July brings the celebration of Disability Pride Month to recognize the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. The ADA is a federal law prohibiting discrimination against a person with disability in order to provide equal opportunity.
A person with a disability can include having physical or mental, temporary or permanent, and visible or invisible impairments. Whether you are an ally or within the community, it's important to recognize our differences and be open to learning from each other.
Here at SUNY Oswego, our Human Resources Office supports accessibility needs for faculty and staff. The Accessibility Resources Office supports accessibility needs for students, working along with faculty and staff.
Some faculty and staff members answered the question of: “What does Disability Pride Month mean to you?”
Librarian Laura Harris of Penfiled Library: “Disability Pride Month is about learning to accept my disability, see its good points, learn about my community and be compassionate with myself.” Harris incorporates the advocacy work on campus with the Workgroup on Accessibility Practices and with an accessibility-focused group of librarians within the SUNY system.
Celinet Duran, faculty in the Department of Criminal Justice, said she wants to create a safe space in her classrooms for learning styles and does that through “proactive approaches to connecting with students.” Duran also has worked with the Office of Accessibility Resources on “multiple occasions to update my materials and create more accessible resources” for students.
Erik Wade, faculty in the Department of English and Creative Writing, shared that this month is a reminder to consider accessible needs, find ways to be proactive and engage in reflective work as employees and an institution. Wade shared reflective questions such as “Are our events accessible to people with hearing and visual impairments?" and "Are there a lot of barriers to students, faculty and staff getting accommodations?”
We can use this month to truly reflect and engage with each other about disability advocacy and allyship. Here are two other ways to engage with disability this month:
- Consider going to the Penfield Library for the Disability Pride Month display. Also there is a Disability Pride guide online to learn more about the month and the associated flag.
- Consider attending in person or virtually the Disability Unite Festival in New York City on Sunday, July 16. It is a free event and you can sign up by clicking on “Register Here to Attend” on that website.
This July edition is a part of the Oz Inclusivity Playbook through the Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practices. Staff would like to thank Laura Harris, Celinet Duran, Steven Abraham, Erik Wade, Tiphanie Gonzalez and others who provided their responses to help guide this article.
-- Submitted by the Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice