The puppy is the first assistance dog-in-training allowed to live in student housing on the campus of the 麻豆映画传媒 as part of a new partnership with Canine Companions for Independence. 麻豆映画传媒 is the first public university in Florida to have this agreement.

Robin rooms with 麻豆映画传媒 sophomore Morgan Bell, a volunteer puppy raiser who takes the yellow Labrador-golden retriever mix with her to classes, study sessions and around campus. The cute ball of fur arrived at Bell鈥檚 Lake Claire dormitory room with lots of potential, but in need of help to shape her into a trustworthy assistance dog.

By the time Bell turns Robin back in to the Southeast Region of Canine Companions for Independence for professional training after about 16 months, she will have helped the puppy master 30 commands, and provided basic obedience instruction and socialization opportunities. Those are essential skills for dogs that are meant to be matched with people with disabilities.

鈥溌槎褂郴� recognized the learning opportunities that the Canine Companions for Independence program could bring to a residence hall community,鈥� said Christi Hartzler, executive director of Housing and Residence Life at the university. Morgan underwent a rigorous selection process and has made a huge personal commitment to work with Robin over the next year.鈥�

Prior to committing to the program, students must seek approval from 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 student housing department, their resident assistant and all of their roommates to be allowed to house the puppy in their dorm room.

Bell, who is majoring in statistics and finance, knows that being a volunteer puppy raiser is a big commitment and comes with a lot of responsibility.

鈥淗aving a puppy live with me in university housing is an awesome experience. It will increase my capacity for responsibility, will help me structure my days and will give me a feeling of purposefulness. In addition, 麻豆映画传媒 students, faculty and staff will learn more about assistance dogs and about the impact they have for people with disabilities,鈥� Bell said.

Robin can be seen around the 麻豆映画传媒 campus as she becomes socialized. As a volunteer puppy raiser for Canine Companions, Bell must take Robin many places, allowing her to socialize with strangers, attend classes, walk amid crowds and traffic and otherwise become familiar with the world around them.

鈥淐ollege students are some of the best people to train our puppies because they are always putting them in social situations,鈥� said LeAnn Siefferman, Canine Companions鈥� puppy program manager.

Canine Companions has also committed to bring information and educational programs to the Lake Claire community.

鈥淲e are excited that other residents will have the opportunity to聽learn more about the training of assistance dogs and maybe even have a chance to help with the socialization of Robin,鈥� Hartzler said. 鈥淭he structure and resources that Canine Companions provides is a good fit for 麻豆映画传媒 as we develop this special living-learning community.鈥�

Canine Companions has its own breeding program in Santa Rosa, California, and the volunteer puppy raising program offers a unique opportunity for college students to assist Canine Companions with its mission.

Aside from learning about puppy care and training, students gain knowledge and experience with learning theory, recordkeeping and reporting, public speaking and communication skills.聽 Disability awareness is also gained along with the knowledge of issues regarding the legal aspects of public access for assistance dog users. In addition, puppy raising grows a culture of personal and social responsibility.

Canine Companions assistance dogs are provided free of charge, though costs to Canine Companions exceed $50,000 to breed, raise, train and provide ongoing support. Charitable contributions, grants, special events and corporate support fund the substantial costs involved with this process.

The documentary looks at how films and television shows have portrayed disabilities through the years, and how media and popular culture have affected attitudes toward people who are different. It was a story she wanted to tell 鈥� with the help of actors Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Gary Sinise, Jane Seymour and others 鈥� because of her muscular dystrophy.

The film business is a moving target, said Gold, which may make it a little harder for someone using a wheelchair 鈥� but the 1992 graduate who now lives in Los Angeles has persisted in the industry and is releasing her newest film this year to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The film has been shown at some festivals and specialty screenings, but the Regal deal will offer a wider distribution.

Gold said her membership in the Directors Guild of America helped give her access to the actors and actresses, many of whom have disabilities or portrayed characters with disabilities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to see celebrities talk as themselves, and we鈥檝e got a lot of big names,鈥� she said.

Gold said her film looks at the evolution of 鈥渄isability鈥� and shows examples from movies and TV programs such as 鈥淔orrest Gump,鈥� 鈥淓dward Scissorhands鈥� and 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥�

The movie also shows that many stereotypes remain in the industry, but the message is to push forward to reach your dreams, she said, adding that there are new roles and opportunities on both sides of the camera these days.

Gold said her time at 麻豆映画传媒 was well spent because of the variety of experiences students have to master 鈥� writing, directing, finding locations, and other facets of the industry.

鈥淲hat 麻豆映画传媒 film school teaches is perseverance, the ability to go and do things on your own,鈥� said Gold, who drove cross-country to attend this week鈥檚 showing. 鈥淎t 麻豆映画传媒, everyone has a chance to do their own film, unlike at USC where they select a film for you to do. At 麻豆映画传媒 you learn how to produce. It widens your skillset. You need to know every aspect to be successful.鈥�

The advice she gives to film students now is to also hone their craft by watching old great movies.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 hire an intern if they don鈥檛 know their film history,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to have seen Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart and know how the film business started and where it鈥檚 going.鈥�

The 鈥淐inemAbility鈥� screening at 麻豆映画传媒 will be 5 p.m. Friday, March 27, in the Visual Arts Building hosted by 麻豆映画传媒 and the Global Peace Film Festival. There will be a meet and greet with Gold before the closed captioned movie, and a Q&A afterward.

麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 Student Disability Services will provide a sign interpreter for the Q&A, and students from associate professor of film Lisa Mills鈥� class will tape the Q&A for anyone who may want a copy.

For more information about 鈥淐inemAbility,鈥� go to the film鈥檚 website:聽.

This was one of the five questions asked of the audience by 麻豆映画传媒 Knight Larry Schneider, a graduate student in the College of Optics & Photonics, before turning the question to other Knights at the panel. The Knights Panel was represented by 麻豆映画传媒 students who are blind or have a visual impairment and are registered with the Office of Student Disability Services.

The panelists shared the common experience of receiving independent skills training from Lighthouse Central Florida, including mobility training to help them navigate the 麻豆映画传媒 main campus.

Members of Lighthouse Central Florida welcomed and offered goggles to those who dared to experience a visual impairment before entering the simulated 鈥渕ock鈥� classroom environment. Participants who sported the goggles got first hand exposure to what it might feel like to be in a classroom where the instructor is presenting a lecture with the aid of a PowerPoint or a short film without offering to describe what was being shown.

麻豆映画传媒 students with low vision may or may not always inform their instructors of their visual impairments and attempt to blend in to be 鈥渘ormal.鈥� However, the point of the demonstration was to show how classroom presentations can be inaccessible to students with low vision. World Sight Day 2012 closed with the showing of the documentary film Going Blind, a documentary film by Joseph Lovett [www.goingblindmovie.com/].

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired held on the second Thursday in October. The core World Sight Day message to everyone is schedule an annual eye exam and sunglasses that protect against UV sunlight. If you or a loved one is losing vision, contact Lighthouse Central Florida at: .

The Office of Student Disability Services is in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

At the event, it was noted that 131 students registered with SDS had filed their intent to graduate for spring 2012, which is a record high. Pam Rea, director for SDS, commended faculty members who think globally by designing their courses to be accessible for all students. She also discussed the creation of a faculty/student advisory board at SDS, so the concerns of students and faculty members could be voiced and addressed.

New and exciting technology that is on the horizon for SDS was revealed including Knights Access, a computerized system for making accommodation requests, and DocSoft, which will improve 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 system of producing closed captioned videos. SDS continues to make gains toward greater accessibility on campus.聽

SDS is an office in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

SDS, which ensures that students with disabilities have equal access to 麻豆映画传媒 academic programs and classroom learning activities, will now operate out of Ferrell Commons Building 7F, room 185. The space was the former home to Career Services, specifically the office facing the courtyard directly across the Marketplace dining hall. The relocation will allow SDS expand its testing facilities and provide additional space for an assistive technology area for students to test and train on specialty software and equipment. It will also provide more space for a reception area and a separate seating area for student and parent workshops.

Career Services has moved to their new 25,000-square-foot, three-story building which is located on the north side of campus along Memory Mall between the Alumni Center and the Psychology Building. Career Services will be housed on the first two floors and the Office of Experiential Learning on the 3rd floor. Career Services will continue to offer students services including drop-in hours for resume, cover letter, or CV critiques, career counseling, practice interviews, employer information sessions, on-campus interviews, workshops on many career related topics and more.

Both offices鈥� telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. For more information, visit: SDS at: ds.sdes.ucf.edu and Career Services at: .

SDS, which ensures that disabled students have equal access to 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 services, will operate out of Ferrell Commons Building 7F, Room 185. The space was formerly occupied by Career Services, which is moving to the new Career Services and Experiential Learning building on Memory Mall.

SDS expects to be fully moved and operational by Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The move will give SDS more testing area and extra space for students needing academic accommodations. The office will also include an assistive technology lab that will allow students, faculty and staff to test and learn specialty software and other technology.

The department’s telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. For more information and a map of the new location, go to .

Over 45 participants set up table displays including SDES offices such as the Counseling Center, Transfer and Transition Services, Student Disability Services, and Regional Campuses Student Services at Cocoa. Community involvement included Veterans of Foreign Wars, Orange and Seminole County Veteran Services Officers, Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) coordinator from the VA Medical Clinic, VetJobs and many others.

The VA Extravaganza event was organized by Assistant University Registrar Jim Middlekauff who is responsible for Veteran Services at 麻豆映画传媒. “This is the first of many more to come, which will be bigger and better each year,” said Middlekauff.

Veteran Services and Registrar’s Office are in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.