Office for Equal Opportunity
North Carolina
State University

Location & Hours
1 Holladay Hall
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Monday - Friday

Mailing Address
Campus Box 7530
Raleigh, NC
27695-7530

Phone Numbers
Main: 919-515-3148
Fax: 919-513-1428
TTY: 919-515-9617

Equal_Op - January, 2003, Volume 3, #2

Taking Our Daughters and Our Sons to Work in 2003

The Ms. Foundation for Women has announced that it will now include both daughters and sons in its annual day of career exploration and activities. The successful annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day, launched in 1993, has evolved to meet the needs of a new generation at work. In a press release, Ms. Foundation President Marie C. Wilson stated, “We are making this change because revolution demands evolution. We will launch Take Our Daughters & Sons To Work Day so that girls and boys can learn to work together to bring about a more equitable world - at home, at school and in the workplace.”

With over 71 million participants of Take Our Daughters to Work Day in just ten years, the ability of the program to develop and change on pace with the rapidly changing workplace has proven effective. A new issue to be addressed by Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in 2003 is balancing work and family life for both men and women, “equitably integrating work with family responsibilities and personal goals.”

Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 24, 2003 for the celebration at NC State University. Our campus goal for the day is to organize an NC State program that will provide opportunities for both girls and boys to learn about job and educational opportunities available to them while considering how their work will fit into their overall future. Programs and activities are being planned for the day and will be updated on the website as they are developed. Visit the NC State TODSTW website to learn more about NC State's upcoming program, and visit the national TODSTW website for information on the national level.

This year, we would like to increase NC State's participation even further by reaching out to the community of daughters and sons beyond those who are children of employees on campus. So, if you know a young person between the ages of 8 and 16 who could benefit from the enriching day of opportunities that NC State will provide, please consider sponsoring that young person when registration opens this spring. Many of the colleges and other units on campus are planning fun and exciting events in addition to the campus-wide activities, so don't miss out!.

Staff Spotlight: Mark Newmiller

Mark Newmiller, Assistant Director of Disability Services for Students, joined the DSS team in January, 2003. A native of upstate New York, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from LeMoyne College and a Master of Science degree in Special Education from the College of St. Rose.

Mark has more than six years of professional experience working with students at the primary and secondary levels with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). Throughout his career, he has been responsible for teaching, evaluating, and determining eligibility for services of students in a range of disability areas. Mark currently works at NC State as a service provider for students with LD and ADHD.

Prior to working in education, Mark worked in sales and spent a year working for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

EOI Courses Now Open to All

The Office for Equal Opportunity offers a series of programs that were originally designed for participants of the Equal Opportunity Institute but are now open to the entire campus community.

Upcoming programs include:

• Accommodating Students with Disabilities
• Diversity in the Workplace
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Legacies + Layers = Lenses
• (Campus Diversity Conflicts: Methods for Managing the Unmanageable) The Millennium Game
• The Protected Class of National Origin
• The Protected Classes of Religion & Creed
• The Protected Class of Sex
• The Protected Class of Veteran Status

To learn more and register, visit our website.

Customized Programs and Workshops Available from OEO

The Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) offers an array of programs throughout the academic year and during the summer. Programs offered cover a range of topics on disability, unlawful harassment, equal opportunity, and affirmative action and are available for different types of needs, such as training workshops, classroom presentations, staff meetings, and educational initiatives.

The Office for Equal Opportunity has information on its website about various program offerings; customized programs for your unit, staff or class are available upon request. OEO staff has conducted many programs and workshops throughout the year during orientations for new students, staff and faculty, regularly scheduled workshops through Human Resources, the Equal Opportunity Institute (EOI), and by special request. Since July, 2002, OEO has conducted 47 programs with 954 participants. Contact us today at 919-515-3148 to schedule your program.

Study Circles - New Diversity Programming at NC State

The Office for Equal Opportunity is partnering with the YWCA of Wake County to bring “Study Circles on Race and Ethnicity” to NC State's campus this fall. The Study Circles program is part of a nationwide effort to address racism by providing a simple way to involve community members in dialogue and action. Facilitated through the Wake County YWCA and League of Women Voters, Study Circles allow participants to engage in small, democratic, peer-led discussions regarding their racial attitudes. The Study Circle will meet once a week for five weeks to share individual stories, learn from others, and take action steps to improve race relations. The intent is to get people listening to others, which can lead to greater understanding and joint efforts of action.

NC State's spring Study Circle will begin in February. Shani Barrax, YWCA Racial Justice Coalition Coordinator, and Ann Seng of the League of Women Voters will lead the discussions. There is no cost to participate in Study Circles. For more information or to sign up for NC State's Study Circle, see our website.

Diversity Training on Campus

Often, employees are not aware of large variety of diversity training and programs available on campus for faculty and staff. In the summer of 2002, a survey was conducted on campus to gather information on the many diversity programs offered. You can view the results of this survey.

Disability Services for Students Presents: Spotlight on Access

Each year, DSS presents a “Spotlight on Access” that features a notable person and his or her achievement in disability services within the NC State community. Here we present the 2003 honoree, accompanied by an introduction by Dr. Cheryl Branker, Director of Disability Services for Students. See the DSS website for previous honorees.

By Dr. Cheryl Branker

“Spotlight on Access” is an in-depth look at people in the NC State community who are going for the goal of equal access to programs and services for persons with disabilities. Our community is made up of thousands of students, faculty, staff, volunteers, community leaders, and businesses. They all help the DSS staff and students in many ways.

Gary Gatling, Spotlight on Access Honoree for 2003

Gary Gatling has continually gone above and beyond his duties as the College of Engineering's Eos Lab Manager to support accessibility on campus. While surely his official duties require him to work with DSS on accessibility issues, his responsiveness and the effort that he has put forth towards supporting our work and general accessibility improvements on campus have gone well beyond what is expected. His contributions range from immediately responding to and acting on our requests for help (such as moving equipment, installing AT software, etc.) to providing us with the hardware and software we need to set up our own Eos computing accessibility test facilities in the DSS AT lab. He has also been integral in the work we have done and will do to improve the accessibility of the Linux computing environment. His support for our work does not just include technical support; he also sat on the search committee for the new Assistant Coordinator of Assistive and Information Technology, a time consuming task that was well outside the requirements of his position.

Gary's efforts are appreciated and well worthy of our Spotlight on Access!

Suggestions for How to Handle Controversy within the Classroom

Often within the realm of higher education, controversial issues need to be discussed and examined within the classroom setting. Free speech and First Amendment rights are important to academic discourse and the university environment so ideas can be created, expressed, and explored. There are times, however, when classroom dialogue can lead to discomfort, misinterpretation, or dispute.

If you teach a course that deals with sensitive topics, you may want to consider how to handle possible controversy within the classroom. The Office for Equal Opportunity has assembled some suggestions for how to approach and deal with pedagogical dialogues that may lead to contention among students. These guidelines are offered as a way to promote an open and respectful environment within the classroom.

You Can Sign Up to Receive NC State Accessibility Announcements

The NC State ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Advisory Committee has recently established a list serve for distributing important information related to campus access issues to the NC State community. These include items such as construction projects that affect or reroute pathways of travel, safety issues, and new accessible facilities.

The ADA Coordinator, Campus Police, Housing, and other units on campus use this list to distribute important and timely information. If you believe you can benefit from receiving these announcements, please join the list serve.

The list is used only for announcements (not discussions), and only a small number of individuals can post to the list; as such it is a relatively low-traffic list.

Reminder

Anyone in the NC State community can submit a question or concern about a disability or accessibility issue related to NC state facilities, programs, services, or benefits to the ADA Hotline. Just send an email message describing your concern to: ADAHotline@ncsu.edu. An Office for Equal Opportunity staff member will respond to your message and share it with the appropriate departments.

Challenge Question

Which of the following is a protected class, meaning that it is protected from discrimination and harassment, at NC State University?

A. National Origin
B. Creed
C. Race
D. All of the above.

Answer: D. To find out more about the protected classes at NC State, please see our website.

If you have questions or comments regarding this newsletter, please contact Beverly Jones Williams at 919-513-3836 or by email.