In a win for accessibility on EMU’s campus, the steps leading up to the front doors of the Sadie Hartzler Library received a fresh coat of bright yellow paint over the summer. The paint job, performed by the campus facilities staff, was requested by the Disabled Student Alliance (DSA), in order to make movement up and down the stairs more manageable for people with impaired vision.
Dawn Neil, Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at EMU, also played a role in getting the work done, saying “I got involved [when I was] approached by Brandon [Ewing]. He did a DEI inclusive excellence grant for $1,200 to help buy the paint for the stairs… and then I’ve just kind of stayed in the loop to be that bridge between facilities and DSA to make sure that everyone’s being held accountable for the things that they promised.”
Neil went on to say that despite some difficulties which arose in the process, primarily around finding time in which the weather would allow a large-scale paint project, the facilities team was motivated to get the job done. “Once I told [David Robey] that it was a big priority for us, and for the students, to have it done before they came back, he was like, okay, we’ll make sure it happens,” she explained.
Neil wasn’t the only person focused on getting the steps painted, though. Milee White, a fourth-year student at EMU and president of DSA, was also invested. “I worked on that for three years,” she said. She continued, reflecting that now that the steps are painted, “I don’t have to be pushing so hard, which is a nice relief.”
DSA has goals beyond just painting stairs, though. According to White, “The whole point of this club is education: educating people on how to advocate for themselves and how to advocate for others.”
White expressed a sense of responsibility to help other disabled people succeed at EMU and beyond, saying, “as a disabled person who’s legally blind, I grew up with parents, very luckily, who taught me to advocate for myself, to do what I needed to do, to advocate for people who don’t know how yet, and to teach them how to [advocate for themselves].”
“It’s so incredibly important, especially in the academic world, to tell people what you need, because otherwise they’re not going to know,” she said. “If you don’t tell them that you need anything, they’re going to treat you the same as everybody else, and emotionally, that feels good, but when you’re not getting what you need in order to learn and succeed… you’re going to be set back for life.”
When it comes to the broader student body, White sees a strong need for education on, and exposure to, disabilities. “You come into a classroom as a disabled student, and they don’t know what to do with you,” she said.
Even things as seemingly simple as what language to use can trip people up. “We’re in this weird stage where people don’t know quite what to do with it, right?” White said. “I’ve come across professors that say, ‘Oh, I don’t like saying the word disabled, because it can be offensive.’ I’m like, no, it’s not offensive at all… It’s good that you acknowledge [my disability], because I’m not changing it. It’s a part of who I am.”
Not all people with disabilities are as open to labels as White is, though. She reflected that “some people I’ve known… have really struggled with their identity as a disabled person. You get into the real world, and especially if you have a mobility aid, it’s like [the disability] is all people see.”
For White, it is important to be realistic, but also understanding of the realities of being disabled. “When I use my cane… I don’t mind if people are looking at me,” she said. “I mind what it feels like when they’re looking at me, though. It’s like, ‘Oh, that poor thing. I feel so bad for her.’ That is the kind of mentality that [I] have an issue with. If it’s, ‘Oh, does she need any help?’ That’s fine, ask if I need help, because if I need help, I’m happy that somebody’s asking, right? It’s okay to need help… There are some things [I] can’t do… and that’s okay. I’ve made my peace with that.”
Membership in DSA is broad, and according to White, “You don’t have to be disabled to join.” Additionally, though, the definition of a disability is broader than people often think. “Anxiety, depression, and ADHD are also under that umbrella [of disability] to some extent, right? They affect how you intake information in the world. They affect how you interact with other people. They affect your daily life,” she said.
Along with education and advocacy, DSA aims to simply normalize conversations around disability. “Come hang out with us,” White said. “It’s okay to be disabled. It’s okay to hang out with disabled people. We’re really chill. We’re really cool, and it’s not a taboo anymore.”
