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Former East Carolina University students say ECU’s Disability Support Services didn’t support them. One student says they didn’t receive help getting excused from class for an important surgery, and another says DSS forced them out of a class due to their disability.

Kayley Thorpe, a senior psychology major at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, attended ECU from 2013 to 2014, and said her experiences with DSS caused her to transfer schools. Thorpe, who has Tourette's Syndrome, said she explained her conditions to her professors before her class, but the professor didn’t understand her involuntary symptoms. Thorpe was eventually forces into an online class. 

Thorpe said UNC’s DSS has helped her with accessibility on campus much more than ECU’s DSS did. ECU alumni Jess Stone said they used ECU DSS for two years after they were diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and DSS didn’t help them with getting excused from class when they needed surgery.

We, the editorial staff at The East Carolinian, believe that ECU DSS must improve to help make the lives of those with disabilities are easier while going to school at ECU. Most importantly, communication between ECU DSS should improve with students that are already facing adversity, and more help should be given to these students.

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