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Connor Greenwall:
Welcome back to the podcast! This week, we talked about DART, and what you need to know about getting around campus.
Ava Peguese:
We also discussed what you should know about new-age rave culture.
Connor Greenwall:
I’m Connor Greenwall.
Ava Peguese: I’m Ava Peguese, and this is State Press Play.
Connor Greenwall:
I’m here with Chad Price, one of the Directors of SAILS, Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services. He is here to talk about the DART program. Chad, could you tell me a bit about your role?
Chad Price:
Sure. So as one of the Directors for Student Accessibility, and we usually do refer to it as Student Accessibility in house, but it is Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services. Part of my role, really is focused on a lot of the operations associated with the things that we do, and working with all the different types of services that we provide to students, making sure that those things are working and running the way that we need them to work.
Connor Greenwall:
and what is like the variety of services that are offered to students on campus?
Chad Price:
Right, so there's a lot, and really kind of depends on the student and what their their barriers are that they might be facing, but some of the services, maybe the more prominent services that you you might hear about, would be like testing accommodations, working with students who might need things like extended time, or might need a reader or scribe, might need to take the exam in a different place, other than the classroom, things like that. We have our alternative format team that converts materials into different formats. So if we have books that are not accessible, then they're working on creating things that can be utilized with screen readers or maybe into Braille or tactile graphics. That means. What that means is, basically, if you have an image or a graph or things like that that aren't words, but more of images, then we'll create tactile graphics where someone can actually use their hands and feel what it looks like and what that graph is trying to depict, including, usually it includes some Braille as well that helps to describe what they're actually looking at. And so those are that's our alternative format team. We also have group that works on converting, not converting, but creating captions for videos or creating transcripts for videos to for those who might need some kind of communication access that way. We also have use sign language interpreters that would help to interpret, make sure, again, that's a communication access related type service as well as CART, which is not to be confused with the DART cart, but CART meaning communication access and real time translation. That's real time captioning in the classroom, essentially, where you've got somebody who is typing everything that's being spoken in the classroom. So if doesn't matter what's being said, they're going to type it. A lot of the services we provide, in that sense, are remote. Just because it's the services that are needed. We don't necessarily have enough people who are local who can do it, so we utilize people that are remote, that makes sure that our students who, again, it's a communication access usually related type of service that allows them to access the class and participate and be involved in any way that any other student might be involved. And so those are some of the communication, access related services. We also will provide DART, which is also a service that we provide on campus, which is working with those who might have some mobility limitations and need to get from one side of campus the other and help move them around as needed. Some of the other services could be note taking, could be things that students might run into, as far as barriers with if they get sick or they can't go to class because of they have some type of a diagnosis illness that flares up, and then they need some help navigating some of those things, and we work with faculty to try and work around what might be needed to ensure that they still have access to their classes and can do everything that any other student might be able to do.
Connor Greenwall:
Could you tell me a bit about your background with disability access and how you ended up in this position at ASU?
Chad Price:
Sure, so initially I got involved with disabilities just because of an interest in sign language. The real story is my brother and his wife were taking a sign language class, and I'd visit their apartment, and I it was like watching tennis, looking back and forth, and in my mind, I was thinking, they're talking about me, so I'm going to learn sign language. So I decided to take a class, and just fell in love with the language. And shortly after that, first class I took, and it wasn't for credit, it was just a continue-ed class that I took. I met a person that was deaf, and they just kind of pulled me along and involved me with everything that they did. We hung out and did things all the time. Shortly after that, then I had an opportunity to serve a church mission, and for two years, my roommates were deaf. Pretty much everybody I talked to and interacted with on a daily basis were deaf, and so I learned the language and learned the culture and understood more about what they experience and what they do. So when that two years was over, I came back, went back up to college, where I was up in Idaho, and I went into the disability services office there, and I said, "Do you need an interpreter?" And they said, "Yeah, actually, there's two deaf people meeting with a director. Why don't you just go on in?" And I literally started on the spot right there, and started interpreting. And fell in love with interpreting. Really enjoyed doing that. Of course, just having that two year experience around the deaf community was amazing experience for me. It was a total immersion program, if you will. Just really enjoyed doing that, and that just stuck with me. And I think it just became a part of who I am, I guess you could say, and found a great enjoyment of just working in that environment. Then I moved to ASU or to Arizona to continue my education, and was able to get hired as an interpreter here at ASU. Did that for about seven years as an interpreter, I got a degree in something unrelated completely, which was engineering, bioengineering. And when I got hired, it was to coordinate all the services for our deaf and hard of hearing students, so making sure they had interpreters or CART providers, whatever they might need. After doing that for about seven years, an opportunity to move into another leadership position as an assistant director came open, and I was able to get that position, or then expanded my role in who I worked with, so not just deaf and hard of hearing students, then also blind, visually impaired, as well as other disabilities, learning disabilities, whatever the case may be, just to make sure that they were getting the services that they needed. Had an opportunity to move into other roles as well. Went downtown campus for a couple years and then back here to Tempe as one of the directors overseeing, again, Operations and Services and things like that.
To hear more from Chad, please tune in to State Press Play.
Ava Peguese:
Hello everyone! Today I’m here with Senna James, the community and culture editor at the State Press. Earlier this week, she published an article about rave culture in Arizona, and how it is beginning to stray away from its original ideals. I’ve personally never been to a rave, but they look so fun! Senna, would you consider yourself to be a “raver”?
Senna James:
I wouldn't consider myself a Raver, but I would be definitely interested in going to more raves.
Ava Peguese:
What was your first rave experience like? And where was it?
Senna James:
I think it was last April I went to like, I don't know his DJ name, but it shook Shaquille O'Neal …
Ava Peguses:
Oh!
Senna James:
… he had a little rave at the warehouse down in downtown Phoenix. And I went with a few friends. It was definitely an experience, for sure. It was fun.
To hear more from Senna, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: Unpacking Arizona raves, and how their popularity might be killing the culture
Ava Peguese:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Ava Peguese.
Connor Greenwall:
And I’m Connor Greenwall. State Press Play is produced by our podcast desk editor, Kylie Saba. Our original music is by Ellie Willard and Jake LaRoux.
Ava Peguese:
Special thanks to our managing team, Morgan Kubasko and Matthew Marengo.
Connor Greenwall:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com. See you next week
