • 1958 Gem of the Mountains https://issuu.com/uidahodigital/docs/gem1958

---