I'm Nick Dupree, a 32 year-old disability rights activist, writer, seeker, and amateur historian.
I grew up in and around the Spring Hill College campus in Mobile, Alabama, where my mother taught studio art from the time I was a year old, and where I was a student of English/writing from 1998, when I entered at age 16, until 2005. It was some guys at Spring Hill that introduced me to Wikipedia.
I made a major impact with my two-year campaign to change Medicaid in Alabama, dubbed "Nick's Crusade."
In August 2008, I transitioned to a new life in New York City, where I am starting anew. I've continued writing and creating, both fiction (online comics such as Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders vs. Zombies, and Bunnies in Space) and nonfiction (essays on history, politics, and health care). One of my essays, on the impact of cuts in the federal budget and universal health care as a human right, was published as part of Greenhaven Press' reference volume Health Care: Opposing Viewpoints in 2008.
Check out NickDupree/About for an in-depth bio with information about my life as a disabled man, my artwork, and my work as a long-term care reform advocate, including press coverage.
I can't use a keyboard, nor lift my hands at all. I type with my thumb on a trackball mouse (I can only use the long-ago discontinued Logitech T-CD2-6F TrackMan Stationary Mouse, ca. 1995) and I click out text by hitting letters on onscreen keyboard software. Sometimes it takes me hours to type out an article, but this also gives me time to consider my words and extract the best possible writing from myself.
About Me Userboxen
This user has been a member of Wikipedia since November 30, 2005.
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This user chats on IRC under the nickname NickDupree.
I began contributing to Wikipedia in December 2005 and love the Wikipedia project. It gives me an important intellectual outlet. As I'm studying history and how people set change in motion in their governing systems and cultures, I want to share the knowledge I learn freely.
I was introduced to Wikipedia in 2004 by fellow Spring Hill College student Jay Champagne who believes Wiki to be the next frontier of human achievement, a collective of knowledge, a move toward a common human consciousness (I agree).
I believe in single, comprehensive, complete articles on a topic, with daughter articles when applicable, NOT many, small, uncoordinated, duplicative articles. Whenever possible, these should be merged into a comprehensive, omnibus article. Thus, I am a Mergist. All articles must also adhere to an encyclopedic, high-level of quality.
Palace of Tranquil Longevity - 12:05, April 27, 2012 (Qianlong emperor'sretirement retreat in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City, which is currently undergoing an $18 million international restoration effort)
Juan Gualberto Gómez - 02:06, June 20, 2011 (After discussing on WikiProject Cuba the fact that Afro-Cuban leader in the war of independence against Spain, Juan Gualberto Gómez, DESERVES AN ARTICLE, I created it, the first article I've created on Wikipedia. That the Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport has its own article but its namesake, a Cuban founding father, did not was just weird! So I tried to rectify this; my sources were primarily the español wikipedia and the Cuban government article on him)
Hoja-Niyaz - 04:19, June 17, 2011 (MAJOR copyedit, improving grammar and English phrasing, adding lead, wikifying, and removing one unsourced paragraph. Please note I only sought to copyedit, not deal with the content, which may have citations needed)
United States presidential election, 1952 - 02:00, June 16, 2011 (—»General election: improved photo location; added fear of Latin America going communist as a campaign issue with citation from reliable source)
Zheng He#Expeditions - 22:56, May 18, 2011 (Removed unsourced material, added very important sourced material from an English summary from Journal of Chinese Studies)
Adolf Hitler - 14:47, September 19, 2009 (—»Early years: added material from Payne's The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler about pivotal experiences during Hitler's formative years)
Christopher Pike (Star Trek) - 22:45, September 1, 2009 ("The Menagerie": removed outdated and offensive "confined to a wheelchair" phrase)
Woodrow Wilson - 02:52, August 31, 2009 (cleanup, trim, and fix redundancies in the too-long introduction. not everything has to be in the lead. added a mention of the Zimmermann Telegram)
Culture of the Southern United States - 12:19, August 13, 2009 (following the WP:BOLD guideline, I moved the cultural variations section from Southern United States article and merged it here where it's more fitting; deleted the unnecessary Tobacco section)
Oregon Health Plan - 17:07, August 11, 2009 (created a new section called "Controversy," to include previous edits about the OHP denying chemotherapy controversy using copious sourcing and NPOV)
Hashshashin - 18:41, August 9, 2009 (A big overhaul: restructuring for clarity, simplicity. Length shortened, as some unsourced and redundant text is trimmed or removed. Citations are still a problem, but this edit was sorely needed)
Hospital emergency codes - 17:46, October 9, 2008 (—»Code White added Coler Goldwater Memorial Hospital's use of code white, for disaster)
Culture of the Southern United States - 12:06, 31 December 2005 (I spent all day on Culture of the Southern United States, adding stuff. I redid the overview, added a big new "People" section and doubled the size of the language section. I like how I made one section flow into the next. I already see more I want to add. Will do that tomorrow.)
Mongol invasions of Japan - 05:18, 18 December 2005 (got Kanjii pillar translated and added caption)
Justinian I - 06:58, 28 December 2005 (—»Relations with Rome - major edit for clarity and to weed out confusion, but more is needed, esp. a source & more content re: letter of Pope Leo I to Flavian of Constantinople)
Baal - 12:38, 16 December 2005 (Huge merge of 2 other baals into this Baal. Having a separate Ba'al article for those researching the Ba'al of Carthage / Phoenicians cuts these people off from the better source on this same topic,)
Himilco the Navigator - 09:13, 4 December 2005 (I've added more about the Iberian sea route Himilco found for Carthage and his tales of sea monsters, as well as fixing some grammar)
Articles I'd like to create
