Disability stereotyping fuels parking lot dispute

I've never before been so disappointed in the human population.This past week when a friend and I arrived on campus, a faculty member insulted my friend.

We had parked in the handicapped section behind Briggs and were pulling out my friend's sticker to place in the window when a faculty member parked next to us.

The person insinuated that we were too young to have a handicapped sticker. The individual went so far as to tell my friend it's illegal to use someone else's sticker.

After my friend responded by saying that the sticker was in fact hers, the individual responded by saying, "You don't look handicapped."

So my question is this: What does a "handicapped" person look like?

Must a person have some obvious indicator, like a wheelchair or crutches? Must the person be of a certain age?

There are many conditions that affect the human population, both the young and elderly.

My concern is more with what would cause a person to ask such a question in the first place.

Since you cannot use obvious markers to identify a person with a disability, how can you assume whether someone needs or doesn't need the sticker?

It is impossible to know another person's condition, and it is disrespectful to ask what her condition is.

Just because someone is young and may not look - to your eyes - like she needs a handicapped sticker doesn't mean she doesn't.

I don't think it's fair to make assumptions about another person, and that's what bothers me most.

When something like this happens at 9 a.m. in the morning, it really does put you in a bad mood.

It would not have been proper to respond to the individual by saying, "You don't look handicapped either." We aspire to be better than that.

This encounter raises a related issue for me: the university's limited handicapped parking.

There is a limited amount of space reserved for those with handicapped stickers.

Too often, my friend must be dropped off at the door because all the spots have been taken.

Yet, cars without the required plates or stickers usually fill the spots that do exist.

If you are physically capable of walking to your building, what difference does an extra row or two make? To someone else, that extra row might bring a lot more pain.

Here's hoping this inspires some thought about what we expect a "handicapped" person to look like.

And, more so, here's hoping that we can learn to give respect to all and not degrade others.



Alice Arutoff is editor-in-chief of The Varsity News. You can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/StarryWonder.