The University will be holding several closed sessions for students with disabilities followed by a conference today and Saturday in the Many Nations Longhouse on the east side of campus. The first session is scheduled to last from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will allow the students to share their experiences. The second session will go from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will concentrate on support systems for students with disabilities. A Saturday session beginning at 2 p.m. will address these support systems in more depth. An extra session on how to become an ally to the disabled community will take place at 1 p.m. at the Multicultural Center in the basement of the EMU.
All three sessions lead up to the final event, the Disability Awareness Conference. This will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening. It will feature a keynote performance from activist Noemi Sohn as well as a performance by Lezlie Frye. Sohn has led presentations and workshops covering a variety of social issues including racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression. Frye, also an activist, is currently a doctoral candidate in New York University’s Program in American Studies. As a poet and artist, Frye has been involved in many similar events, including the 2005 Society for Disability Studies Conference.
The Many Nations Longhouse is located at 1630 Columbia Street.
– Brent Bonfiglio