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Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

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Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#101

Post by jfindper »

lostmsu wrote: post #73
hibikir wrote: post #58

I think there's a non-malicious explanation for a percentage of this. As I grew up in the 80s, there were two kinds of gifted kids in school: The kind that would ace everything anyway, and the kind that, for a variety of reasons, lacked the regulation abilities to manage the school setting well, with the slow classes and such. A lot of very smart people just failed academically, because the system didn't work for the…

> The percentages of workers that are neurodivergent is much higher than usual Is it much though? 38%? I haven't seen one in 15 years across 5+ different companies. > there's a big cadre or neurodivergent people that are just in the line where they are very productive workers anyway Alternatively, it just became popular to label others or oneself that way. And tech elites have nothing better to do in free time. Also…

>I haven't seen one in 15 years across 5+ different companies

How does one even know this? Do you ask everyone you meet if they are neuro-divergent? That’s awkward as hell.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#102

Post by bradleybuda »

heddelt wrote: post #12

People respond to incentives. Give disabled people advantages and you get more disabled people.

Reminds me of "Miracle Flights", in which dozens of people require wheelchairs to board but only a few require them to deboard. Of course, if you are in a wheelchair, you get to board first.

https://www.explore.com/1804742/not-divine-story-miracle-fli...

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#103

Post by margalabargala »

lostmsu wrote: post #85
shetaye wrote: post #81

Regarding Stanford specifically, I did not see the number broken down by academic or residential disability (in the underlying Atlantic article). This is relevant, because > Some students get approved for housing accommodations, including single rooms and emotional-support animals. buries the lede, at least for Stanford. It is incredibly commonplace for students to "get an OAE" (Office of Accessible Education) exclus…

I suppose cheating to get housing benefits is less of a dumpster fuck vs cheating to get ahead of other people in education.

The word "cheating" is loaded with a lot of values and judgement that I think makes it inappropriate to use the way you did.

There's a point where it's not immoral to leverage systems available to you to land yourself in a better situation. Avoiding increasingly-overcrowded housing situations is I think one of them.

If Stanford's standards for these housing waivers are sufficiently broad that 38% of their students quality, isn't that a problem with Stanford's definitions, not with "cheating"?

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#105

Post by oefrha »

OneDeuxTriSeiGo wrote: post #97
oefrha wrote: post #61

> "It's just not. It's rich kids getting extra time on tests." Talented students get to college, start struggling, and run for a diagnosis to avoid bad grades. Okay, I was an undergrad at Stanford a decade ago, I graduated with two majors (math, physics) and almost another minor (CS) so I took more credits than most and sat in more tests than most, and I don’t think I’ve seen a single person given extra time on tests…

> So where were these people during my time? Testing accomodations are generally done at a separate time. So students with an accomodation requiring a low distraction environment or extra test time would all take their test after the main test takers. This came with the dual advantage of providing an alternate time for students who had excused absences to take the test as well. TLDR: You don't normally see the studen…

Most of my courses beyond freshman year were 10-20 people where I basically know everyone (unless they never come to class), so I would know if they weren’t showing up at exams. I’m pretty sure if these people were evenly distributed I would notice every exam for every class missing 1-2 people. So this is not it.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#106

Post by apical_dendrite »

SoftTalker wrote: post #55
p1esk wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure it was always like this

No, "disability" used to be something of a stigma. Now it's celebrated, and people proudly identify with it. If you're saying that people always try to game the system, whatever it is, then I agree however.

I can tell you from personal experience as a person with a physical disability that it's still very much a stigma.

It's also very much possible for something to be both a stigma and an identity. In fact, the stigmatization can make the identity stronger.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#107

Post by MangoToupe »

lostmsu wrote: post #85
shetaye wrote: post #81

Regarding Stanford specifically, I did not see the number broken down by academic or residential disability (in the underlying Atlantic article). This is relevant, because > Some students get approved for housing accommodations, including single rooms and emotional-support animals. buries the lede, at least for Stanford. It is incredibly commonplace for students to "get an OAE" (Office of Accessible Education) exclus…

I suppose cheating to get housing benefits is less of a dumpster fuck vs cheating to get ahead of other people in education.

I suppose stanford does optimize for cheating, but this still seems excessive

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#108

Post by ckemere »

My experience backs up that this is increasing even on the last decade. I worry that it’s yet another hack that the $8000 admissions consultants offer to their clients, potentially pointing (yet again) to a version of DEI that doesn’t mostly amplify privilege.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#109

Post by MangoToupe »

hibikir wrote: post #58

I think there's a non-malicious explanation for a percentage of this. As I grew up in the 80s, there were two kinds of gifted kids in school: The kind that would ace everything anyway, and the kind that, for a variety of reasons, lacked the regulation abilities to manage the school setting well, with the slow classes and such. A lot of very smart people just failed academically, because the system didn't work for the…

> I think there's a non-malicious explanation for a percentage of this.

What on earth is a "malicious" explanation of this?

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#110

Post by zamalek »

georgeecollins wrote: post #87
zamalek wrote: post #74

> The students at America's elite universities are supposed to be the smartest, most promising young people in the country. And yet, shocking percentages of them are claiming academic accommodations designed for students with learning disabilities. What the actual... Lack of journalistic integrity rears its head once again. Executive function and social challenges do not make a person "not smart." Going back to the c…

Maybe the smartest, most promising young people in the country realize it is smart to claim a disability. I am not saying they don't have one. I am saying some people have realized ways it helps to point it out and maybe not everyone is clued into that.

Fundamentally I would be fine with this, the system exploits us so it's only fair to exploit it in return. Practically, however, my concern remains for people who need resources to support them.
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