Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a three part series

Through recent decades, disabled Americans have joined the able-bodied population in the classroom and the workplace in ever increasing numbers. But according to recent studies and experts, a social canyon carved out by ignorance, self-consciousness and fear still divides many able-bodied and disabled peers. At the University, one residence hall is bridging this gap. Beckwith Hall has integrated able-bodied students with disabled students in a living arrangement that may hold clues to a more connected future.

Confidence in able-bodied world

Under the glow of basement lighting, Rich Abrahamson, a senior in LAS with cerebral palsy, sat in suspense. It was “showtime,” the day 19 of the 36 students in his “Poetry and Performance” class were to recite poems they had been practicing for weeks. Abrahamson had no idea where his name had fallen in the line-up.

So at the conclusion of each rap duet and sound play, he tuned his ears to the professor’s announcement of the next performer. Sixteen names had been called out. Finally at seventeen, he heard his. Abrahamson pulled himself up into his walker.

Abrahamson knew he had chosen a crowd pleaser. Crash and Burn by Jeffrey McDaniels is a series of sarcastic pick-up lines guaranteed to get a guy slapped. Abrahamson’s only concern was whether his delivery could match the swagger of the poet’s voice.

“How about a holiday in the islands of grief?” he began in careful measure.

He strutted from one unflattering metaphor to another, gradually picking up the pace.

“Your legs are longer than a prisoner’s last night on death row … my lies will sparkle in your mind and become the bad stars you chart your life by.”

Some lines raised eyebrows. Others drew muffled chuckles. Still others won loud belly laughs. The crowd was his.

Abrahamson paused a moment to catch his breath. It took a lot of effort for Abrahamson to infuse the lines with the arrogance they deserved. But Abrahamson is determined to learn.

“I’m attracted to confidence,” he said.

The senior history major has the dorm room to prove it. A DVD collection with titles like “Sopranos” and “Baadaass” run under his TV; a “Godfather” poster dominates one wall, a well-thumbed copy of Dave Egger’s novel “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” lays prominently on his desktop.

Attraction across abilities

But Abrahamson’s attraction to confidence extends far beyond his bedroom door and far beyond the characters on the big screen. He is drawn to the confidence he sees in people, especially those of the opposite sex.

“If I can get one girl to tell me off, that’s a good girl right there,” Abrahamson said.

His biggest fear is ending up with a woman he does not have respect for.

“Some women are attracted to me because I’m in such need of help,” Abrahamson said. “They feel better about themselves if they can help.”

Abrahamson hopes for a woman who can believe in herself independent of him. But he is skeptical about his chances.

Anne Hopkins, a fourth-year Beckwith resident, said that she puts a lot of effort into her femininity. Her $100 hair cut with blonde highlights frame her blue eyes and slender facial features. A nose piercing and hip tattoo are also a part of her carefully crafted look as well.

“I know disabled girls who don’t bother with their appearance as much because they think it won’t help them get a guy,” the senior community health major said.

Hopkins, like her big brother Stephen, has a form of muscular dystrophy that requires the use of a wheelchair. In high school, Hopkins said that the chair constantly came between her and guys.

“It took me a long time to get to know a guy enough to have a chance with him,” Hopkins said.

One of the exciting things about coming to the University, she said, was the opportunity to meet guys who were more open-minded about relationships. Yet once Hopkins arrived, she soon discovered that college men’s minds were not as open as she had anticipated.

“In three years, I’ve met a few guys who liked me,” Hopkins said, “But not too many – and definitely not ones whom I was attracted to.”

Four-year Beckwith resident Michael Gorman said he was hesitant to make the first move when he found himself attracted to an able-bodied student named Laura Weege.

“I had been burned other times I made my feelings known,” said Gorman, a recent University graduate in finance.

Gorman said he understands an able-bodied person’s fears when it comes to dating someone in a motorized wheelchair. He has muscular dystrophy.

“I know the questions people ask themselves,” he said, “What accommodations are needed if we go somewhere? How can we be intimate?”

Gorman was expecting more of the same with Weege until she told him that the attraction was mutual. They have been in a serious relationship now for more than a year. On a typical evening, one can find Weege doing homework or watching television in Gorman’s room on Beckwith’s second floor.

Laura Weege had been pursuing a career in special education when she first looked into a Personal Assistant position at Beckwith in the 2004 spring semester.

Gorman said their relationship progressed from hanging out on the weekends to flirting to dating within two months. Their conversations revealed strong chemistry between them. Communication was the key to both individuals overcoming their fears, Gorman said.

“We talked about my disability frequently so that it wasn’t such a mysterious, foreboding thing,” he said.

Weege said that as she learned more about Gorman, she began to understand why they hit it off so well. She was drawn to his upbeat attitude and ambition.

“I liked that Mike knew where he was going,” she said.

Gorman graduated in the spring of 2005 and now works for an insurance brokerage. Weege, a senior, will receive her degree in May of 2006. The following summer, Gorman and Weege will tie the knot.

In addition to pursuing his dream girl, Abrahamson is also pursuing his dreams. Recently, a high school history teacher asked Abrahamson to help him to teach a summer school class. Abrahamson possesses an encyclopedic mind and gift for storytelling, his dorm mates said.

Abrahamson accepted the offer though he knows the students in a remedial class like that typically have poor attitudes and resist academic instruction. Abrahamson hoped his teaching could rekindle interest in academic study.

“To me, it’s important to be able to help able-bodied people,” Abrahamson said. “I feel for them. I understand their lives are difficult too.”