Student Council, Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures, and the Disability Access Committee will co-sponsor Disability Acceptance Week this week in an effort to increase acceptance and foster discussion about disabilities within the University community.
Angela Nemecek, program administrator for the humanities institute, said a similar week-long event was held last year, though the focus of the initiative has changed.
“The change we made this year was moving from ‘awareness’ to ‘acceptance,’” Nemecek said. “We thought that being aware is not the same as accepting. We want to celebrate [disabilities] and make a more positive statement about disability diversity and community this year.”
Various events are sponsored to encourage community acceptance of various disabilities.
“This is a week of disability-focused events in terms of community acceptance and studies,” Nemecek said. “I like the idea because we are combining studies with disability practice.”
Fourth-year College student Eugenie Quan, who has organized the event for the past two years, said the lack of disability acceptance at the University is a significant problem. She said recognition is the first step in providing adequate support for disabled people at the University.
“It's important for people begin to recognize the problems we are having with accessibility on Grounds so that we can begin to address and really do something about these problems,” Quan said. “Talking to people with various forms of disabilities on Grounds, it's clear that their experiences can actually be quite terrible and that is not OK.”
A campaign to “Spread the Word to End the Word” will be held Monday, which aims to end use of the word “retarded.” Students can pledge to stop using the “r-word” online.
Accessibility Ally training will be provided Wednesday for students interested in learning more about disability awareness, inclusion and etiquette. Accessibility Ally is an initiative of the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, in which individuals pledge to take an intentional role in promoting disability awareness around Grounds. The training session will be held in Nau 101 from 6 p.m. until 7:15 p.m.
“The disability ally training will teach people how to talk about disabilities and interact with disabled people in a proper way,” Nemecek said.
The film “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” which chronicles journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby’s experience with locked-in syndrome following a massive stroke, will be screened Thursday in Nau 101 at 7 p.m. A discussion led by IHGC and French department representatives will follow the screening.
Keynote speaker Robert McRuer, George Washington University English professor and author of "Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability,” will give a talk Friday titled "Crippling Austerity: Disability, Globalization, and Culture." The presentation will be held in Minor Hall Auditorium at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a faculty and student panel.
The IHGC has a history of sponsoring disability-related events.
“We held a symposium in February and we wanted to do follow up this fall, which will focus on global disabilities,” Nemecek said. “I realized it was also Disability Acceptance Week so I decided it would be a good idea to reach out and have our global disability event be a part of Disability Acceptance Week.”
Quan said increased awareness of disabilities will help ensure equality for all students at the University.
“As a prestigious university, the learning experience provided at U.Va. should be equally available to every student,” she said.
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