Unseen and Unheard: Perspectives of Disabled Students at WWC
Leo Cantrell | March 10, 2022
Physical disability, especially when visible, can be extremely difficult to cope with. Being stared at, asked intrusive questions, having your mobility aid touched and being treated like you’re helpless are only some of the many irritating issues visibly disabled people face.
Even here, on our generally accepting liberal arts campus, I have faced multiple instances of being stared at uncomfortably and being asked questions that didn’t truly need answers. I don’t have to explain my disability every time someone feels nosy. Using a cane does not make me incapable of anything.
Disabled people should not cater to able-bodied people just to be allowed to take up space. I’m not going to pretend I’m not in pain for others’ comfort. I don’t owe anyone an explanation as to why I need my cane some days and not others. Using a cane in the first place is difficult on a campus like ours, where accessibility is a nightmare.
The lack of adequate disabled parking is disappointing, and so is the sparseness of accommodations for disabled people. The wheelchair ramps on campus are seemingly just for show because they are accompanied by buildings with many flights of stairs.
I have been disabled and chronically ill for just seven months, and I am already tired of it. There aren’t many resources available for us, and there aren’t many of us to begin with. I have very few disabled friends. The few that I have are disabled in very different ways than I am.
Miles Madonna, sophomore English major, is hard of hearing, which greatly impacts their college experience.
“It affects my participation in classes heavily,” they said. “If we’re ever split up into groups in a class, chances are the room will be too loud for me to hear anything.”
Miles and I discussed our qualms about Warren Wilson College (WWC) on the topic of disability.
“The most frustrating thing about being disabled at Warren Wilson is the lack of visibility,” Miles said. “This school champions diversity, but disability is never part of that conversation. … The ASL (American Sign Language) club didn’t make me feel welcomed as a hard of hearing person that doesn’t know sign language.”
Feeling unheard is something I’ve experienced when it comes to my disability at WWC. Feeling so othered is a tough feeling to deal with, which Miles touched on as well.
“I think this school could put a lot more effort into disability visibility,” Miles said. “I wish there were more general resources and conversation about disability, just to normalize it. I wish I didn’t get weird looks when I put my hearing aids on in class.”
Feeling like one has to explain their physical limitations to friends and classmates just to be seen as valid is tiring. Having to constantly legitimize myself as a disabled person takes a lot out of me, and I’m sure other disabled people feel the same way.
“I like to help people learn, but it can be really exhausting,” Miles said. “All of my friends are amazing and supportive regarding my disability, but it can be hard being their only source of information on the disabled community.”
Miles is a full-time student who works off-campus, which makes it difficult to initiate these conversations.
“It would be great to not feel so alone without the pressure to organize something all by myself,” Miles said. “I wish WIDE (Wilson Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) or the Disability Access Office would think more about issues like that.”
To make WWC more accessible, we need more disabled and chronically ill people speaking up about our conditions. Most importantly, we need to be listened to.
