The Call to Higher Education to Include Disabilities in Campus Programming
This past spring semester, I attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in the United States. Like most universities, the main student center on campus had designated departments for international students, for LGBTQ+ students, for Asian American students, African American students- the list goes on. These departments represent decades-long pushes to provide safe spaces and programming for underrepresented parts of their student populations. As I walked the campus countless times over the semester, never did I see, hear, or encounter any department or programming tailored for students with disabilities.
Duke University is far from being alone in this oversight. Disabilities in higher education are often treated as medical conditions and problems to be solved or worked around, not as a group of people that deserve to have a safe space and programming.
Outside of the group of students with disabilities, universities have begun to be more inclusive in tailoring programs to underrepresented minorities in the recent past but have failed in acknowledging intersectionality.
For example, an LGBTQ+ student in a wheelchair has the space and programming to meet others that identify as LGBTQ+, but not others who identify as being physically disabled. Even if that student in a wheelchair might be able to fit into the LGBTQ+ group, they may feel that a discussion of their disability is not welcome in the space because it is not a relatable topic for their peers.
This is a problem.
There should be a space and programming to bring students with disabilities together. Contrary to how higher education has traditionally thought of students with disabilities as nothing more than an unrelated group that all have access to various accommodations, students with disabilities have many things in common that go far beyond what their particular disability may be. Students share a similar background, hopes, fears, and frustrations.
Additionally, having a shared space and programming isn’t just about having fellow students to relate to; it aids in job placement, mentorship, and opportunities off campus. Departments like Duke’s International House (IHouse) connect undergraduates to alumni and internship opportunities based off a shared background. A disability center at Duke could do the same. Many college students with disabilities struggle to find mentors who can relate to having a disability or internships that are accessible and open to them. A disability center would bridge that gap and help connect students with alumni who have gone through the same things and who can speak to what life is like outside university.
All it would take is one college opening a center for students with disabilities that doesn’t focus on the legality of disabilities but instead focuses on the group as an underrepresented minority that deserves specialized programming to help broaden the college experience and develop future career plans. The system for such a center is clearly in place at all colleges, it would just take broadening the definition of diversity inclusion in universities’ offices of student affairs.
It is a simple fix, and a necessary one for the students who are often left in the dust.
The hope would be that including disability as a group in diversity inclusion initiatives on campuses would have a ripple effect. First, current students would have a place to go and find mentors, and they, in turn, would encourage more students with disabilities to enroll in higher education. Eventually, the percentage of students with disabilities enrolled in higher education would reflect the 26% of Americans who have a disability. With that amount of young people with disabilities earning degrees, more would be placed in fields of employment and the country as a whole would become more inclusive and diverse, inspiring the next generation to follow in their footsteps.
So, with hope for what the future might hold for college students with disabilities, I challenge Duke University and its peers to set up a disability center on campus to allow students with disabilities the chance to identify, relate, and achieve together as an acknowledged group.
Written by Ryan Trombly
Ryan Trombly was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when she was eighteen months old. The disability causes right-side hemiparesis that affects the entire right side of her body, weakening her muscles and limiting her mobility in everyday activities. Despite this, Ryan has strived to live an independent life without any barriers and hopes to use her voice to advocate for the disability community.
Want to read the article this blog post is based off? Check out the link below!
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/12/could-disability-be-further-included-diversity-efforts
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