University students, faculty and staff are celebrating Disability Access and Belonging Month in October to advocate for accessibility and recognize the community of students with disabilities on campus.
The Disability Cultural Center welcomes events throughout the month, which include neurodiversity-affirming training, study spaces for disabled and neurodivergent people, and a meet-and-greet with the university’s deaf community, as well as open discussions on a variety of disability-related topics which take place throughout the semester but are particularly promoted. in October.
“The disability community represents a large portion of UT’s student body, and recognizing their presence on campus and the struggles they face is important to the student body as a whole,” said Kate Murphy, co-president from UT. Disability Inclusion Agency of student government.
Prior to this year, UT celebrated Disability Access and Belonging Month as “Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month.” Emily Shryock, director of the Disability Culture Center, said the name change was an intentional effort to focus on promoting belonging and working toward greater access for people with disabilities.
“Most months have been away from awareness,” Shryock said. “Awareness is a pretty low bar that doesn’t really ask much of people. … Let’s participate more actively and not just be aware of it, but do something about it.”
Murphy said she attended the disability discussions focused on invisible disabilities and representation of people with disabilities.
“It’s definitely a safe space,” Murphy said. “It allows you to hear the perspectives of other students and learn from them, and, in turn, learn more about yourself and more about the disability community and their perspectives on the campus. »
Postdoctoral researcher Sam Greene also attended some of the disability discussions and a cultural conversation around digital accessibility. He said he found it reassuring to hear of people going through the same things as him.
“For some time in our society, the topic of disability has been excluded from everyday conversations, and I believe this has hindered progress in providing people with the help and acceptance they need to succeed in our society,” Greene said. “(Having these discussions) will go a long way toward normalizing disability in our society.”
Shryock said other events focus on the belonging side of the month, including Adaptive Sports Night on Oct. 24. The DCC will invite community partners to demonstrate sports, such as wheelchair tennis and guided running, and offer people the opportunity to try sports for themselves.
“This is a fantastic opportunity, both for students with disabilities to be able to try out sports and use equipment that they may not have had access to before, but also for students without disabilities to be able to seek out opportunities to do volunteering, getting involved. and just expand your understanding of what it means to be active,” Shryock said.
Sigrid Martinez, co-president of the Agency for Disability Inclusion, said the agency will continue to work toward greater accessibility on campus, from classroom accommodations to physical mobility around the campus. campus.
“This month is important to recognize because it aims to hold administration and staff accountable for the type of accessibility we want to promote on campus,” Martinez said. “(We) ensure that there is no disadvantage to the disabled community on campus and that they can have a safe and equal educational experience.”
