lb Scene

A sightless

etnstein
.
is cainpaigniizg
ircross the state.

attorney

is seeking

statewide

election

in order

to help

ERIN PODOLSKY

Special to the Jewish News

others.

10/11

2002

104

A

nybody who takes a look at Richard
Bernstein's resume can see that he was
destined to hold public office and make
things better for those who can't do- for
themselves.
The Farmington Hills attorney has done every-
thing from battling the biases of the Law School
Admissions Test to hosting a weekly TV series about
positive community work. He spent the past year
successfully fighting Gov. John Engler's proposed
cuts to Michigan's special education system.
Now Bernstein is mounting his biggest campaign

yet: Running for an 8-year term as a member of the
Detroit-based Wayne State University Board of
Governors.
The 28-year-old Bernstein, who has been blind
since birth, says his decision to run for office has its
roots in his fight against Engler's special education
plans, which involved removing limits on class size
and eliniinating age distinction (i.e. placing a 5-
year-old and a 17-year-old in the same classroom),
essentially warehousing special-needs students. He
worked closely with parent groups, teacher unions
and the labor movement agaist the governor.
"Had Engler had his way, someone like myself
would not be a lawyer. How could I become a col-
lege grad or a lawyer in a system where you have all