About 20% of undergraduate students report that they have some form of a disability. On April 21, the Accessibility Resources Center (ARC) and the Beta Lambda Chapter of Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society hosted Disable the Label, an annual event focused on spreading disability awareness.
“We do have a vision that is an inclusive campus that is universally accessible,” said Yvonne Sanders, assistant director of ARC. “Where program services and environments are usable by all people to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation, accommodation, exceptions, and special design.”
The event was created by the efforts of multiple resident student organizations (RSOs), clubs, school organizations and outside vendors. The fair contained many tables spread across the Maxcy quad, each with an individual mission and message.
The RSOs were in charge of choosing different disability topics to help spread awareness of. They created activities, games and crafts to give information about their chosen topics in an engaging and fun way.
“Something interesting that I learned at the event was the differences between service animals and emotional support animals and how the laws differ between the two,” said Justin Mercado, a sophomore mechanical engineering student.
This was Mercado’s first time attending the event, and he was eager to participate in winning a free T-shirt by going to at least 14 tables. Mercado ventured to the athletics center table for some athletic trivia and then to the graduate forensics table, where he learned about color blindness by watching them perform a presumptive test of blood reacting to hemoglobin, which resulted in it turning pink.
“My favorite part of the event was the blindfold activity, where one partner was blindfolded and had to locate something while the other partner had to direct the blindfolded partner,” said Mercado. “It was a fun activity while also being very informative.”
The Indian Student Council simulated everyday situations, but restricted participants’ sight, hand use or challenged them to use their non-dominant hand. Along with activities came crafts; some tables took a different approach and had students paint rocks for PTSD awareness or create picking pads for OCD.
This year’s event also included tables of outside vendors, who brought experience in aiding the disability community.
Students were able to hear from organizations that help the community all across Connecticut. Achilles International is a statewide organization that focuses on athletes with disabilities.
“We pair athletes with disabilities with guides to participate in races and various enduring sports,” said Sarah Craig, who was representing Achilles International at the event. “We mostly hold group workouts for the athletes over the weekends, and they are all over the state.”
Other vendors, like Our Journey of Sight, a low-vision blind support group, shared information on walking canes and the different types of walking canes. They discussed how canes are used and what it means when someone using one comes up against a crack on the sidewalk.
“It was pretty special bringing individuals from the community,” said Sanders.
This event brought outside vendors to showcase to students what is being done within the public community regarding disability awareness.
“Events like this are really great for us to connect with other organizations around the state and make connections with them, also just to get the word out,” said Craig.
Disable the Label expands community, knowledge and opportunity for everyone attending. If you find something not accessible on campus, contact the Accessibility Resource Center at [email protected].
