Today, 3 December, marks International Day of Disabled Persons. On behalf of the SRC, I would like to wish all of our disabled students and staff a peaceful day.
International Day of Disabled Persons is a day to celebrate our existence, our rights, and our resilience. As disabled people, we often find ourselves having to self-advocate a lot, be that through activism, in our studies, or simply by continuing to exist in a world that was not built with us in mind. In light of this, I hope that you find some time to rest today.
To those in our community who are not disabled, I encourage you to take some time today to educate yourself on disability issues. Here is a small list of recommendations to get you started, with an interactive library of resources on it’s way:
- Watch: This TED Talk from Stella Young: ‘I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much’.
- Read: Disabled stories via the Disability Visibility Project or The Unwritten.
- Follow: The LUNA project, a charity started by UofG students to promote education around disability and accessibility (@thelunaprojectuk).
As the University continues to navigate the pandemic and consider the future of learning and teaching in an eventual post-pandemic world, it is crucial that the needs and experiences of our disabled students are at the heart of this decision making. Accessibility out of convenience is not enough: we deserve to be here, to take up space, to have our access considered beyond a world health crisis.
At GUSRC, we are committed to ensuring that the University of Glasgow prioritises accessibility, inclusion, and disabled voices and will continue to advocate for disability justice on our campus. If you would be interested in working alongside us, if you need support, or if you just fancy a chat, feel free to reach out to me at disability-equality@src.gla.ac.uk, or our Vice President of Student Support, Eva at e.simmons@src.gla.ac.uk.
Information on the University of Glasgow’s disability services can be found here.
Find out more about our Disability Equality campaign here.