As a member of the staff of Services for Students With Disabilities and as a student who utilizes the service unit, I feel that I have an obligation to respond to the articles that have appeared in the Nov. 8 and 9 issue of The Northern Star concerning the office of SSD.

I am appalled at the fact that a first semester freshman has the nerve to criticize the services for the visually impaired that are offered through the office of SSD. As a student with a visual disability I have utilized the service unit for close to three years and I have never had any problems with the way in which services are delivered. The office in no way mandates that a student use all or part of their services, it’s simply a matter of choice. If you do not want to use priority registration, sighted guides, route sheets etc., then you are not forced to do so. Cary, first you say that the routes are not detailed enough, then you turn around and say they are too detailed. Make up your mind. Just because you feel that you do not need or like the services, this does not give you the right to speak for all of those who do wish to utilize the services. I know for a fact that you met with the coordinators of the service until over the summer to discuss the services that NIU offers to those persons with visual impairments, just as other potential students meet with them to discuss the services, and there seemed to be nothing wrong then. Why all of a sudden do you have a problem with the service delivery now?

Cary, I don’t understand why you insist on bad-mouthing the service unit. All that Linn Sorge and the rest of the staff has ever tried to do for you is give you assistance in making your semester run smoother. If you can’t handle this then you are a pretty sad individual. By your half truths and downright blatant lies you have managed to anger many students with disabilities on this campus. I hope that you are happy with your accomplishment.

I am also very offended by the radical beliefs that the NFB has tried to impose upon persons who are blind and visually impaired here at NIU. If one of us says that we are not interested in the NFB, then we are not, and we should not be repeatedly badgered about the issue, as has happened to me. I also find it regrettable that according to the NFB, one is not a full-fledged human being unless he or she is extremely independent. Does this mean that an elderly person living alone who needs occasional assistance is not independent? Who is the NFB to make this judgment call? As for the quote “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and feed him for life.” Get real! Cary, if you are as independent as you proclaim to be then why must you always have Brian Johnson at your every beck and call? Cary grow up and worry about yourself and leave the rest of us. We’ll worry about ourselves.

Doug Anzlovar

Junior

Special Education