tl19890406-000 "Vol. 82 No. 20 ""Required Reading"" April 6, 1989 01 a e lovverli Published weekly by the students of Towson State University Mainstreaming the handicapped For some with special needs, disability is a birthright. For others, it's an act of fate. by Kristin Gianotti Features writer and Dawn Lyons Features editor Ai reckless prank turned tragedy added Michelle Cloud's name to the roll of handicapped students at TSU just two months ago. It was a Friday evening, February 10. Cloud was in her room, lying in bed, looking over some papers for a Basic Skills test she was going to take the next day. ""I thought that evening in the dorm there had been a lot of running around in the hall-way. At 11:45 I heard a loud hissing noise. I didn't immedi-ately get out of bed because I really didn't think anything of it. Within five minutes, the Blind since infancy, Frank Gast welcomes assistance in finding his way around campus. fire alarm went off. At first I considered it a prank, until I heard police sirens outside. ""When I opened the door, the hallway was a cloud of white powder. At first I thought it was smoke, but then I saw the fire extinguisher lay-ing on the floor .. .. The hall-way was empty, everyone else had been long gone. ""My eyes started to water, and I started rubbing them and coughing. I couldn't see anything, and had to use my hands to guide my way through the hall. When I got to the stairs, I had this powder on my hand and then it even-tually got on my eyes. .... I went into the bath-room [of the University Union] to wash out my eyes. I went to the lower level because I was having trouble breathing, and I wanted to get away from the crowd [at the Potpourri]. I called my boyfriend and I was pretty upset, and my head hurt and my eyes were burning. ""I started losing my bal-ance, coughing, and having trouble breathing . . . but I didn't really want to go to the emergency room because my boyfriend was going to come get me. A woman [who Cloud cannot recall] in the Union washed out my eyes again. They finally called the para-medics. ""I was taken to St. Joseph's Emergency Room. On the way, they took out my contact lenses and said the edges of them had disintegrated. When arriving at the hospital, Dr. Miller, an eye specialist, said the effects were like taking sand paper and rubbing it across my eyes...."" Michelle is now partially blind. See MICHELLE, page 6 htMD 21204 An average Towson State student. � fit INSIDE News: Drug bust, Burdick flood, abortion march Features: Non-Traditional Age Students, Mike & the Mechanics Sports: Baseball, Lacrosse, Gymnastics, Tennis, Softball cover photos by Mary Gardena (left) & John Stefancik "
