Editor’s Note: This is a guest commentary. The opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.
My first year of college was a new chance for me to meet other disabled students. During the club fair, I immediately signed up for DEAR@IC, Disability Education Advocacy and Resources at Ithaca College, hoping to do just that. I quickly learned that a good portion of those involved were non-disabled students. While it’s nice to see support from the student body, it wasn’t the community I wanted or needed. I acted briefly as its education liaison and took part in a presentation on accessibility at the college. Its programming did not fit my personal needs at the time, so I left and eventually assisted in filling the void for an accessible social organization with The Disabled Students’ Alliance.
While the DSA e-board and other members may do some education work from time to time, that isn’t the focus of the club. We are a low–commitment club so that it is accessible for everyone. Community over education has become one of our mottos. It is the responsibility of our non-disabled peers to educate themselves before expecting us to do it for them. And while we have a mostly student membership, disabled staff and faculty are welcomed and encouraged to join.
In the last few months of Spring 2024 my friend, junior Oakley Weihing, a sociology major and our current student organization president, asked if I wanted to work on creating the Disabled Students’Alliance. We spent those final few months finding other e-board members, a club adviser — the wonderful Dr. Ju Hyeon Han in Whalen — and students to join. We were successfully recognized by the end of the semester.
Ithaca College has a number of diverse organizations, but during my first couple years on campus, there was nothing specifically by disabled students, for disabled students. I was also looking for something non-education based. I do enjoy educating on disability and accessibility, but that’s not all I want to do as a disabled person. I want to watch movies, play games and do crafts with people who have similar needs and won’t shame me for needing sensory aides or a break.
I’ve seen plenty of advocacy groups, but very rarely do I see community groups for disabled people, especially in an academic environment. It’s frustrating to not have a space like that when disabled people really want to interact with and support each other, which is exactly what we set out to do and on Aug. 25, we successfully held our first ever orientation event.
The aptly named “Disabled Students’ Social: Sundaes on Sunday” was a huge success. With the help of Student Accessibility Services and New Student Transition Program, we welcomed a large group of disabled students, faculty and staff and several non-disabled ally professors. My fellow e-board members and I are incredibly proud of that event and the number of students who joined us for a good time and not an educational experience.
My hope for the alliance is that it becomes a place for all disabled students on campus. There is no such thing as “not disabled enough.” If you feel you belong in our community, you are always welcome.
