MARGARET WARRINGTON,
ADVOCATE FOR
disabled STUDENTS
In 1984, when Margaret Warring¬
ton was offered the directorship of
TSU's Office for Special Needs, her
initial reaction was a firm "No,
thanks!” "I wasn't sure I would
enjoy working with physically handi¬
capped students,” she says. "It
sounded a little depressing.” But
Dean (now Vice President) of Stu¬
dent Services Dorothy Siegel felt
that Warrington was right for the
position and encouraged her to give
the offer more thought. By the fol¬
lowing day, Warrington says, "I
decided to give it a try.”
Margaret Warrington laughs as
she recalls her impulse to decline to
take on the Office for Special Needs.
Does she find her role depressing?
"Not at all,” she says, although she
concedes that there are "some sad
stories now and then” when physi¬
cally disabled students are unable to
adapt to the demands of campus
life. However, most of TSU's dis¬
abled students turn in a respectable
performance academically, Warring¬
ton says. "These people are basically
the same as anybody else,” she
maintains, "but they need a little
extra help to succeed.” That's where
the Office for Special Needs enters
the picture.
The 139 disabled students regis¬
tered with Warrington's office dur¬
ing the spring semester represent a
full range of physical disabilities,
including arthritis, cerebral palsy,
epilepsy, stuttering, and varying
degrees of deafness and blindness.
Five rely on wheelchairs to get
around. More than half suffer from
various learning disabilities that may
make it difficult for them to process
information, comprehend written
language, or work with numbers.
At Towson State, disabled students
are "mainstreamed,” that is, inte¬
grated into classrooms with their
able-bodied peers. No special cur¬
riculum is designed for them, nor
does the University exert any influ¬
ence over their course of study.
However, they are encouraged to
register with the Office for Special
Margaret Warrington
Needs before arriving on campus to
enable Warrington and her staff to
anticipate individual needs. Staff
members help students select cour¬
ses that correspond to their abilities,
and make sure that those with
impaired mobility allow enough
time to get to and from classes.
By the first day of each semester,
the Office for Special Needs has
forwarded a letter to every faculty
member who has a disabled student
registered for his or her class. The
letter explains the nature of the dis¬
ability (which may not be obvious)
and suggests ways in which the pro¬
fessor can accommodate the stu¬
dent's unique needs. "Some profes¬
sors call me to ask how they might
be of further help to a particular
student,” says Warrington, who adds
that in general Towson State faculty
and staff are "very supportive.”
Able-bodied TSU students also
lend a hand — or eyes, ears and legs
— to the disabled. "We have more
than 30 students who work as read¬
ers, note-takers and transcribers,”
says Warrington. "They may also
help handicapped students get
around the campus or assist with
writing exams.” The Office for Spe¬
cial Needs provides interpreters for
deaf students and audio loops for
the hearing impaired. Special park¬
ing is available for those with a
permanent physical disability, and a
lift-equipped bus transports stu¬
dents in wheelchairs.
According to Warrington, Towson
State is in full compliance with Sec¬
tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, which mandates full access to
higher education for the physically
disabled. All campus buildings have
been designed or modified to en¬
able students to enter and leave eas¬
ily. An elevator makes the Burdick
Hall pool available to swimmers in
wheelchairs. In addition, TSU's resi¬
dence program provides living facil¬
ities for disabled full-time students.
The Office for Special Needs also
sponsors a biennial Accessible
Higher Education Workshop, which
provides an outreach program to all
disabled high school students in
Maryland who are considering
attending college. Workshop speak¬
ers address areas of special concern
to this group, including financial
aid, taking the SAT under non¬
standard conditions, legal rights of
disabled students, vocational reha¬
bilitation, and community colleges.
"The goal of the workshop is to
show handicapped students what
higher education options are avail¬
able, and of course we would like
them to consider Towson State,”
says Warrington. The workshop
received an award from the Mary¬
land Association for Higher Educa¬
tion in 1985.
After four years as director of the
Office for Special Needs, Margaret
Warrington approaches her work
with TSU's disabled students with
optimism and a sense of personal
fulfillment. "It's very reward¬
ing. Every day this office has a
chance to help people who really
need us,” she says. "Whenever I see
a handicapped student earn a degree
and go on to a career and a pro¬
ductive life, I know it's all been
worthwhile.” ■
JT
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