for the lists that this does not belong on, sorry, but i figured some of you might want to read this. to keep comments off list, feel free to go to the url: http://gwfans.net/?p=106 and comment. thanks i'm currently feelling: amused i'm currently listenning to: something on tv
this article was written about me a few months back. I want to thank aeon for getting the article, george for bringing it to me, and sabrina for typing it. thanks all… BLIND STUDENT ACCEPTS ART CHALLENGE Communication and adjustments are vital, he says BY GEOFF PARKS Special to the statesman Journal Mike Babcock is blind, but he also is the independent sort, preferring to try to live his life as if he had no disability at all. That self-reliant attitude was on display recently when the 18 year-old freshman computer science major at Western Oregon decided last term that his choice for a required humanities elective would be Art: 2-D Design. Not being able to “see” drawings in two dimensions was one problem, but differing shades of light and dark would elude him as well, so he fell back on his strong suit: communication. He determined early on that in order to be as successful in life as his peers he would have to try to push aside his disability as much as possible. To do that he and others would have to communicate and adjust. “I’ve always known that it means to have accommodations made for me,” Babcock said. “But I’ve also tried to be as active as my peers my whole life, from riding bicycles, hunting — I’ve even driven a car. I live in the regular dorms here (at WOU) and get back and forth around the valley by the bus.” He said he always learns a lot from challenges such as the 2-D Design class turned out to be. But Rebecca Chance, his instructor in the course, said she and his classmates learned as much from him as he did from them. “When he first expressed an interest in thee class, I thought there would be a lot of modifications I would have to make, but that turned was the key. Because of Babcock’s presence, an assignment to draw and work with the variations of light and dark became “an assignment that had more to do with the density of textures,” she said. Babcock cut out paper and created three-dimensional versions of two-dimensional renditions, or what Chance called a “tactile version” of the concept. “He made it not so much a study of light and dark but matters of degree,” she said. A wicked sense of humor — represented by a T-shirt he refusal to be offended by the slights of the sighted world are a hallmark of Babcock’s personality. “A lot of blind people don’t like to work with their professors about their disabilities and disabilities,” Babcock said. “ I prefer it because I know my abilities and disabilities better than anyone else. The art class worked out well for me.” “ It was a rich experience for all of us to have mike in that class,” Chance said. “It made us all think in different ways.” MICHAEL ALEX BABCOCK, BRINA'S BOYFRIEND! "THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE UNSEEN, THAT'S WHY WE CLOSE OUR EYES WHEN WE KISS, CRY, AND DREAM" myspace: WWW.myspace.com/CREEPYBLINDY MY YEARBOOK: WWW.MYYEARBOOK.COM/CREEPYBLINDY msn: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: ginnyslove2007 personal blog: www.gwfans.net THANKS A LOT.
