They say it takes one man to make a difference. But one San DiegoState University student has found she needs five people even to makea ripple.

Political science and women’s studies junior Jennifer Conrad istrying to start an organization for disabled students, and she’sfound the four additional people she needs to have her grouprecognized by Student Services.

What Conrad said she’s hoping for now is increased campusawareness of issues facing the disabled.

“Students with disabilities don’t have a voice on campus,” Conradsaid. “We have Disabled Student Services, but they don’t do anystudent activism. Students with disabilities need some place to go,some place to organize to have a presence on campus.”

But while Conrad said she knows the interest and the need isthere, she said she’s having trouble finding students to join.

“I need students with disabilities to know what we’re trying todo,” Conrad said. “It’s tough because we aren’t all in a concentratedarea.”

Most of the signatures Conrad said she has collected are frompeople concerned with the rights of disabled students.

One of those students, liberal studies junior Meghan Blanco, saidworking with students with disabilities has made her see howimportant an organization like this is.

“Students with disabilities get a lot of support and encouragementwhen they are in high school, but they aren’t getting it in college,”Blanco said. “We need to increase support and advocacy on thiscampus.”

Conrad said there are a number of issues facing students withdisabilities — issues she’d like to see this organization tackle.

“I’m coming at this from the point of view of a physicallydisabled person, because that’s what I have,” said Conrad, who hascerebral palsy. “One of the main problems is physical access. Theparking issue is really big with all students right now, but disabledstudents can’t park in regular parking spots. They have to usedisabled parking spots because people in wheelchairs can’t get out oftheir cars in normal spots. It’s impossible.”

Conrad said she once had to circle for parking before finallyfinding an open space in Parking Lot P, which is adjacent to trolleyconstruction. To get into the space, Conrad had to move a displacedconstruction cone out the way.

“It’s no big deal for me,” Conrad said. “I can get out of the carand move the damn cone. But for someone in a chair or someone withtrouble moving, it can be much more difficult.”

On top of trying to find an empty parking spot, Conrad said thefew spaces allotted for handicapped parking on campus are sometimesfilled with cars that don’t belong there. She said she’s seen andheard numerous things, from a street cleaner taking up threehandicapped spaces to a student complaining that the color ofhandicapped parking spaces clashed with SDSU’s color scheme.

“People might not think there are many disabled students on thiscampus, so they park in our spots because their parking situation isso bad,” Conrad said.

“But if I were to walk from the lot off Alvarado, my legs wouldget so tired. When I get tired, I fall. It’s things like that I don’tthink people really think about.”

Conrad said she doesn’t think students and professors intend to beinsensitive to people with disabilities — she said organizationslike this and the Student Advisory Board for the disabled thatAssociated Students just approved will help raise awareness.

The organization for students with disabilities will be recognizedby the university next semester, but in order to receive funding anda room for meetings, Conrad must continue getting signatures fromstudents. She said she will continue this through next semester.

“What it ultimately breaks down to is awareness and knowledge,”Conrad said. “When people have that, they become sensitive to theissues.”

For more information on the organization for students withdisabilities, call Jennifer Conrad at the Women’s Resource Center,594-5430.