To the Editors:

Since 2013, the Office of Disabilities has initiated a peer-oriented program designed to further enhance the quality of campus life for students with disabilities; upperclassmen disclosed with the office are able to work with these students by becoming a Student Accessibility Advocate. Steadily expanding its parameters, the SAA program is now ready to really take off, thanks to generous funding from the Student Support Initiative Fund.

What does this mean for the SAA program?

First, it allows us (the SAAs themselves) to continue doing the critical work of advocating for students with disabilities. We address existing concerns students have regarding their experience on campus (such as finding certain parts of a building inaccessible or getting their accommodations to a professor). We also take it upon ourselves to push ourselves forward to be vocal about disability by talking about it, spreading awareness and hosting programs to inform others.

As a peer-initiative program, the SAAs are also focused on providing our knowledge to incoming first(and sometimes second-) years, working with them as mentors. Whether a student needs to be directed toward a resource they were previously unaware of, are needing help on how to get their accommodations to their professors or just want to vent about the frustrations they encounter as a student with a disability, SAAs make sure to work alongside them for as long as they need the support.

This funding enables the program to also continue to participate in events that help get its name out there to potential students (e.g. the All Roads Program), to introduce other resources to students (such as our Pizza Socials with the deans) and to even give ourselves the chance to challenge what we know about disability in order to be better advocates by attending the annual Multiple Perspectives on Disability Conference in Columbus, Ohio.

New, exciting things will get to happen as well! For the next school year (2015–16), SAAs for the first time will be able to come to campus before Orientation Week and reach out to the incoming first-years sooner — instead of only hearing about our program by name, or getting handed some pamphlets, students can bring their questions to us in real time and be made aware much sooner of an existing resource. The number of SAAs in the office will double, allowing there to be more available mentors and for the chance to double our efforts in advocacy work.

Student Accessibility Advocates have been on the ground running with this program for the past couple of years; given that we’re only one of two campuses in the nation to have a peer-initiative program designed by and for students with disabilities, we have a lot of opportunities we can explore and look into in order to make sure we’re giving students a quality experience on campus. Having this funding gives the program the chance to continue its existing work and try new avenues, something that we hope to continue for years to come.

The 2014–2015 Student Accessibility Advocates

– Jasmine Lomax

College junior

– Althea Levine

College sophomore

– Liam Oznowich

College sophomore

– Rebecca Klein

double-degree sophomore

– Anais Stewart

College senior