Oakland University’s Independent Student OAKLANDTHE Newspaper POST Oct. 10, 2018 THE HYPE COMES HOME Current and former Oakland students celebrate Homecoming Weekend PAGES 8 & 9 TRUSTEES MEETING ROYAL COURT MUSIC INTELLIGENT LIVES Board reports on student GPA, MTD hosts presentation on music Documentary of former student’s recognizes special lecturer from Uganda and Ghana lawsuit against OU PAGE 5 PAGE 7 PAGE 7 Photo by Elyse Gregory / The Oakland Post ontheweb Dr. Heidi Lyons presents a lecture on adolescent and emerging adult sexuality. thisweek www.oaklandpostonline.com October 10, 2018 // Volume 44 Issue 6 POLL OF THE WEEK Are you sick yet? A I’ve been coughing for months now B No, I walk around in fear every day C I’ve always been sick D I don’t leave my room...not yet Vote at www.oaklandpostonline.com QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn PHOTO OF THE WEEK their behinds, then they DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY// More than 100 Oakland University students registered to vote will just have to sit on their on Tuesday, Oct. 9 during the final stop of the Secretary of State’s Mobile Office tour. blisters.” Michigan’s Secretary of State Ruth Johnson visited her alma mater to help increase voter participation. SERGIO MONTANEZ // The Oakland Post — Abraham Lincoln Submit a photo to [email protected] to be featured. View all submissions at oaklandpostonline.com THIS WEEK IN HISTORY OCTOBER 9, 1991 Heavy rains flooded balcony rooms in Vandenberg Hall. OCTOBER 11, 1995 OU signs an agreement with Malaysia to exchange robotics technology. 5 7 10 OCTOBER 14, 2015 Two students stole a golf cart from South ALL THINGS BOT ROYAL COURT TRADITIONS OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE Foundation hall and took it on a joy ride President Pescovitz gave The school of Music, Theatre Journalism student Simon around campus. updates and a fellowship and Dance hosted a music Albaugh took an internship winner was honored. symposium in Varner Hall. at a Palestine news Photo/Nicole Morsfield Photo/Sergio Montanez organization. Photo/Ryan Pini BY THE 38 million 30% 20% 1.6 NUMBERS acres of forest lost of the Earth is of the Earth’s oxygen people depend upon to deforestation covered by forest produced in the the forest for their DEFORESTATION every year Amazon Rainforest livelihood Conserve Energy Future Looking Back OTHE OAKLANDTHE P POST Former Oakland student Address 63 Oakland Center, Rochester, MI 48306 Phone 248.370.2537 or 248.370.4268 Web www.oaklandpostonline.com featured in documentary Email [email protected] Micah Fialka-Feldman sued the university for discrimination in 2008 and won, he is now featured in a movie about intellectual disabilities editorial board AuJenee Hirsch Editor-in-Chief AuJenee Hirsch and Patrick Sullivan [email protected] Editor-in-Chief and Web Editor 248.370.4268 Laurel Kraus ard working, humorous, determined, Managing Editor empathic, wise, not afraid to ask for [email protected] Hhelp. These are all words to describe 248.370.2537 Micah Fialka-Feldman, a former OU student Elyse Gregory Patrick Sullivan with an intellectual disability. Photo Editor Web Editor Fialka-Feldman was recently featured in a [email protected] [email protected] new documentary by award winning director 248.370.4266 Dan Habib called “Intelligent Lives.” The doc- umentary followed the story of three young adults, Fialka-Feldman, Naieer Shaheed and editors copy & visual Naomie Monplaisir, each of which had an intel- Katarina Kovac Campus Editor Katie LaDuke Chief Copy Editor lectual disability, autism and down syndrome [email protected] Mina Fuqua Copy Editor respectively. Alexa Caccamo Copy Editor Trevor Tyle Life Editor Jessica Trudeau Copy Editor [email protected] Prakhya Chilukuri Graphic Assistant Looking back Erin O’Neill Graphic Designer When Fialka-Feldman attended OU, he was Michael Pearce Sports Editor [email protected] enrolled through the Oakland University Post Ryan Pini Photographer Nicole MorsfieldPhotographer Secondary Transitions, or OPTIONS, program Jessica Leydet Social Media Editor Samuel Summers Photographer that the university offered. The program’s goal [email protected] was to provide students with mild cognitive Sergio Montanez Photographer disabilities “a fully inclusive, age appropriate writers distribution post-secondary experience.” Jordan Jewell Staff Reporter For the winter semester of 2008, Fialka-Feld- Benjamin Hume Staff Reporter Kat Malokofsky Distribution Director man applied to live on campus and was initial- The Oakland Post archives Kaley Barnhill Staff Reporter Alexander Pham Distributor ly accepted. However, a few weeks before the Fialka-Feldman was enrolled in the OPTIONS program at OU. Taylor Crumley Staff Intern semester started, he received a notice that he Dean Vaglia Staff Intern to legal action. In November 2008, he filed a law- Jonathan Savich Staff Intern would not be allowed to live on campus. The Bridget Janis Staff Intern advising reason that Fialka-Feldman was not allowed to suit against the OU BOT, saying that disallowing Garry Gilbert Editorial Adviser live on campus was because he was not eligible Fialka-Feldmanw from living on campus was a advertising [email protected] 248.370.2105 to earn a degree due to the fact that he was not violation of his rights as a student. Whiteney Roemer Ads Director enrolled through the regular admissions pro- “During the case I was questioned in a room,” [email protected] cess. Fialka-Feldman said. “They asked me, ‘How do 248.370.4269 Don Ritenburgh Business Adviser Unhappy at this notice, Fialka-Feldman ap- leave during a fire drill?’ I said, ‘You go outside.’ [email protected] Angela Gebert Ads Assistant 248.370.2533 pealed to the Oakland University Board of Then the other question was ‘How do you wake Trustees (BOT) on Sept. 17, 2008 to try and give up in the morning?’ I told them ‘I set an alarm himself and other OPTIONS students the oppor- c l o c k .’” follow us on Twitter follow us on Snapchat tunity to live on campus. Also in attendance to Janice Fialka, Fialka-Feldman’s mother, talks @theoaklandpost theoaklandpost help him present his case was Elizabeth Bauer, about her time being questioned during the a former member of the Michigan State Board lawsuit. She had the same stenographer her son follow us on Instagram of Education, and Richard Bernstein, an activist had. The stenographer said her son also had a @theoaklandpost for disability rights and current associate judge disability and that she also needed to start ad- find us on Issuu vocating according to Fialka. on the Michigan Supreme Court. issuu.com/op86 “I can be more active on campus if I live in the “My response to her was even if we don’t win dorm,” argued Fialka-Feldman during the meet- the lawsuit, we won,” Fialka said. find us on Facebook ing. “Everyone should get to be able to have a Throughout his fight with the Oakland ad- facebook.com/theoakpost full education, and the chance to live in [cam- ministration, Micah drew support from other pus residence] is part of that education.” students and the Oakland University Student The board, after hearing Micah’s argument, Congress, as well as different local and national said that they would “very seriously look at this disability rights activists. request,” and review the university’s housing Finally on Dec. 28, 2009, Judge Patrick Dug- policies. That review took no more than a week gan ruled that Fialka-Feldman had the right to because Fialka-Feldman received a letter from live on campus at Oakland. Next month, in Jan- the board on Sept. 24, 2008 stating that the poli- uary 2010, he was finally able to move onto cam- cy that barred him from living on campus would pus for his final semester at Oakland. After years remain unchanged. of fighting, he was finally able to call Oakland’s After repeated attempts to change the univer- campus his home. sity policy, finally Fialka-Feldman had to resort continued on page 7 www.oaklandpostonline.com The Oakland Post // October 10, 2018 3 Campus OUCARES wins English Department regional award holds annual reunion Kaley Barnhill Rohrbeck said. “OUCARES looks The fourth annual celebration at Homecoming brought Staff Reporter forward to developing our programs alumni, faculty, staff and undergraduates together even more into the future.” hile striving to improve the In recent years, the program has quality of life for individu- been working with adults who are Bridget Janis about their career fields or changes they Wals with autism spectrum living with ASD, to train them to en- Staff Intern want in their lives.” disorder (ASD), their families and ter the workforce. This event was put on by the OU English our community by providing quality “Skills we teach to teens and adults omecoming weekend at Oakland Uni- Department Alumni Association. This as- and comprehensive programming can vary greatly depending on the Hversity offers many activities for all sociation helps provide a network for fellow across their lifespans, The Oakland needs of the individuals,” Rohrbeck students, faculty and alumni such as Grizz alumni to stay connected to OU and the lat- University Center for Autism Out- said. “However, in general we work Madnezz, movie showings and alumni re- est news. On their Facebook page, they pro- reach Services (OUCARES) acts as a on social skills, communication and unions. Among the events this year, the Eng- vide group meetings and beginner tips for catalyst for assisting individuals and independence. These general areas lish department held their fourth annual OU any new English majors. their families living with ASD. can be broken down further in many Homecoming English Department Reunion “I think even though you might have the ways.