NEW JERSEY (PIX11)—
When you see Philip Garber Jr. on the Morris Campus in New Jersey, you can't help but be impressed. He has an arm full of books, and a confidence that carries his 16-year-old frame well.Philip also has a stutter that has recently gained a lot of media attention after an adjunct professor told him to not ask questions during class because it takes time away from other students.
"He was in fact discriminated against in his class," College of Morris President, Edward Yaw said. "Other students were not asked to make the same accommodations."
But this is not just a story of classroom discrimination. It's a story about assumptions.
"If you don't advocate for yourself, then society will make their own assumptions on how you should be treated," Philip said during a press conference today.
Philip says he told the school about the incident, and then switched history classes. He wanted to prove that stuttering is not a choice, it's a true disability.
"The challenge is, how do you appropriately accommodate someone who has this particular disability. Especially in an academic environment. Philip is helping us learn ways to do that," the VP of Student Development, Dr. Bette Simmons said.
Already a hit on YouTube with thousands of people watching as he speaks about the struggles and triumphs of stuttering, Philip reminds us, everyone deserves a chance to speak, because everyone has a voice.
"The only way a true change can be made is through education," Philip says.
