Last Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe where Erin Sember-Chase discussed disabilities in general as well as how the Student Disabilities Services office works with students with disabilities. I was surprised to hear that one-fifth of all Americans have a disability and that the Americans with Disabilities Act was only passed recently, in 1990.

I really enjoyed hearing Sember-Chase’s experience of going to college with her hearing impediment just after the ADA was passed. She explained how there was no student disabilities office at that time, and had to fight for her theater professor to wear a microphone in a 100 person lecture hall. In addition, her use of a hearing service dog was met with criticism at countless restaurants and shops initially.

Sember-Chase also explained how students with non-visible disabilities (the majority of student disabilities registered with SDS) receive testing accommodations for extended time or separate rooms among others. We discussed how many people view these accommodations as giving the students an advantage over others, while in reality, it levels the playing field. For example, a student who needs twice as long to read an essay prompt should receive additional time to do so.

We also talked about the various stigmas of disabilities. Professors try to reduce the stigma academically with syllabi that openly invite students to email the professor if they need accommodations. Sember-Chase raised the question of how students can reduce these stigmas, and I think we can accomplish this with more conversations like this Rose Cafe, so that those with disabilities are not discriminated against and are not defined by their disability.