By Kayla DeMicco
Opinion Editor
Unlike the modern Olympics Games that take place every two years, the Special Olympics provides people with disabilities of all kinds year-round training and competitions. The Special Olympics works “[t]hrough programming in sports, health, education and community building, [tackles] the inactivity, stigma, isolation, and injustice that people with disabilities face.” According to the Special Olympics website, their “approach is to deliver, high – quality training and competition in an inclusive culture through Unified Sports which allows for people with and without intellectual disabilities to play on the same field.”
Across 174 countries, over 5.1 million athletes have participated in over 100 thousand competitions. With the help of over 1.1 million volunteers, there has been a 17 percent increase in unified teammates. The Special Olympics has been going on for about 50 years now and as of this year, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is looking to make steep cuts to the funds by millions of dollars.
Her reasoning be that since it is a private organization and not a federal program, it doesn’t need funding to keep it running since it gets so much in donations each year. In support of her proposal, Governor Andrew Cuomo approved for New York’s budget for the Special Olympics to be cut by $50 thousand. With the cuts being made, this will allow over 200 lawmakers across the state to get a raise. In other words, they’re taking money from disabled people and those that help them. The cut put the fundings down to $150,000, which might seem like a lot, however it isn’t right for the cuts to be made from a program in need.
Stacey Hengsterman, the president of Special Olympics New York, said in a statement, “The budget process is always difficult and we are grateful we had so many champions advocating on our behalf. We will continue to work with our representatives in state government to hopefully increase these funds and continue to grow this important program.”
After the criticism DeVos received for her proposal, she said, “I love Special Olympics. I have given a portion of my salary to Special Olympics. I hope all of this debate inspires private contributions to Special Olympics.”
Since DeVos has painted herself as a villain to those who are who less fortunate by making proposals to give federal funding so teachers can be armed with guns (which is going in the opposite direction of gun control and an awful idea overall), wanting to change what sexual assault is (which would make the situation worse for victims who want justice), and bringing up the topic of cutting funding for student loan forgiveness program for the third year in a row (which is basically kicking low income students and families when they’re already down).
Also, for someone who has the responsibility of making education better in the United States, she nor her children have attended a public school so she doesn’t know how to fix the system and is not open to hearing from teachers themselves. She works for the Trump Administration, which already says a lot about her. Essentially, she is not exactly the best person, so of course people would think she has ill intentions when making cuts to the Special Olympics.
She added, “Let’s not use disabled children in a twisted way for your political narrative, that is just disgusting and shameful and I think we should move on from that.”
The thing is, it’s not just about the Special Olympics and the athletics behind it. It’s also about the education programs tied to it as well as proposing to “doing away with a $51 million initiative to address autism and other developmental disorders.”
Trying to defend herself on Twitter and make it into a positive spin, she said, “This budget focuses on freedom for teachers. Freedom for parents. And freedom for all students… The President’s 2020 Budget proposes a historic investment in America’s students: Education Freedom Scholarships.”
The Special Olympics and the Chairman, Tim Shriver have made several posts and statements on social media to express their grief for their cuts by explaining the importance of some of their programs, uplifting some of the athletes who participate and giving recognition to individuals that are committed and dedicated to help out.
Twitter user @SethDavisHoops said, “I cannot think of a more disheartening piece of news. I have covered the Special Olympics. It is amazing. This is not about politics, it is about who and what we value as a nation. This is absolutely disgraceful.”
Co-founder of Inequality Media, Robert Reich said, “While Trump and his enablers cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, they’re cutting funding for programs like the Special Olympics to pay for it. They are literally taking from the most vulnerable in society to line the pockets of their donors.”
“The message our athletes send to the world is that above all, they are HUMAN FIRST.” tweeted the Special Olympics account.
