by KELLI FONTENOT and TAYLOR GRAVES
Published March 11, 2009 in The Current Sauce
The rest of the people at his table chuckled as they watched him repeatedly hit the touch screen with the tip of his nose.
"I'm updating Twitter," he said.
Across the table, another diner - who was blindfolded - said, "I feel so left out of this joke."
A few people chuckled, but a long pause followed as everyone realized the depth of his comment.
While the statement was offered in jest, it illustrated the alienation that people with disabilities encounter on a daily basis. Bourque explained that his work with such people and their families has inspired him to support Push America.
At Pi Kappa Phi fraternity's benefit banquet for Push America Tuesday night, three people at each table received a colored poker chip. Each color represented a different disability that the person was expected to portray for the rest of the evening. The rest of the people at the table were instructed to help their friends.
Senior theatre major Mandi Ridgdell explained that people with blue chips were "blind," those with white chips could not speak, and others - like Bourque - had to restrain their arms behind their backs to simulate the effect of not having arms. Bourque acknowledged that the exercise was a bit of a stretch.
"You can't say that being blindfolded is the same thing that blind people deal with - whether they're born with it or they encounter the disability later - but it's just a glimpse that allows you to empathize with them," he said.
"I'm updating Twitter," he said.
Across the table, another diner - who was blindfolded - said, "I feel so left out of this joke."
A few people chuckled, but a long pause followed as everyone realized the depth of his comment.
While the statement was offered in jest, it illustrated the alienation that people with disabilities encounter on a daily basis. Bourque explained that his work with such people and their families has inspired him to support Push America.
At Pi Kappa Phi fraternity's benefit banquet for Push America Tuesday night, three people at each table received a colored poker chip. Each color represented a different disability that the person was expected to portray for the rest of the evening. The rest of the people at the table were instructed to help their friends.
Senior theatre major Mandi Ridgdell explained that people with blue chips were "blind," those with white chips could not speak, and others - like Bourque - had to restrain their arms behind their backs to simulate the effect of not having arms. Bourque acknowledged that the exercise was a bit of a stretch.
"You can't say that being blindfolded is the same thing that blind people deal with - whether they're born with it or they encounter the disability later - but it's just a glimpse that allows you to empathize with them," he said.
The exercise might appear silly or even offensive to an outsider, but those who attended learned more than how to overcome the challenge of feeding lasagna to a friend.
Bourque's behavior illustrated the challenges that many physically disabled individuals face in today's society. Like many members of NSU's Beta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, Bourque has devoted a significant amount of time and effort to promoting Push America, an organization that raises awareness and money for people with disabilities.
The purpose of this exercise was to encourage empathy for people with disabilities, as well as the numerous people who assist them in everyday activities. The organization also passes on core values of ability, teamwork, empathy and integrity to disabled people and the people who help them.
According to the organization's Web site, Push America programs were created to educate and provide a quality hands-on service experience for members of Pi Kappa Phi while enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. The biggest fundraisers Push America sponsors are the cycling events Gear Up Florida and Journey of Hope. Pi Kappa Phi members from across the country come to both events to raise money and meet people with disabilities.
Gear Up Florida is an 800-mile cycling event that averages $70,000 in profits, and Journey of Hope is the biggest national event for Push America. The 12,000-mile route begins in San Francisco, Calif., and Seattle, Wash., traveling through various cities before reaching Washington, D.C.
While raising more than $500,000 for Push America, the cyclists meet more than 100 communities on the route. The chapter tries to sponsor at least four Push America fundraisers each semester.
March 2-4 was a new one inspired by a fellow chapter. Members stayed on a scaffold for 48 hours straight, including two nights with 30-degree temperatures.The brothers sat in shifts outside the fraternity's house on University Parkway. Members of many sororities and fraternities stopped by the house to show their support and donate money.
"The best thing was so many [people] came and helped out and asked what Push was," Wil Adams, president and senior business administration major, said.
Adams said he hopes this event will become an annual fundraiser.
"I think it was a very good idea and can be improved for next year," Genny Broggi, sophomore social work major, said.
After two days, Pi Kappa Phi raised close to $800.
After the Empathy Dinner Tuesday night, Bourque explained that Push America stresses the difference between empathy and sympathy.
"Sympathy has that connotation that you're feeling sorry for somebody," he said.
Empathy, on the other hand, involves understanding and support instead of pity.
Bourque, who has participated in "friendship visits" with people with disabilities since high school, explained that a physical disability has nothing to do with the feelings and emotions a person can have.
The blindfolded student who missed out on the visual aspects of the Empathy Dinner, for example, was still able to appreciate the event and the conversation at his table.
"The joke was explained to him, and he got it," Bourque said.
