That talk “sparked something inside me,” Dodge said.
What began as a spark erupted into an inferno of a celebration Thursday, March 25, during the Spring Fling at Miami University Middletown.
The party mixed students from Middletown High School and MUM with clients of Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
At first, the students and clients sat at separate tables, in their comfort zones, but once the music, face-painting, cookie-decorating and pizza arrived, everyone mingled.
Virginia Wickline, assistant professor of psychology at MUM, said the Spring Fling offered her students a chance to apply what they learned in class to the real world.
After the party, her students write a reflections paper, and many of them echo similar thoughts: “They come to class,” Wickline said, “and leave with a friend. They have a deeper understanding.”
Kenny Simpkins, 25, a sophomore and vice president of the student council, looked around the room, then said: “It’s OK to be different. This shows that we’re not afraid to interact with those with disabilities.”
Laura Bernstein, 24, coordinator of student activities at MUM, said the Spring Fling showed it’s important to look beyond someone’s perceived disability.
“It’s part of who they are,” she said, “but it’s not 100 percent.”
She called the clients a “loving group” of people because she had received more hugs at the party than in “quite some time.”
Cathy Howell, community resource coordinator of Butler County DD, showed a video that declared war on the “R word,” then she told the crowd to “stop and think before you speak.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.
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