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Next week's festivities do not end with Easter and Marathon Monday! Get pumped for Disability Awareness Week— starting Tuesday, April 19th, and lasting until Friday the 22nd. A yearly celebration organized by UGBC's Council for Students with Disabilities (CSD), the council has planned a week full of fun games, sweet treats, and disability awareness.
CSD is part of UGBC's Diversity & Inclusion division that “advocates for accessibility and inclusion of disabled students on campus.” You may have been to a CSD organized event this year if you listened to Bachelor contestant Abigail Heringer speak in February, or participated in Dinner in the Dark, an event where Boston College students ate dinner “without the privilege of vision” in November. More recently, CSD led an event where students tie-dyed socks for Down Syndrome Awareness Day and collected signatures from hundreds of members of the BC community who promised they would “Spread the Word to End the Word.” The success of these events ensures that Disability Awareness Week will be loved by all who participate.
All of CSD's events have focused on fulfilling their mission of advocating for accessibility and inclusion of students with disabilities, and the mission of Disability Awareness Week is no different. Chair of CSD, Svea McNally, LSOEHD ‘22, states that this week is “very important because quite often there is a lack of awareness regarding accessibility issues on campus.”
CSD has organized a wide range of events Tuesday through Friday to ensure that every Eagle can participate in something that piques their interest. McNally reports that the organized events are “ones that are easy and quick for people to engage in, which is most beneficial for college students.” She states that the Council has balanced “some more focused events, where we can dig into and talk about people's experiences,” with other activities where students can simply stop by. This diverse set of events is featured below:
Tuesday: Affirmation Rock Painting
Stop by Stokes Amphitheater from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to paint an affirmation rock. If you cannot make it to paint, awareness-themed rocks with important facts will be hidden in accessible places around campus for you to find. Beside each rock will be a QR code that leads to a place where you might win a prize. Don’t worry, the rocks you paint will not be the ones hidden—you can keep your creation as a colorful decoration for your room.
Wednesday: Student Panel
Join CSD at 7 p.m. at 245 Beacon in Room 230 to listen to four students speak about their experiences at BC and growing up as people with disabilities. Featuring students with invisible and visible disabilities, many different perspectives will be heard and appreciated at this student panel. Listening to panelists Nick Claudio MCAS ‘22, Conor McCormick MCAS '22, Marne Sullivan MCAS '23, Olivia Colombo LSOEHD ‘22 is not an opportunity you want to miss.
Thursday: Trivia
If you are looking for a virtual event, Trivia is for you. On Thursday, be sure to answer the trivia questions on CSD's Instagram: @bc_csd. Questions are disability-centered, and include questions about accessibility at BC. You may even win a prize if you compete!
Friday: Upper Campus Event
CSD is calling all ice cream lovers to the outside of O'Connell House from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday. Besides delicious ice cream, this event features information about CSD, lawn games, and even a spinning wheel featuring disability questions. Notably, this event is situated on Upper Campus to highlight the accessibility issues on this specific part of campus. Though this event is on Upper Campus, all are welcome.
So, enjoy some ice cream or relive your childhood doing a craft at one (or all) of these fun events next week. CSD is looking forward to seeing you there!
Crossword puzzle and Wordle expert, lover of White Mountain death by chocolate ice cream, and the best prankster you will ever meet.
