Sophie Daniel, Staff Writer
Let’s say you get the confirmation you need for faculty and staff to take your disability accommodations into account. You get your list of accommodations signed off by Student Accessibility Services and receive official paperwork. You leave the office with the widest grin on your face, completely assured that you are recognized and supported by your institution.
Wrong. So pathetically wrong. I learned this lesson a few months ago.
While I may have been a tad naive, I had the right to feel comforted by the paperwork in my hand. With this, I could ask for accommodations. Who knew that some professors could just slide that piece of paper right back across their desk and refuse your request. Sadly, students with documented disabilities know that’s not uncommon at Sewanee.
This is why Grace Broadway (C ‘28) and I co-founded the Disabled Students Alliance. Our intention is to represent our disabled student body and uplifting voices that have long been unheard. Sewanee’s first student-led organization dedicated to the advocacy of disabled students’ rights in and out of the classroom is now officially recognized and established by the SGA.
Through volunteering, organizing campus-wide events, fundraising and offering mental health support , we strive to demonstrate the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe strongly in the value of an intersectional approach:there is a place for everyone in all realms of society, regardless of disabilities.
As stated within our Constitution, we will work passionately to nurture an environment that is welcoming to disabled students within the classroom and across campus as a whole, including outdoor spaces on our Domain.
Upholding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is integral to our work. With its signing and passage in 1990, the ADA became the first federal and state law enacted with the intention of protecting American citizens with disabilities from discrimination across all boards.
The ADA was originally modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensuring equal treatment for those with perceived (and invisible) differences in any capacity. This includes transportation, employment, education and communication. However, there are many ways in which the Supreme Court has attempted to limit the scope of the act based on what is defined as a disability.
Of course, a piece of legislation can only go so far in terms of enforcement. The original intention of the ADA was to uplift previously unserved or excluded groups. Social policy cannot adequately support marginalized communities, especially within educational institutions, without addressing the inequities that members of those communities have faced and will continue to face societally. That is where social equity comes in, which gives everyone resources that accommodates each person’s background, ability, and other qualities. But it is important to state the difference between equality and equity.
Equality, in theory, is meant to put every person at the same starting point with the same resources., Sadly, that may not be achievable with such a deep-rooted history of discriminating against people based on uncontrollable qualities. A 2024 U.S. Department of Labor report indicated that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 24 was double that of their able-bodied peers.
It is impossible to deconstruct an unaccommodating society by simply putting everyone at the same starting point. We instead must start with repairs and social equity.
According to the Director of Sewanee’s ADA Office, Matt Brown, Sewanee was one of the last liberal arts colleges across the country to introduce a stand-alone ADA Office. Though the act was passed in 1990, Sewanee officially assigned a staff member to oversee accommodations in 2017.
While it is the student’s responsibility to communicate with their professor about their accommodation needs, self-advocacy beyond the point of flat-out rejection is where student support falls through. The insecurities that the student is asking for too much, being too much of a bother, and affecting other students’ ability to participate in the classroom setting will always beat the student down into not asking for help.
We can see these efforts in offices like Student Accessibility Services (SAS) here at Sewanee. Students must apply to be eligible for accommodations and undergo several steps before their eligibility is confirmed.
Thanks to ADA, all individuals with disabilities can apply for accommodations. As a first-year at Sewanee, I am entirely new to the process of advocating for mine. However, I say this as an individual with such an intense passion for soaking up as much knowledge as I possibly can. I do not believe that my disability should be what bars me from learning and participating when I know that I am as capable as any other student. My accommodations do not make me or any other student with a disability a cheater. It’s time for our school’s administration to hear that.
The Disabled Students Alliance is dedicated to addressing mistreatment head-on. By changing the perception and behavior surrounding disability, we seek to address mistreatment and dismissive attitudes within Sewanee and the workforce. To thrive in our University, equality is not enough. Equity is what we need.