1. Today is my 50th day tweeting about @notredame driving out a kid with epilepsy by refusing an accommodation needed to signficantly decrease chance of his death. I'll continue til they apologize to him.
As promised, in honor of this milestone, today's tweets will be special...
As promised, in honor of this milestone, today's tweets will be special...
2...what I have learned over the years - both from my own experience being thrown out of school because of my seizures and from covering corporate crime - is individuals will do things as part of an institution they would not do personally. So, @notredame folks....
3...involved in this terrible violation of the ADA confidently know that they can hide behind the skirts of @notredame, remaining unseen despite their responsibility for this travesty. So, using public information and my reporting, let's bring them into the light, shall we?...
4...first, a quick explanation. How in the world could a place like @notredame have so blithely ignored the requirements of the ADA? Simple. As their own website proves, they set up a standard for accommodation of the disabled that runs contrary to the law. Given that they....
5...receive 100s of millions of dollars in federal funding, they do not have the option to make up their own rules. Now, what are the rules that @notedame makes up? It's right here on their page about accommodations.... 
6...did you catch that? They declare that an accommodation is not necessary if it alters "the essential component" of a course or program. What determines an essential component? Why, @notredame does. If it decides "you must be able to run a mile to be here" to promote...
7...healthy minds and bodies, why, they aren't blocking out those in wheelchairs! They just have something that is "an essential component." If they declare students must eat desserts from around the world to promote global awareness, why, they aren't blocking out diabetics!...
8...those sweets are just an essential component. And if they require freshman to have roommates - even though, in case of this kid with epilepsy, doctors said it increased risk of death - why, they weren't blocking him out! Having a roommate is just an essential component!....
9...now, where does @notredame get this "essential component" standard? Who the hell knows? In fact, the Department of Education, which deals with the ADA in schools, says the exact opposite is true: If a policy change is required to allow for equal access, then it must be made..
10...why did @notredame say a situation that would increase the chance of death for a student was an essential component? Because forcing this boy to face death every day, and placing his roommate in the role of potentially killing him by accident, was needed....
11...to foster “a collective sense of care and concern for the common good and service to others.” Yes, this boy had to face a situation his doctor said could kill him so he could learn about care and concern for others. @Notredame was telling him "we want you to risk your life..
12...to follow our rules we made up so you can learn about concern for others." Of course, any reasonable person recognizes what @notredame actually said: "Screw your needs. All hail The Rules." You don't show concern for others by showing no concern for a kid with a disability..
13...how do i know that was @NotreDame rationale? Because it was in the letter that was sent to the kid explaining how, even though he achieved his lifelong dream of being accepted to the school, they refused to allow him to be as safe and healthy as he could be.....
14...and the letter shows that this was not some low-level flunky involved in this. In fact, it was an across the board responsibility. And the people responsible for helping kids with disabilities were right there, joining in on the "roommate or die" option. The signature page..
15...so as we start showing who these folks are, let's describe the signatory, Ryan Willerton. Who, you might ask, did @notredame have respond to an ADA request for a housing accommodation so a kid with a disability wouldnt die? Why, the head of career counseling of course!...
16...I challenge you to find one thing in Willerton's past that makes him qualified to give an assessment on disabilities, medical issues, and anti-discrimination laws. Dont look to hard - it's not there. And remember, @notredame refused to contact the boy's doctor or other....
17...experts so someone could explain to them why they were screwing up. But when you bring in a @notredame career counselor on assessing accommodations for the disabled, why WOULD you need to speak to experts. (Note: ND - an epilepsy organization is chomping at the bit...
18...to come explain to you what you did wrong, how it is impermissible under the ADA, and how you actually did lay down a rule that the kid had to risk death to attend @NotreDame. You still refusing to listen?) So, on to the next folks....
19...this is Erin Hoffman, the vice president of student affairs. Once again, someone with no medical qualifications, no legal qualifications, no discernible background that would allow her to assess an accommodation request. In fact, you look at her background, realize she....
20...played a role in @notredame overruling a doctor - or simply deciding that a kid's life didn't matter more than their roommate rules - and that, as a result, a kid had his dream snatched away from him because of a disability he fought his whole life, and it makes you angry...
21....but maybe there was somebody else qualified to overrule the doctor and that led @notredame to conclude they did not need to consult experts. So on to the next one on the letter. This is William Stackman. Now, he does have some relevant experience. But bottom line: His....
22...education is in leadership and "parks and recreation administration." I seriously doubt that, if you were dealing with a serious, life-threatening neurological condition that incorporated both epilepsy and a stroke....
23..., the first person you would turn to for help is a guy who was trained how to run a playground. So, was he the one with the qualifications that led @notredame to decide not to contact the doctor or the experts? Not in anyone's book of reason.....
24...on we go....the next "expert" who played a role in denying a kid with epilepsy a needed accommodation to limit his chance of death. This is Karen Kennedy. She has a masters in education administration. She was the director of housing when this letter was written, but now...
25...is in charge of the student centers. So of course, given that she is qualified to run student centers, @notredame had enough expertise on board to know that a boy with epilepsy did not need a housing accommodation, and that the medical experts were wrong....
26...now, was there anyone else involved? Anyone who received this information of what was going on? Anyone whose name was not on the letter, but who - when contacted about the grotesque acts going on in the name of @notredame - kicked responsibility down to others?....
27...why yes, there was. The president of @notredame, Rev. John Jenkins.
Shame on you, sir. Shame on you that, when a desperate family contacted you, you passed the buck back to the very people who were tormenting this boy. Shame on you.
Shame on you, sir. Shame on you that, when a desperate family contacted you, you passed the buck back to the very people who were tormenting this boy. Shame on you.
28...now, perhaps someone might say Im being cruel by disclosing these @notredame people and all of the roles they played - as well as the utter lack of qualifications they had to make this judgement. But this is only a slight taste of the cruelty they inflicted on this boy...
29...he came into this world having had a stroke in utero. Given his life of severe seizures which could leave him partially paralyzed and other consequences from the damage to his brain, this boy could have had every excuse for staying home, hiding from the world....
30...instead, he fought. He fought to overcome challenges far greater than many others have to face. He pursued his goals, excelled academically and personally, and achieved his dream of being accepted into @notredame. He should have been held up as a ROLE MODEL for what....
31...people can accomplish even when faced with significant health challenges & trauma. But no. You spat on him, @notredame. You exposed him to the brutality many people with epilepsy face: Being told our lives are not as important as blah, or being told that, no, we can't...
32....be among decent people, what with our minimal needs required so we don't die. You told this kid one very simple message: People like you - people with uncontrolled seizures, people with poorly controlled epilepsy who need mild accommodations - you people are not welcome...
33...the emotional consequences of being told you cannot achieve your dream BECAUSE OF A NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEM BEYOND YOUR CONTROL is devastating. I have no doubt this will haunt this boy the rest of his life, knowing that at any point, someone can declare "You must do....
34...what you cannot do, or else go away."
He moved to another top school that provided his accommodation with no issues. He is THAT school's symbol of success in the face of challenges.
And you, @notredame, are the symbol of discrimination against people with epilepsy.
done
He moved to another top school that provided his accommodation with no issues. He is THAT school's symbol of success in the face of challenges.
And you, @notredame, are the symbol of discrimination against people with epilepsy.
done
...some are asking what about Scott Howland. He has no bio on Notre Dame website, no linkedin page I can find. That is why I included the standards he enforces in his role: A needed accommodation doesnt needs to be made if Notre Dame decides it basically doesnt want to.
