The CBNU Disability Support Center has installed various facilities for handicapped students’ convenience, and it is running a lot of programs to aid the handicapped. The Center installed a barrier-free room for handicapped students to take a rest between classes this semester. This room has been utilized as a lounge by the disabled students and a place for educating middle school and high school students about the disabled. Moreover, the CBNU Disability Support Center opened classes for the preparation of public officials, computer applications, and other lectures for disabled students who want to get a job.
  Last semester, it ran a class called “Sharing Sign Language with People” for faculty members, students and local residents who want to learn sign language. This is a part of a project aiming to improve people’s awareness of the disabled, to honor various forms of communication of the hearing-impaired and to understand their culture. 23 faculty members and students, who are interested in sign language, participated for 10 weeks, and 18 of them completed the course. Students showed enthusiasm in the class, and they were serious and cheerful. One of the attendees, a CBNU student, Han Bo-gyeong(ʼ15, Dept. of Plant Medicine) said, “At first, I just applied out of curiosity, but it was such a great chance for me to learn a new language, sign language.” The instructor, Park Hye-gyeong, said, “I hope students will be more concerned about the suffering of the disabled. In particular, please don’t forget that the disabled students are also CBNU students, and please cheer them up.”
  Every semester, there is a support system which selects helpers for the disabled students. This is arranged for the disabled students to make their school lives more comfortable. It’s a one-to-one match: a selected helper and a disabled student are partners. The helpers take notes during lectures, ghostwrite exam schedules, and give a hand to their partner when going to the classroom. There are some preconditions posted on the webpage when applying as a helper. If you volunteer as a helper, you will receive money, and your volunteer time will count as official community service hours.
  However, there are a few insufficiencies in these programs. In the case of the sign language class, the number of applicants has gradually been decreasing. This semester, an intermediate class was slated to open but failed because the required enrollment was not met. In the case of the disabled students’ helpers, according to a survey from the spring semester, most of the services were satisfying. However, if helpers didn’t perform their roles, the disabled student got the wrong information about exams and sometimes it embarrassed him or her.
  Therefore, paying attention to the needs of the disabled is paramount. The CBNU Disability Support Center is providing facilities for the convenience of handicapped students, and it is managing beneficial programs for other students. Thus, the CBNU Disability Support Center is expected to operate successfully with CBNU students’ participation.

By Kim Hyo-seon
hs37@cbnu.ac.kr