The year 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of the ADA, celebrated on July 26. During the past three decades, disability law and policy have evolved dramatically in the United States and internationally. “Walls of inaccessibility, exclusion, segregation and discrimination have been torn down, often brick by brick. But the work continues, many times led by advocates who have never known a world without the ADA and are now building on the efforts of those who came before them,” says Blanck, who is also a professor in the College of Law.

Lex Frieden, an internationally distinguished disability rights scholar and advocate and former Chairperson of the U.S. National Council on Disability, writes in the Foreword to Blanck’s book: “In 1967, I survived a head-on car crash. When I woke up, I was paralyzed from the shoulders down. . . . My story is one of many in the modern disability rights movement. In ‘Disability Law and Policy,’ Peter Blanck retells my story, and the personal experiences of many others living with disabilities, in a master tour of the area. Peter is a world-renowned teacher, researcher, lawyer, and advocate. He has been central to the modern sea change in disability civil rights . . . ‘Disability Law and Policy’ should be read by all of us—people with the lived experience of disability and their advocates, parents, family members and friends.”

Blanck says that “a new generation of people with disabilities, building on the efforts of Lex Frieden and many others, families, friends, advocates,and supporters, is stepping forward. As a guiding beacon, disability law and policy offer hope of a future in which all people, regardless of individual difference, will be welcomed as full and equal members of society.”

“Disability Law and Policy” is published by Foundation Press and is available from .

, means something different to everyone as it celebrates individuals embracing their full identities, including disabilities. In the pursuit of recognizing the intersectionality and diversity within disability, honoring and educating about the experiences of people with disabilities, the campus community is encouraged to participate in a variety of events.

“Disability Pride Week, which centers on the voices and perspectives of disabled people, reflects the collaborative effort of multiple units on campus. We have been meeting for months to brainstorm, plan and operationalize a full week of events celebrating disability identity, culture and pride. This collaboration mirrors the collective responsibility we all need to take to ensure our campus is moving toward greater accessibility and inclusivity for all members of our community,” says , director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion.

Disability Pride Week 2024 Events

“Through inclusive programming with campus and community partners the Disability Cultural Center fosters personal growth and positive disability identity that builds a sense of belonging, fosters academic self-efficacy and aligns with ���ϲ�����’s Academic Strategic Plan framework to advance excellence for every member of our community,” says “, director of the Disability Cultural Center. “Alongside campus partners, we challenge ableist attitudes, inaccessibility, discrimination and stereotypes, through programming that directly connects students, faculty and staff to the disability community at large both on and off campus.”

A variety of events will be hosted April 14-20 including:

• Sunday, April 14:
• Monday, April 15:
• Monday, April 15:
• Tuesday, April 16:
• Wednesday, April 17:
• Friday, April 19:
• Saturday, April 20:

Visit the for a complete list of events and details.

Disability Pride Week Keynote Speaker Ali Stroker

Ali Stroker

The campus community is invited to join keynote speaker Ali Stroker, Tuesday, April 16, starting with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. The is required to attend.

Stroker is a trailblazing actress, singer and activist who made history as the first wheelchair user to appear on Broadway. Her powerful performance in “Oklahoma!” earned her a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical. Stroker is an inspirational speaker who uses her platform to advocate for greater representation and inclusion of people with disabilities in the entertainment industry and beyond. Stroker’s keynotes draw from her own courageous journey, sharing insights on overcoming barriers, building confidence and embracing one’s authentic self. Her remarkable story and uplifting messages have motivated people of all backgrounds to redefine what’s possible.

To learn more and for year-round resources, please visit the following websites: , , , , and the in the Burton Blatt Institute.

Story by Student Experience Communications Graduate Assistant Kalaya Sibley ‘24, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications ��

Hosted by the , the , the , the , and the , these events follow the highly successful on Oct. 3.

Included in National Disability Employment Awareness Month is the “Disability Poetics Launch” featuring panelists (from left to right): Meg Day, Kenny Fries, Cyree Jarelle Johnson, Stephen Kuusisto and Naomi Ortiz.

“The events we have highlighted this month showcase the disabled experience in college and beyond, and also deliver resources to faculty and staff on how to create a truly inclusive campus,” says , professor of inclusive education and director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion.

“We are fortunate to have a strong coalition of offices, centers and institutes at ���ϲ����� working every day to bring more awareness, opportunities and resources.”

The campus community is invited to engage in all opportunities, including the following events:

Oct. 10, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Location: Virtual (See event details)

Oct. 12, 9-9:15 a.m.
Location: 347 Hinds Hall

Oct. 13, 3:30-5 p.m.
Location: 306 Steele Hall

Oct. 18, 5-7 p.m.
Whitman School of Management, Milton Room 411

Oct. 19, 9-10:15 a.m.
101 Crouse-Hinds Hall

Oct. 24, 2-3:15 p.m. EDT
Virtual

Oct. 26, 9-10:15 a.m.
247 Crouse-Hinds Hall

For more information about National Disability Employment Awareness Month, visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy .

For more information about accessibility and varied disability programs, services and resources at ���ϲ�����, visit .

From left, Barry Whaley, Michael Morris and Nanette Goodman at the annual conference of NARRTC on April 23

NARRTC, formerly known as the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, selected��, senior advisor to the Burton Blatt Institute, as the recipient of the 2023 NARRTC Distinguished Service Award. The Distinguished Service Award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of disability through research, teaching, service or advocacy. It is the highest recognition conferred by NARRTC.

Morris received the award at the NARRTC annual conference April 23 in recognition of more than 30 years of efforts to “promote equality of opportunity and economic self-sufficiency for all people with disabilities through research, advocacy, technical assistance, and program development.”

Through his work at the ��and the��, he has expanded knowledge and understanding of the financial status and economic challenges encountered by working age adults with disabilities and led the translation of research findings to policy changes such as the����(��������).

A recipient of numerous grants over many years from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, he is the author of multiple publications about rethinking public policies to support income production, savings and asset accumulation for people with disabilities. He is currently a member of the research team for the NIDILRR funded .

“I am honored to be this year’s NARRTC Distinguished Service Award winner and be added to a list of amazing leaders who have been past award winners who have made such important contributions to change what we know about and possibilities for more inclusive, independent and productive lives for people with disabilities,” Morris says.

“It is exciting once again for ���ϲ����� to host a����during Disability Pride week. We will come together to honor the lived experience of disability and disability identity as a proud part of our full and diverse identities,” says William Myhill, director of disability access and ADA coordinator in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The campus community is invited to participate in a variety of events, both on-campus and virtual, coordinated by the��,��,��, and the����in the Burton Blatt Institute to celebrate and learn from people with disabilities and their lived experiences.

The featured event on Wednesday, April 19, will be , Eddie Ndopu, described by��Time magazine��as��“one of the most powerful disabled people on the planet.”�� Ndopu is perhaps best known for his human rights advocacy with respect to advancing disability justice at the forefront of the international development agenda.

Some of the other events featured during this week include the following:

• Sunday, April 16:��
• Wednesday, April 19:��
• Wednesday, April 19:��
• Friday, April 21:��

“Disability Pride Week is a brilliant way for disabled students, staff and faculty to build community on campus, while simultaneously raising awareness for unaware nondisabled individuals,” says Alexis Wilner ’24, a drama major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and a member of the disability event planning committee. “As a disabled student myself, I value the presence of such an event supported by University offices and organizations. Rather than simply saying that the University supports marginalized individuals, this is one of many ways that they have shown a commitment to accessibility and inclusion.”

“By attending and participating in Disability Pride Week events, we hope that members of our campus community develop a strong understanding of disability culture and recognize how vital disabled students’ sense of community and culture are to their positive identity formation,” says Carrie Ingersoll-Wood, director of the Disability Cultural Center. “By participation in events, we hope that our community members come to understand that by building a diverse, inclusive and vibrant campus, they will set a trajectory for celebrating and validating disability as global citizens in their future professional career spaces.”

In addition to the events planned for Disability Pride Week, the University community can visit the on the first floor of the Schine Student Center, for a schedule of events and information on campus resources related to disability, access and inclusion. Free T-shirts and other giveaways will also be available for those who stop by.

“We will be showing clips from current and historical videos related to disability pride and history,” says Christine Ashby, director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion in the School of Education. “Visitors will be invited to add a message or image to a legacy book we are creating to honor Judy Heumann and her leadership in disability rights advocacy and activism.” Heumann, who passed away on March 4, 2023, was an author, disability rights leader, founder of the World Institute on Disability, former assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, former special advisor on disability rights for the U.S. State Department, and subject of the documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.”

For more information and for resources that are available year-round, visit and the and for upcoming events.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects the rights of qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination. The nondiscrimination requirements of the law apply to employers and organizations that receive financial assistance from any federal department or agency, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

These organizations and employers include many hospitals, nursing homes, mental health centers and human service programs. Section 504 forbids organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services. It defines the rights of individuals with disabilities to participate in, and have access to, program benefits and services.

The Section 504 at 50 Interview Series is hosted by University Professor Peter Blanck, Jonathan Martinis and Barry Whaley of the Southeast ADA Center and Burton Blatt Institute. Guests for the series are the following:

• Andrew Imparato, Disability Rights California
• Charlotte McClain-Nhalpo, The World Bank
• Emily Ladau, author and disability rights activist
• John Wodatch, former chief of disability rights, U.S. Department of Justice
• Judy Heumann, author and disability activist
• Kathy Martinez, disability and accessibility strategy consultant
• Lex Frieden, educator, disability rights activist
• Lois Curtis, artist and plaintiff in Olmstead v. L.C.
• Lydia X.Z. Brown, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Mohammed Ali Loufty, Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs
• Sanchin Pavithran, The Access Board
• Sandy Ho, Borealis Philanthropy
• Tom Olin, social documentarian

The Southeast ADA Center, based in Lexington, Kentucky, is one of 10 regional centers in the ADA National Network, to provide information, training and guidance on the ADA. Southeast ADA Center is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.

, the University Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at the , will honor contemporary disability culture, delivering a presentation addressing the less-than-nuanced history of normalcy and how such a concept has been constructed from the Victorian era until modern times.

A panel discussion featuring University faculty, staff and students will follow, addressing the topic of disability arts and culture.

The talk will occur on campus in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library, and online via Zoom. . American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided, and light refreshments will be served.

“If the history of disability teaches us anything, it’s that disability life stands for freedom and not oppression,” Kuusisto says.

This free event is sponsored by the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and the in the Burton Blatt Institute, with the support of the , the , Atrocity Studies, the , the , the and .

International Day of Persons with Disabilities was originally proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote an understanding of disability issues around the globe while increasing awareness of how the inclusion of disabled people in every aspect of life benefits everyone.

“The ADA was the floor, not the ceiling,” says Mary Grace Almandrez, vice president for diversity and inclusion. “As we reflect on the anniversary of the ADA, it’s important for us to understand how inclusion and accessibility fit into our diversity commitment. We must dismantle all the barriers to inclusive learning and move toward a more social justice and equity-minded framework.”

There is a need to press beyond the tenets of the ADA. “Like the experiences of persons with marginalized identities based on race, gender identity, and religion for instance, the civil rights laws that have provided some tools for protecting the disabled from discrimination have not eradicated the attitudinal barriers that society creates and that our social structures perpetuate,” says William N. Myhill, M.Ed., J.D., interim director and ADA/503/504 coordinator. “This is why compliance with the laws is not enough, and why we have offices of diversity and inclusion that champion equity, where attitudes fail to provide meaningful access in our learning materials, teaching practices, workplaces, and the information and communication technologies we use.”

It is the attitudinal transformation that is still underway, 32 years after the ADA became law.

“When you pass a civil rights law, a culture goes with it,” says Stephen Kuusisto, director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach at the Burton Blatt Institute. “A disability culture has begun to permeate the arts, the public sector, corporate life, even international diplomacy. But there is still a stigma attached to the disabled and the disfigured. And that’s why the unemployment rate for the disabled remains 70 to 80% in this country. And why only one in four students who enters college and identifies as disabled actually persists to graduation.”

“It is now a crucial time to recommit to the principles of the ADA for full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities,” says Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), a global advocacy organization for people with disabilities. BBI, a distinctive program built at ���ϲ����� by the former dean of its School of Education, has offices in ���ϲ�����, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.

Valuing Diversity

The University’s draft Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategic Plan, states clearly that accessibility involves ensuring that “physical and psychological obstacles do not prevent individual achievement or participation.” Throughout its history, the University has acknowledged the value of diverse individuals, talents and experiences—from creating programs for nontraditional learners to the vast set services for students of color and underrepresented groups, as well as veterans and military-connected families.

Recently, the Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted ���ϲ����� as one of the first universities in the nation to create a disability cultural center. In the article, “In Fight Against Ableism, Disabled Students Build Centers of Their Own,” the authors noted that such centers “help students find a sense of self and belonging” and “foster a sense of community, promote activism and disability justice.”

“There is still much work to be done to ensure full and equal participation of people with disabilities,” says Carrie Ingersoll-Wood, director of the Disability Cultural Center. “While the ADA provides specific protections for the disability community, the onus of enforcement and compliance of the law continues to fall on the individuals it protects. For example, if an individual with a disability faces discrimination on campus or at work, it is incumbent on the individual with the disability to file a complaint or lawsuit to enact compliance.��Looking into the future, it is important that��everyone��on campus understand the importance and power of collective action to challenge ableism in all its forms.��I think that modeling an inclusive community on campus is pivotal to driving positive generational and societal change toward embracing disability as a diverse identity.”

University leadership who collaborate on diversity and inclusion issues say policies and practice must be acutely sensitive to the intersection between the disabled and those who have been historically marginalized or discriminated against.

“Each year as we celebrate the anniversary of the ADA, it is important to reflect on the progress we have made in advancing disability rights, but it is equally important to acknowledge that the law is not always equally applied,” says Paula Possenti-Perez, director of the Center for Disability Resources. “Our diverse identities that intersect with disability, leaves many experiencing violence, oppression and discrimination. Our complacency is ableism; therefore, we must remain vigilant in our work toward upholding the ideals of the ADA.”

More Inclusive Approaches

The community that is defined as disabled is growing exponentially to include individuals with psychiatric, emotional and intellectual challenges—oftentimes defined as invisible disabilities—that demand more inclusive approaches to teaching and learning.

“We know that the adverse impact of the pandemic—from isolation to economic hardships to medical complications—was amplified for people with disabilities. Still, the pandemic forced all of us in academia to think more creatively about the learning process for all our students, and to redesign pedagogy and curricula,” says Almandrez. “Frankly, one of the principles of good design is that it is good for everyone. Now that we are moving through this pandemic, let’s not forget the inclusive thinking that values each individual for their potential and for their contributions.”

On this 32nd anniversary of the ADA, those who advocate for inclusion of individuals with disabilities see no difference between disability rights and human rights. The ADA, by establishing standards for compliance with the law, also inspired the world to see disability through an equity lens, and expanded opportunities for people with disabilities to contribute in countless ways to a dynamic campus culture, society at large, and progress on a global scale.

“There’s not much poetry in the ADA, but in a way, that’s what it needs,” says Kuusisto. “It needs more imagination.”

“Disability Pride Week celebrates disability as an identity and its rich culture,” states Eboni Britt, executive director of strategic communications and initiatives in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. “The week includes events and activities that not only showcase disability pride but also emphasize the wealth of resources that are available to our students, faculty and staff with disabilities.”

The week begins on April 18 with the opening of the , which showcases disability culture and history. The Disability Pride Space provides visitors with the opportunity to share what disability pride means to them and learn about the disability community. The Disability Pride Space is located at Bird Library, Room 114, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Disability pride celebrates people embracing their full identities, including disabilities, and can mean something different to everyone” says Disability Pride Week planning committee member Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri, administrative assistant in the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach.

One of the week’s signature events is . Girma is Harvard’s first Deafblind graduate whose conversation will take the audience through her work to advance disability justice as a Black disabled woman and a daughter of refugees. This event occurs on April 21, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Visit the full for all events scheduled and additional information.

Hosted by the����at the Burton Blatt Institute and��, offers ongoing events on disability literature, media and the arts, focusing on critical reflection, teaching and research in today’s world.

All events are free and open to the public. Registration is required for each event.

The four events are the following:

Disability Justice Lessons for Our Collective Survival: A Discussion About “Crip Kinship”—With Shayda Kafai

Tuesday, March 8, 2022, 3-4 p.m. ET via Zoom

.

Shayda Kafai

will engage in a conversation about her new book, “Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid.” Sins Invalid is a performance project that centers a disability justice framework. “Crip Kinship” investigates the revolutionary survival teachings that disabled queer of color communities offer to all our bodyminds.

Kafai is an assistant professor of gender and sexuality studies in the ethnic and women’s studies department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. As a queer, disabled, Mad femme of color, she commits to practicing the many ways we can reclaim our bodyminds from systems of oppression. To support this work as an educator-scholar, Kafai applies disability justice and collective care practices in the spaces she cultivates.

Kafai’s writing and speaking presentations focus on intersectional body politics, particularly on how bodies are constructed and how they hold the capacity for rebellion. Kafai is also an artmaker and co-founder of CripFemmeCrafts with her wife, Amy.

Ecocrip Sensibilities: Mending, Care, and Love Affairs—With Naomi Ortiz

Thursday, April 7, 2022, 5-6:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

.

Naomi Ortiz. Photo credit: Jade Beall

Cultivating love affairs with ourselves, communities and places means loving within states of stress. The disability community has unique knowledge in working toward accessibility and care in times of perpetual uncertainty. Join us as we discuss how to draw from our lineages, cultures and ancestors to gently touch vulnerability and create our own definitions of sustainability.

Naomi Ortiz is a poet, writer, facilitator and visual artist whose intersectional work focuses on self-care for activists, disability justice, climate action and relationship with place. Ortiz is the author of “Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice” (Reclamation Press), a non-fiction book for diverse communities on dealing with the risks of burnout. They are a 2021-2022 Border Narrative Grant Awardee for their multidisciplinary project, “Complicating Conversations.”

Ortiz is a 2019 Zoeglossia Poetry Fellow whose poems have been nominated for Best of the Internet and listed on Entropy’s “Best of 2020-2021: Favorite Poems Published Online.” They emphasize interdependence, inclusion and spiritual growth in their poetry, writing and artwork, which can be found in numerous print and on-line publications, anthologies, and art shows. Ortiz is a disabled Mestiza living in the Arizona U.S./Mexico borderlands.

Enabling and “Cripping” the Back-to-the-Land Movement—With Clark A. Pomerleau

Monday, April 11, 2022, noon-1:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

.

Clark A. Pomerleau

Clark A. Pomerleau uses his archival research into the famous homesteading advice and practice of Helen and Scott Nearing and oral histories of back-to-the-landers who were influenced by them from 1965 through the 1980s to consider how people have been successful and unsuccessful in accommodating homestead gardening to anxiety, depression, and changes in physicality and cognition.

Pomerleau is an associate professor and associate chairperson of the History Department at the University of North Texas. His scholarship analyzes social justice alternatives to mainstream U.S. society and includes the book, “Califia Women: Feminist Education against Sexism, Classism, and Racism” (U. Texas, 2013); chapters and articles on LGBTQ+ history, feminist praxis and trans-inclusion; and a biography in process about Helen Knothe Nearing’s spiritual and practical role in the back-to-the-land movement titled “A Consecrated Life in Her Times.”

Pomerleau also publishes poetry, including the chapbook “Better Living through Cats” (Finishing Line Press, 2021) that tackles depression and anxiety and the full-length book about growing into elder care, “Every Day, They Became Part of Him” (Finishing Line Press, 2023). His most recent awards are a 2021 Faculty Research Leave, the 2020 UNT President’s Council Service Award, and nomination for outstanding accessible online teaching.

The Ethics of Passing and Disability Disclosure in Higher Education—With Joseph A. Stramondo

Tuesday, April 19, 2022, 5-6:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

.

Joseph Stramondo

This talk will explore if or when one has an ethical duty to disclose their disability in a higher education setting. Joseph Stramondo will argue that faculty, especially permanent, tenured faculty, sometimes have a moral obligation to disclose their disability identity to create the social space for other disabled people with less institutional power to flourish within the academy. However, this obligation is limited, and its strength is directly proportional to the likelihood and degree of risk posed by disclosure, which tends to track an individual’s institutional power within the ivory tower.

Stramondo is an associate professor of philosophy and director of the Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs at San Diego State University. He holds graduate degrees in philosophy and public policy studies and his current research focuses on the intersection of biomedical ethics and philosophy of disability. He is concerned with how bioethics can be reframed by centering the lived experiences of disability as a crucial source of moral knowledge that should guide clinical practice, biomedical research and health policy. He has published scholarship on topics ranging from informed consent procedures to reproductive ethics to pandemic triage protocols to assistive neurotechnology. His work appears in such venues as The Hastings Center Report, Social Theory and Practice, the Kennedy Institute for Ethics Journal, Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, Utilitas, The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics and more. He also serves as the co-president of the Society for Disability Studies.

The webinars will include American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, live captioning, image descriptions and an opportunity for registered Zoom webinar participants to engage with the featured presenter. The events will also be recorded and made publicly available . The post-production videos will include ASL interpretation and captions, accompanying transcripts, and a summary of online resources of interest.

Copies of selected texts will be available for purchase at the .

The Spring 2022 (Dis)courses series is sponsored by the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at the Burton Blatt Institute and Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, with thanks to the ���ϲ����� Libraries, and with additional support from the Center on Disability and Inclusion; the Central New York Humanities Corridor Health Humanities Working Group (Medicine, Disease, Disability, and Culture); the Consortium for Culture and Medicine; Cultural Foundations of Education; the departments of Biology, English, History, and Women’s and Gender Studies; Disability Cultural Center; disability studies; the Graduate School; Hendricks Chapel; Information Technology Services; the Intergroup Dialogue Program; La Casita Cultural Center; the LGBTQ Resource Center; LGBTQ Studies; the Renée Crown University Honors Program; the School of Education and the ���ϲ����� Humanities Center.

Questions can be directed to oipo@syr.edu.

Stephen Kuusisto (left) and Ralph James Savarese

Setting the scene … It’s spring of 2020. The world has been shut down for a period of weeks or months (you stopped keeping track at some point). You are living with a disability—perhaps you’re blind or you have a highly complex autoimmune condition that makes it especially precarious to make your way through daily life during a global pandemic. You are feeling isolated, alienated, disconnected and at times downright terrified. What do you do?

For Stephen Kuusisto, poet, memoirist, University Professor and director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach with the Burton Blatt Institute, and Ralph James Savarese, poet, nonfiction writer, activist and professor of English at Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa, this was their reality. Kuusisto is blind and has had pneumonia several times in his life, making him particularly susceptible to respiratory illnesses. Savarese is on high-powered immunosuppressants that make getting a COVID infection a potentially life-threatening event.

Their answer to “what do you do?” Poetry.

Together, Kuusisto and Savarese penned “Someone Falls Overboard,” a book of poems written over the course of two nine-day periods early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is a dialogue between the two acclaimed poets, following a model set forth by Marvin Bell and William Stafford with their 1983 collection titled “Segues.”

The duo wrote and exchanged poems at a rapid pace—16 lines apiece, three, sometimes four poems per day, riffing on one another’s themes and word choices—until 128 poems emerged. The collection is by turn tender, nostalgic, starkly funny, brutally honest, whimsical and misanthropic—a literary balm to soothe the soul during these uncertain and isolated times.

The quickness of the writing was deliberate; the project began when Kuusisto off-handedly suggested, “let’s write poems back and forth frantically to one another” as a way to pass the time and stay connected to one another. Savarese—who says he can typically barely write three sentences in 18 days, let alone 64 different poems—was a bit intimidated by the proposition. Kuusisto, who admits he is a fast writer by nature, likened the process to “playing speed chess with poetry,” which he considers to be great fun.

The frenetic pace of the writing helped circumvent any potential writer’s block, while also preventing either of them from taking the project too seriously—despite the seriousness all around them.

As “Someone Falls Overboard” was coming to life, 28 people died in the assisted living facility where Savarese’s mother lives. “During that first spring, the phone line was open between us, we talked constantly. Sometimes I could hear over the phone the screams, the sobbing,” he recalls. “There was something absolutely absurdist about the whole situation. Grim, terrifying. Part of this book is also comedic—there was this feeling like if we could just tell jokes fast enough, we might stay three steps ahead of what’s after us.”

Both men are long established in the history and traditions of both American poetry and global poetry, which is evident in the book’s many allusions to famous poets, ancient and modern philosophers, and thinkers of all kinds. “While these poems were written quickly, they are still quite layered in the back and forth,” Kuusisto says.

Savarese adds, sheepishly, “Then it’s like the Marx brothers got a hold of classic literature and shredded it, throwing lines around haphazardly … these go from high learning to anarchy very quickly. That’s part of the method of them, they became loonier and I think more fun as we proceeded.”

“Loonier and more fun” is part of the collection’s charm. As we’ve been collectively beaten down, discouraged, encouraged and discouraged all over again by the pandemic, the authors remind us that engagement with the arts can be a bright spot, if we so allow it.

“It was Bertolt Brecht who said that in the dark times, there will be singing,” says Kuusisto. “I think it’s important to remember that our creative capacities have always been the place we go to in the darkest times.”

As exemplified in “Someone Falls Overboard,” Kuusisto says that dysfunction will often take a backseat to the imagination. “The imagination can give us a bridge over troubled waters, as Simon and Garfunkel would say, and we found it in this book. I’m very proud of it.”

“Someone Falls Overboard” is available through .

Ethel Blatt’s surviving sons—Edward, Steven and Michael—request that donations be made in their mother’s name to the . Memories and condolences can be made via her .

“We are so proud that Ethel was an alumna of our school. Together with her husband, she left an indelible mark on our community and our mission to advance inclusive education,” says Interim Dean Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. “We are grateful that the Blatt family has asked that our community honor Ethel with donations to the Burton Blatt Scholarship Fund. That resource has made our school accessible to many, many students over the years, and it will continue to do so.”

Ethel (Draizen) Blatt was born in Brooklyn on April 29, 1932. She married Dean Blatt in 1951, and the couple moved to ���ϲ����� in 1969 when her husband joined the School of Education faculty. In addition to her work for the University, she was a special education teacher in the ���ϲ����� City School District and the Albany Hebrew Academy. After Dean Blatt’s passing, Ethel donated his papers to the University’s . Praised for her expertise in knitting, needle point and cooking, her obituary notes that she was an avid reader and a fan of Orange football and basketball.

Martinis discussed Britney Spears’ recent release from her conservatorship, as well as the many steps that still lie ahead. Martinis explained, “There are hundreds of thousands of other Britneys across the United States, people who aren’t famous, but who deserve the same rights we all take for granted—until they get taken away. #FreeBritney can’t end with Britney being free.”

Martinis discussed how Britney Spears’ father was financially compensated for her time on tour, regardless of the state of Britney’s mental wellbeing while on tour, and his compensation was never opposed in court. Martinis said, “In my experience, the vast, vast, vast majority of unopposed motions are granted because again, if someone had a problem they’d have objected. Unless, of course, they didn’t know they had a right to object.”

Blanck discussed the unfair circumstances under which individuals with disabilities have been paid significantly less than minimum wage due to the 14(c) program. He said, “There are people who can be moved to competitive employment and there are people who would have great difficulty doing that. We’re at a novel time where people are looking for ways to reform the 14(c) program, and it’s not as simple as just raising the minimum wage for everyone. You might have the same outcome whereby many people with disabilities who don’t need to be there just stay there.”

Kenny Fries, Perel and Quintan Ana Wikswo

Three queer Jewish disabled writers and artists each discuss their work on Aktion T4, a prime crucible of disability history, during a Zoom virtual event on Monday, Oct. 18, from 3-4:15 p.m. ET. Aktion T4 was a eugenics project in Nazi Germany that targeted��people with mental and physical disabilities.

The speakers are Kenny Fries, Perel and Quintan Ana Wikswo. The event will be moderated by Julia Watts Belser.

The panelists will explore the following themes and question:

• How to��avoid a sentimental or aesthetic depiction
• How to avoid reinscribing trauma
• Because Aktion T4 has no survivors, how do writers and artists become “vicarious witnesses,” which memory studies scholar Susanne C. Knittel describes as not “an act of speaking for and thus appropriating the memory and story of someone else but rather an attempt to bridge the silence through narrative means”?

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Julia Watts Belser

This event is free and open to the public. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, live captioning and image descriptions will be provided.

Requests for other accommodations can be made by Monday, Oct. 11, by completing the accommodations request field in the Zoom registration form.

Questions about this event can be directed to oipo@syr.edu.

This event is sponsored by the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach (OIPO) at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at ���ϲ����� through the Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) Grant Program, with additional support from Atrocity Studies and the Practices of Social Justice; College of Visual and Performing Arts; Department of History; Department of Religion; Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition; Disability Studies; Hendricks Chapel; Jewish Studies; LGBTQ Studies; LGBTQ Resource Center; and ���ϲ����� Hillel.

Since the pandemic began, there have been many individuals who believe masking mandates to be against their civil rights and companies like TheHealthyAmerican.org have produced cards stating that individuals do not need masks inside of businesses. Blanck commented on this controversy, saying, “This is a bogus card that has no authority. There is no blanket card that would protect anyone from following a mask mandate or showing proof of vaccination.”

Southeast ADA Center staff person Cyndi Smith training a group at the Center for Independent Living in Macon, Georgia

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Community Living (ACL), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).

Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Southeast ADA Center is one of 10 regional centers in the ADA National Network, providing information, training and guidance about the ADA throughout the eight state Southeast region. BBI provides the center with analyses of legal issues affecting the ADA as well as other resources such as “plain language” legal briefs written by ���ϲ����� College of Law students.

“The complexity of the issues facing the disability community is daunting, along with the increasing need for reliable information in the public domain. The Southeast ADA Center will continue to provide up-to-date, accurate and accessible information on all aspects of the ADA,” says Peter Blanck, University Professor at ���ϲ����� and chairman of BBI. “The center’s role is, perhaps, most important than ever in making a positive difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families by fostering ADA understanding and compliance.”

“In the next five years, the Southeast ADA Center will continue to be an important source for information on the ADA,” says Barry Whaley, project director and co-principal investigator. “In addition, we will engage in dynamic research exploring the intersectionality of race, ethnicity and disability across the domains of employment, technology equity and poverty.”

Peter Blanck, University Professor at ���ϲ����� and chairman of BBI, guest lecturing a class at University of Kentucky College of Law

The Southeast ADA Center’s educational and advocacy work, providing ADA training, technical assistance, research and user-friendly information, reaches and supports more than one million stakeholders annually across the Southeast region. The renewed funding will allow the center to achieve multiple objectives, including:

• Encouraging and supporting meaningful partnerships among the disability community, government, business and community organizations to facilitate ADA implementation
• Improving and expanding training, technical assistance, and information dissemination that promotes voluntary compliance with the ADA
• Empowering individuals across the diversity of disabilities and at the intersection of race, ethnicity, age and gender to increase understanding of ADA rights and responsibilities
• Customizing and disseminating outreach materials to culturally and linguistically underserved populations, including Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), and Latinx communities
• Conducting research that produces new knowledge and understanding of barriers��to employment and economic self-sufficiency, to increase the civic and social participation of people with disabilities
• Creating a comprehensive website with a searchable database that is regularly updated
• Supporting advocacy and education among students and youth with disabilities

The new funding will support the center’s initiatives through 2026.

About the Southeast ADA Center

The Southeast ADA Center answers questions and provides training and information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The center, based in Lexington, Kentucky, serves an eight-state geographic region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and has a network of partners in each state that includes Centers for Independent Living (CILs), individuals with and without disabilities, small and large employers and businesses, nonprofit organizations and universities, and state and local government agencies. The center is one of ten regional ADA centers in the ADA National Network. For more information, visit the .

About the Burton Blatt Institute

(BBI) at ���ϲ����� reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic and social participation of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, former dean of SU’s School of Education and a pioneering disability rights scholar, to better the lives of people with disabilities. BBI’s offices are in ���ϲ�����; Washington, D.C.; Lexington, Kentucky; and New York.

William Del Rosario is a student in a novel program called Numberless Dreams.

Del Rosario, who is autistic and non-speaking, is a student in a novel program called Numberless Dreams, a series of online creative writing workshops targeted toward teens with disabilities and taught by professional writers who are themselves members of the disabled community. As Del Rosario : “Words to communicate. We cry. A new chapter. My words cry. They are heard.”

Being heard has been a historic challenge for the disabled community and disability culture is now helping to change this.

“It is only fitting that ���ϲ�����, long in the forefront of innovative programs to advance disability rights and awareness, should embrace creative art and disability,” says Stephen Kuusisto, University professor in the School of Education and director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach at the Burton Blatt Institute. “���ϲ����� has been breaking barriers for years, flipping the model and positioning disability as an advantage.”

Blind since birth, Kuusisto is a writer, scholar and activist who notes that ���ϲ����� is a global leader in disability and inclusion. “Three years ago, Chancellor Kent Syverud asked us to take the lead on developing new interdisciplinary initiatives involving the University and various stakeholders,” says Kuusisto. “That meant asking the question: What can we do to think about disability in the 21st century in new and innovative ways? If you look around, you can see disability everywhere—‘Moby-Dick’ is about disability; the architecture of the New York City subway system is about disability; the pandemic is about disability.”

Stephen Kuusisto

Kuusisto approached colleagues at the YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center, which had a robust creative writing program, offering more than 70 workshops and courses each year for writers of all experience levels. Together, they developed the , funded in part by the Gifford Foundation, Onondaga County and CNY Arts. Teens with disabilities of all kinds were invited to join, engage in writing exercises in poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and learn the tools of the trade.

Though the original idea was for in-person workshops, the pandemic forced the founders to rethink the program and offer it on zoom. “Having our hands forced by the pandemic was actually great,” says Phil Memmer, executive director of the Arts Branch of the YMCA of Central New York. “We essentially made it a national program from the very start because teens from around the country could join in. We are prepared now to expand this model and offer it anywhere in the world.”

The name for the program, Numberless Dreams, comes from a poem by William Butler Yeats titled “A Poet to his Beloved,” in which the poet describes his writings: “I bring you with reverent hands/The books of my numberless dreams.”

Georgia Popoff, workshops coordinator at the YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center, says the students in the program come with a real passion (and numberless ways) to express themselves.

“These are the kinds of kids who are on fire to write,” says Popoff. “Kids who can’t get a book or a pen out of their hands. Half of our students are non-speaking with autism. They are profound thinkers and already strong advocates for disability rights. The workshop unifies them.”

Phil Memmer

Coached by successful disabled writers themselves, these students see that their ideas and desires are appreciated—and achievable. As part of the workshops, they are prompted to use their imaginations to write about even the most mundane of subjects—and encouraged “to play.”

“Bringing out the confidence and curiosity in people is the best thing to do in creative writing classes,” says Kuusisto. “For example, I tell them to imagine that they are inside an apple, similar to how Charles Simic describes himself going inside a stone is his poem, Stone. The imagination is not about being right or wrong. It’s a place of fantastic play. There are no barriers to participation.”

Workshop student Jaden Randhir addresses the barriers that confront the disabled and the need to break them in lines from his poem, “Dear Friend Throttle the Bottle”:

“Feeling that so many of us get assigned into

First distilled then packed fitted in a bottle

Definitely many amazing future giants too

Stare on the inside of the bottle which can be fatal….

Failing in the significant saturated society

So much announced about society acceptance

But we are Dreaming to be world changers and live out our destiny

So we all are calling you to throttle the bottle for our deliverance”

Ona Gritz and Daniel Simpson, the co-teachers of Numberless Dreams

Popoff sees tremendous growth in workshop students, who are co-taught by Ona Gritz and Daniel Simpson. “Their writing is longer, more imagistic, more free.”

Kuusisto says this kind of workshop brings disabled teens “into a really rich makers space” where they have more opportunity to explore the “wonder, beauty, richness and strangeness of the mind.”

By nurturing more creativity and confidence, the workshop founders hope these students will become more engaged in their communities. “When Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the most interesting word is ‘pursuit,’” Kuusisto says. “In a great society, everyone has the opportunity to explore. That’s what disability justice is all about.”

Martinis provides context for the lack of rights given to those in conservatorships, saying, “The rights at stake in guardianship are analogous to the rights at stake in criminal cases. Britney could have been found holding an axe and a severed head, saying ‘I did it,’ and she still would’ve had the right to an attorney. So, under guardianship, you don’t have the same rights as an axe murderer.”

Peter Blanck

Supported decision-making (SDM) is a paradigm in which people use friends, family and professionals to help them address the situations and choices they encounter in everyday life. To examine emergent issues in SDM in research, law, and policy, the (JDPS) is presenting a special issue of articles guest edited by , University Professor�� and chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute.

The examines SDM from American and comparative law, research and policy perspectives, as recognized in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and from the perspective of the lived experience. SDM is used to empower individuals to make their own decisions to the maximum extent possible to increase self-determination. It is an alternative to restrictive guardianship or substitute decision-making regimes to which persons with cognitive and mental health disabilities historically have been relegated.

Image by Chanika Svetvilas titled “What I have learned (Psychiatric Nursing).”

“Wordgathering” provides an accessible venue for featuring the work of emerging and well-known disabled writers committed to disability poetry, literature and the arts.

This academic year marked the 30th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). The team at the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, in collaboration with College of Law IT Services AV Media Specialist Kyle Jaymes Davis created an accessible video production of ��along with an accompanying�� created by Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri, administrative assistant.

The video, with American Sign Language interpretation, English captioning and image descriptions, features a distinguished panel of disabled thought leaders and scholar-activists discussing ableism, cultural change, equity, creativity and intersectionality in the context of the 30th anniversary of the ADA. The panel was moderated by Stephen Kuusisto, University Professor and director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at the Burton Blatt Institute. Poetry is a major theme within and happens multiple times during the video.

Diane R. Wiener, editor-in-chief and research professor and associate director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach, says, “There is a pragmatic magic for me in having the opportunity to underscore that this issue marks 15 years since ‘Wordgathering’ opened its accessible, digital doors into the world. This is a world that has become increasingly digital and virtual, but not nearly as accessible as many of us would prefer and, in fact, demand. I am moved by and grateful for the abiding ethics, good humor, vast generosity of spirit, and boundless kindness of our editorial team’s members, as each of us does (and has been doing) our best to live, create, love, and work deeply in the non-idealized ‘new world-in-the-making,’ a year since COVID-19. I remain deeply grateful for ongoing and outstanding collaborative support from my esteemed colleagues at ���ϲ�����—Kate Deibel, Patrick Williams and Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri.”

Kuusisto’s project, “Eavesdropping: The Poetry of Blind Listening,” builds on his previous work, including the memoirs “Planet of the Blind” (a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year”) and “Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening.” His poetry collections include “Only Bread, Only Light” and “Letters to Borges.” His newest memoir, “Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey,” was published in 2018. His latest poetry collection is called “Old Horse, What is to Be Done?”

Stephen Kuusisto

His work explores the reality that blind people are not casual listeners. Blind since birth, he recounts with a poet’s sense of detail the surprise that comes when we are actively listening to our surroundings. His writings describe and celebrate the aural landscape that he navigates and the soundscapes that he experiences in nature, music, travel and daily life.

A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart & William Smith Colleges and The Ohio State University. Kuusisto has served as an advisor to the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C., and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show;��Dateline;��All Things Considered;��Morning Edition; Talk of the Nation; A&E; and Animal Planet. His essays have appeared in The New York Times; The Washington Post; Harper’s; Reader’s Digest; and his daily blog “Planet of the Blind” is read globally by people interested in disability and contemporary culture.

In 2021, the Guggenheim Foundation awarded fellowships to of 184 artists, writers, scholars and scientists. These exceptional candidates were chosen through a rigorous peer-review process from almost 3,000 applicants.

Created in 1925 by Senator Simon and Olga Guggenheim in memory of their son John Simon Guggenheim, the foundation has offered fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form, under the freest possible conditions.

Participants will discuss the topic, “Presence and Pandemics: Reflections on Spiritual Care During Turbulent Times,” exploring the vibrancy of presence in the midst of pain, harm and hope.

The Rev. Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel, will moderate the conversation roundtable with chaplains and campus spiritual leaders on Tuesday, April 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on . This��roundtable��will explore��a diversity of customs and questions��while��seeking��to nourish the soul and ignite the spirit in the midst of our challenging circumstances.

Panelists will include Melvin Baker, Historically Black Church chaplain; Rhonda Chester, Methodist chaplain; JoAnn Cooke, Buddhist chaplain; Julia Cutler ’21, SPIRAL (Student Pagan Information, Relations and Learning) president; Amir Duric, Muslim chaplain; Joel Goldstein, Jewish chaplain; and Regina Jones, assistant director in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Native Student Program. Joe Zoll ’22 will lead the opening and closing meditations.

Registration for this program is required, and is available directly on the��. Those who would like or prefer alternative registration are invited to contact Hendricks Chapel at��chapel@syr.edu��or 315.443.2901.

All participants are welcome to bring their own meal to the “virtual table” during the conversation. Although this semester’s Interfaith Dialogue Dinner series will not permit the sharing of a traditionally provided, inclusive dinner, the virtual conversation will allow participants to break bread in company with one another, providing secular and spiritual nourishment.

The program is free and open to the public. Live captioning, American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and image descriptions will be provided. For requests for additional accommodations or questions, contact Hendricks Chapel at��chapel@syr.edu��or 315.443.2901.

Over the past five years, the “Common and Diverse Ground” series has brought members of the campus community together in an inclusive environment to explore challenging contemporary issues. The Spring 2021 series is co-sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The poetry reading will be followed by discussion with participants. The event is free and open to the public, and will include American Sign Language interpretation, live captioning and image descriptions. .

An M.F.A. candidate at the University of Minnesota, greathouse’s debut collection is “Wound from the Mouth of a Wound,” winning the Ballard Spahr Prize for Poetry. Their work has appeared in Poetry magazine, The New York Times, the Kenyon Review, Foglifter and the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series.

is available March 3 at 1 p.m. ET on and on the . No registration is required.

The Protection and Advocacy (P&A) System is on the front line in defending the personal and civil rights of people with disabilities. P&As empower and ensure individuals with disabilities have the right to make choices, contribute to society, and live independently. They guard against abuse, advocate for basic human rights, and ensure access and accountability in health care, education, employment, housing, transportation, voting rights, and within the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

P&As are represented at the national level by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), an organization established by Congress to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

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The focuses on rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A new episode airs for 30-45 minutes on the first Wednesday of each month. “ADA Live!” is produced by the , one of ten regional ADA Centers in the��.

are also available on adalive.org/espanol.

LeDerick Horne

Burton Blatt Institute’s (BBI) Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach (OIPO) series (Dis)courses: Interdisciplinary Disability Dialogues continues on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET with “A Crip Reckoning: Reflections on the ADA@30.”

Naomi Ortiz

Join a distinguished panel of thought leaders and scholar-activists for a discussion of ableism, cultural change, equity, creativity and intersectionality in the context of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Pratik Patel

The event is free and open to the public. Zoom participants will have the opportunity to pose questions to the panel after the discussion.

Sponsored by and the ���ϲ����� —and moderated by BBI OIPO Director and University Professor —“A Crip Reckoning: Reflections on the ADA@30” will welcome the following writers, activists, educators, innovators and disability advocates:

• LeDerick Horne—a poet, speaker and advocate who uses his gift for spoken-word poetry as the gateway to larger discussions on equal opportunity, pride, self-determination, and hope for people with disabilities.
• Naomi Ortiz—a writer, poet, facilitator and visual artist whose work focuses on self-care for activists, disability justice, intersectional organizing and relationship with place.
  

  David James (DJ) Savarese

• Pratik Patel—the director of information technology access for the City University of New York and owner of EZFire Enterprises LLC, which consults on a variety of technology projects on accessibility for people with disabilities.
• David James (DJ) Savarese—an author, public speaker, “artful activist” and “practicing optimist,” who works to make self-determined lives a reality for non-traditionally speaking people.
• Alice Wong (she/her)—a disabled activist, media maker, consultant and founder/director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture.

Alice Wong

Copies of panelists’ selected texts . To register for “A Crip Reckoning” and to request accommodations, . The event will be recorded, and an accessible video .

John Gibson

As a Marine combat engineer with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, John Gibson’s job was to identify improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines, place and clear obstacles, lay out concertina wire and build bunkers. This essential, physical and tactile combat zone work not only requires close attention to detail but also an understanding of how the lives of fellow servicemembers rely on your skill. The sights, sounds and intense memories of combat left a deep impression on Gibson ’20, one that he invites others to experience through his immersive art exhibition, “A Sapper’s Abyss.”

Gibson’s exhibition—an installation, kinetic sculpture and performance piece in one, titled after the traditional name for a combat engineer— in the of Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, a digital quarterly journal edited by Diane Wiener, Burton Blatt Institute research professor and associate director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach. The issue also features .

Originally installed at the ”Warrior Brain + Artist Mind” gallery exhibition hosted by CreatiVets and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—and now stored at the National Veterans Art Museum—Wordgathering the “abyss” virtually, hyperlinking a “walk-through” of the sculpture, the photos and sound files that make up the piece.

These facets are featured in distinct sections, with accompanying image descriptions of the visual content. Several photographs and image descriptions of the “abyss” in its original exhibition context are also included.

Warrior Brain + Artist Mind Exhibition (CreatiVets, June 2018), showing various artists’ work in the gallery, including John T. Gibson’s “The Sapper’s Abyss”

“The whole piece is 4 feet wide by 7 feet long and 8 feet tall,” describes Gibson. “When you first come up to the exhibition, you see wooden frames surrounded by a skirt of black burlap with an entrance on one side and an exit on the other.”

At the entrance, continues Gibson, broken and twisted chains hold open the doors. “The entrance is about 5 feet tall, so you have to kind of duck to get in. Once you’re in, you see dirt, sandbags and combat trash, such as discarded Meals Ready to Eat and little pieces of rubber.”

Bringing this claustrophobic space vividly to life, Gibson has hung a web of fishing line to which are attached 57 photos. “The photos are double-sided, and they are almost spinning, kind of like a mobile,” he continues. “If you touch one, they all move. It gives a kind of ‘Twilight Zone’ feel.” Above the viewer, a spotlight adds to the stark, oppressive atmosphere.

The photos illustrate life for a sapper in an intense combat zone. Some of them are extremely graphic, Gibson notes, showing the havoc IEDs wreak on a body. Their placement and constant motion remind the viewer that veterans must live with these images long after their service has ended. “The photos were donated by Dr. Jon Bowersox, a friend who was a medical officer. He took them and obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act request,” says Gibson.

To these battlefield sights, Gibson has added equally shocking sounds. A pressure plate—not unlike those that set off enemy IEDs—lies hidden in the dirt. If an unsuspecting visitor steps on the plate, one of three bomb blast sounds are triggered along with a flash of a flood light from above. Gibson manufactured the sounds himself, by recording a ball bearing hitting a metal sheet in an empty hallway. “I put different pieces of fabric up and then just let the ball bearings go with elastic, then I manipulated the recordings to make them sound like a rural explosion or urban explosion with up-close reverberation.”

The effect of this sound, vision and tactility is an overwhelmingly sensory experience. It encourages the viewer to walk in Gibson’s scuffed and dusty combat boots into that part of his mind where combat memories have been compartmentalized.

“‘A Sapper’s Abyss’ stands for what happens to old trauma,” observes Gibson. “But I’m also trying to express how this form of compartmentalization is not unique to veterans.” Many people who experience trauma, he observes, have a place in their mind where difficult memories are stored. Of course, trauma survivors can find venturing into such a memory room uncomfortable, and Gibson admits that he has combat veteran friends who “love the project but say ‘I’m not going near it.'”

“While I was putting it together, it was tough,” Gibson adds. “There were a couple of sleepless nights as I put myself back into that space so I could unpack it and translate it in order for another person to experience it. It was a very introspective experience.”

A disability advocate who believes strongly in the healing power of self-expression, since leaving the Marines, Gibson has fostered his artistic talent, his skills as a counselor and future therapist, and his advocacy on behalf of veterans.

When asked why he decided to move from his native California to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work at ���ϲ�����, Gibson is to-the-point: “���ϲ����� is the number one private school for veterans, hands down. I really saw that firsthand through the implementation of the DSL program.”

Gibson is referring to the University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Disability Services Liaison program, his “pet project” that allowed him to fully display his passion for helping and supporting veterans. The program ensures veteran students are connected to University and other external resources enabling the student veteran success on campus. As an undergraduate, Gibson also served on the Disability External Review Committee, charged by University Chancellor Kent Syverud to provide policy advice regarding disability culture on campus.

After completing a master’s degree, Gibson says he hopes to divide his time between clinical social work and working for a nonprofit. With military experience in Marine expeditionary units in 13 countries—and visits to seven more—Gibson says where he practices in the future is not as important as the mission.

“Because of this perspective, I have come to understand that team and purpose supersede geography. I mean, I’d love to be somewhere a little bit warmer, but really it’s about the mission and the team,” Gibson says. “If I can have a good mission that I’m passionate about and have a team that’s supportive, I can make a nest anywhere on earth.”

Peter Blanck

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was ambitious federal legislation designed to promote employment inclusion, along with increased civic and social opportunity in other areas of daily life, by reducing attitudinal and structural barriers for people with disabilities. At the heart of this drive for inclusion was the ADA’s workplace accommodation principle. Today, the accommodation principle means using remote work options, as well as flexible hours and individualized reasonable adjustments to tasks and technologies, to enable full and equal economic participation across the spectrum of disabilities.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ADA, the (JOOR) is proud to present a special section of articles guest edited by Peter Blanck, University Professor in the College of Law and chairman of the . On Sept. 1, Blanck became principal investigator of the new Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Inclusive Employment Policy, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). NIDILRR is a center within the Administration for Community Living in the Department of Health and Human Services.

The special JOOR series provides historical and contemporary perspectives on emergent issues involving people with disabilities who have the capacity and interest to work. Unfortunately, many are still unable to participate in the economic mainstream even with the availability of workplace accommodations such as remote work and individualized adjustments.

The articles highlight emerging research, policy and law on the future of employment and the accommodation principle for people with disabilities, envisioning a potential future of full disability-inclusive employment.

To read the articles in full, visit the following links:

The program will explore the intersection of climate change, disability, literature and faith through the topic “‘Moby Dick,’ Faith and Ecology.” Led by guest co-facilitator Ralph Savarese, a professor at Grinnell College, and graduate student co-facilitator Sarah Nahar, the event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on .

Savarese teaches American literature, disability studies, medical humanities and creative writing at Grinnell College. He is the author of “”��(Duke University Press). He has also written books of prose and poetry, and has won numerous awards for his writing, research and scholarship. Learn more about Savarese on his��.

Sarah Nahar is a nonviolent action trainer and interspiritual theologian. She is a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Sciences, and her focus is on ecological regeneration, community cultivation and spiritual activism. Previously, Nahar was a 2019 Rotary Peace Fellow and worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta.

Registration for this program is required and is available directly on the . Those who would like or prefer alternative registration are invited to contact Hendricks Chapel at��chapel@syr.edu��or 315.443.2901.

All participants are welcome to bring their own meal to the “virtual table” during the conversation. Although this semester’s Interfaith Dialogue Dinner series will not permit the sharing of a traditionally provided, inclusive dinner, both virtual conversations being held during the Fall 2020 semester will allow participants to break bread in company with one another, providing secular and spiritual nourishment.

This program is free and open to the public. Live captioning, American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and image descriptions will be provided. For requests for additional accommodations or questions, contact Hendricks Chapel at��chapel@syr.edu��or 315.443.2901.

The Fall 2020 “Common and Diverse Ground” series is co-sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Over the past five years, the series has brought members of the campus community together in an inclusive environment to explore challenging contemporary issues. These dialogues have typically taken place through in-depth, in-person conversations. However, this semester the Interfaith Dialogue Dinners will take place on Zoom, expanding opportunities for participants within and beyond Central New York while maintaining an accessible space for all.

The first program of this semester will explore the topic, “Black Liberation Theology of Disability,” as part of Disability Awareness Month, which is recognized annually in October. Led by guest co-facilitator Rev. Kendrick Kemp ’02 and graduate student Ethan Smith ’20, the event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on .

Kemp is a professional speaker who has shared his personal stories about disability and race throughout the country to advocate for the equality of disabled BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color). He is a 2002 graduate of ���ϲ����� who is currently pursuing his doctorate in ministry at Howard University’s School of Divinity. Learn more about Kemp and Black Liberation Theology of Disability on .

Smith is the convener of the Student Assembly of Interfaith Leaders (S.A.I.L.) of Hendricks Chapel and he has worked throughout campus to promote interfaith cooperation and understanding. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

Registration for this program is required, and is available directly on the . Those who would like or prefer alternative registration are invited to contact Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901.

All participants are welcome to bring their own meal to the “virtual table” during the conversation. Although this semester’s Interfaith Dialogue Dinner series will not permit the sharing of a traditionally provided, inclusive dinner, both virtual conversations being held during the Fall 2020 semester will allow participants to break bread in company with one another, providing secular and spiritual nourishment.

The second virtual Interfaith Dialogue Dinner of Fall 2020 will take place on Nov. 9 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., also via . Guest co-facilitator Ralph Savarese, a professor at Grinnell College, and graduate student co-facilitator Sarah Nahar will lead a conversation about “‘Moby Dick,’ Faith and Ecology,” focused on the intersection of climate change, disability, literature and faith. Learn more about Savarese’s research and scholarship on his . Registration is required, and is available on the .

Both events in the series are free and open to the public. Live captioning, American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and image descriptions will be provided at both programs. For requests for additional accommodations or questions, contact Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901 at least one week prior to the event date.

The Fall 2020 “Common and Diverse Ground” series is co-sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Hilary Weaver

On Oct. 22 and 23, the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), housed within the College of Law, and the ���ϲ����� Humanities Center, whose home is the College of Arts and Sciences, are hosting two virtual events on disability and future thinking. Both events are part of , the Humanities Center’s annual public events series. This year’s programming engages the meaning and impact of “Futures” from diverse perspectives and genres across a range of locations, locally and globally. The events also honor and contribute to National Disability Awareness Month, celebrated each year in October.

“The two-day ‘Futures’ event is an excellent opportunity for those involved in social work, members of the disability community and Indigenous community, and many other individuals and groups to examine methods of change to positively impact those with disabilities,” says Diane Wiener, research professor and associate director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach at BBI. “July 26, 2020, was the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); the two-day ‘Futures’ event could not be more timely. Professor Weaver brings years of expertise and experience in multicultural, Indigenous-centered social work to our collaborative discussion on the future of the disability community and thoughtful, practical ways to imagine and create a more inclusive and accessible world. We are honored and thrilled to have her join us, virtually.”

“(Dis)ability Futures and Indigeneity: Critical Epistemologies for Social Change”
Virtual lecture on Oct. 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. ET

Guest Speaker: , associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, University at Buffalo

In mainstream thinking, disabilities are frequently perceived as deficits, emboldened by values borne out of colonization. In this lecture, Weaver instead draws on traditional Indigenous understandings, wisdom, and knowledge to answer vital questions. What can the United States and the rest of the world learn to change our future, by making disabilities and other differences understandable, without applying a deficit model? The future does not need to be as hierarchical as the present.

RSVP by Oct. 16 to receive the link to the event.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and live captioning will be provided. Please indicate any other accommodations requests when RSVPing.

“The Medicine Wheel as a Framework for Understanding Disabilities: Informing Our Future Thinking, Informing Our Future Actions”
Virtual workshop on Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon ET

Guest Speaker: , associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, University at Buffalo

The Medicine Wheel is a powerful symbol for many Native Americans and it contains many layers of meaning. In this workshop, Weaver explores how components of the Medicine Wheel can be used to understand traditional Indigenous ideas about disabilities. Participants will engage with relevant Native American teachings and interpretations to understand how these ideas can shift our understanding of different abilities of Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart. Discussion focuses on how, as individuals and more broadly, we can work toward change, reduce stigma and “othering,” and forge a better future in our shared world.

RSVP by Oct. 16 to receive the link to the event.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and live captioning will be provided. Please indicate any other accommodations requests when RSVPing.

Note: a special opportunity for NY State licensed social workers, the School of Social Work Continuing Education Program is offering free continuing education (CE) contact hours for these events. If you are eligible and interested in obtaining free CE’s for this event, please express interest when you RSVP. Earn up to four Continuing Education contact hours on Oct. 22 (2 CEs) and Oct. 23 (2 CEs). is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0106. Please for more information.

Additional supporters of the two-day symposium are the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics; the Office of Diversity and Inclusion; the Department of Religion; the Native American and Indigenous Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Native American SUNY: Western Consortium.

“Increasing Access and Opportunity” is the October 2020 theme for the annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This year marks the 75th year of NDEAM lead by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). This year 2020 also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 100th anniversary of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR).

For more information, visit��.

You can view��the �� and��.

Peter Blanck

On Friday, Sept. 25, at 4 p.m., will address a virtual symposium hosted by the Disability Allied Law Students Association (DALSA) at the New York University School of Law to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Blanck’s address will reflect on the current state of disability law in the U.S., with a particular focus on COVID-19, and intersections with criminal justice, poverty and race.

Through the symposium, DALSA—NYU Law’s affinity group for students with disabilities and allies—hopes attendees will not just recognize the ADA as a piece of valuable disability rights legislation, but also how much work remains to reach a fully equal society for people with disabilities.

Blanck, University Professor in the College of Law, will also discuss his recent research regarding the lack of disability diversity in the legal profession. In a to focus on non-visible identities in law, he and his co-authors found that while a quarter of respondents said they had a health condition, impairment or disability, only a third of those respondents identified as disabled.

Friday’s keynote address will wrap up a series of panels reflecting on the intersections of disability, poverty, criminal justice and more, with experts from around the country. Participants included Rebecca Cokley, founding director of the Center for American Progress’ Disability Justice Initiative; abolition and disability scholar, Associate Professor Jamelia N. Morgan; West Resendes, Skadden Fellow at the ACLU Disability Rights Program; Rupa Valdez, president of the Blue Trunk Foundation and Associate Professor at UVA; and Britney Wilson, staff attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, among others.

This symposium is co-sponsored by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; NYU Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging; NYU Center for Disability Studies; NYU Annual Survey of American Law; NYU Law Review; NYU Review of Law and Social Change; and multiple student groups at NYU Law: Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association; Black Allied Law Students Association; Coalition on Law & Representation; I-PREP; Latinx Law Students Association; Law Women; Mental Health Law and Justice Association; Middle Eastern Law Students Association; Public Interest Law Student Association; and Women of Color Collective.

Peter Blanck

The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at ���ϲ����� has received $4.3 million from the (NIDILRR) to lead a new national Rehabilitation Research Training Center (RRTC) on Disability Inclusive Employment Policy.

Given the adverse impacts of COVID-19—and with more than 50 million individuals nationwide having lost jobs—the RRTC will address current challenges to the employment and economic advancement of persons with disabilities.

“Today’s unprecedented health and economic challenges raised by the coronavirus pandemic require a comprehensive analysis of U.S. employment policy for individuals with disabilities,” says University Professor Peter Blanck, BBI chairman and principal investigator for the project. “The new RRTC examines the employment lifecycle in consideration of individual disabilities, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and other identities. It will examine national and local policies and programs to promote employment and economic advancement of people with disabilities.”

The RRTC’s agenda is led by diverse and influential members of the disability community. The Center also involves nationally recognized researchers from BBI, Harvard University and Rutgers University, along with leading national policy and disability organizations such as the National Governors Association, Disability:IN, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living Research Utilization, Association for People Supporting Employment First, National Disability Institute, American Association of People with Disabilities and others.

To inform policies and behavior, the RRTC team will target key audiences, including employers, service providers, policymakers and people with disabilities and their families.

Blanck adds that the RRTC will “ambitiously look across the employment lifecycle to enhance employment entry, economic outcomes and career growth.” The five-year project will develop a post-COVID-19 policy framework to accelerate opportunities for employment, career pathways, entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency for youth and adults across the spectrum of disability.

Frieden is a well-known disability rights activist and a leader in the independent living movement. He is a professor of biomedical informatics and rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He also directs the Independent Living Research Utilization program at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, home of the Southwest ADA Center, one of ten regional ADA centers in the ADA National Network.

From 2002-06, Frieden served by appointment of President George W. Bush as chairman of the National Council on Disability.

“ADA Live!” is a free online program of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the at ���ϲ�����. “ADA Live!” focuses on the rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The podcast will be available at and��an interactive transcript and text version will be available on the .

The ground-breaking civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, turns 30 in 2020. Eve Hill, one of the nation’s foremost disability rights attorneys, will chat with Coelho about the passage of the ADA, how the ADA has transformed the lives of people with disabilities and a look toward the future of disability rights.

Coelho is a lifelong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, and as someone with a disability who has faced discrimination, he shares his unique perspective on how the ADA has made an impact in the lives of people with disabilities. Coelho has had a distinguished career as a congressman, including serving as chair of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities from 1994 until 2001. He currently serves as chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation.

Connect and engage in the #ADA30 celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and .

“ADA Live!” is a free online program of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the at ���ϲ�����. “ADA Live!” focuses on the rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Inclusive Public Space project is a global interdisciplinary research effort that explores the social justice problems caused by city streets that limit access for some pedestrians. The project focuses specifically on pedestrians with disabilities who may have difficulties using the pedestrian paths because of the way streets are designed, managed or maintained. Poor maintenance, uneven surfaces, potholes, poor lighting and other streetscape structures also create barriers.

The project is led by principal investigator Professor Anna Lawson from the University of Leeds. Peter Blanck, University Professor and BBI chairman, and Barry Whaley, project director of the Southeast ADA Center, are involved, along with colleagues from the University of Leeds and collaborators in the Netherlands, India and Kenya.

The project has three objectives:

• to understand, via interviews, how exclusion affects the lives of people with disabilities;
• to understand how law influences the inclusiveness of public spaces; and
• to raise awareness of the impact of exclusionary spaces.

“The built environment is not always an inclusive place for people with disabilities,” Whaley says. “Our hope is to learn through law, policy and practice how to improve pedestrian inclusion in the public right of way.”

To learn more about the Inclusive Public Space project, visit .

About the University of Leeds

The University of Leeds, established in 1904, is one of the largest institutions of higher education in the United Kingdom. The origins of the university can be traced back to the Leeds School of Medicine, founded in 1831, and the Yorkshire College of Science, founded in 1874. The University of Leeds is known globally for its academic excellence and research. The university is a leader in promoting gender equality and inclusion and is a multicultural and international institution. Learn more at .

About BBI

The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at ���ϲ����� reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic and social participation of people with disabilities. Through program development, research and public policy guidance, BBI advances the full inclusion of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in ���ϲ�����; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; New York City; and Lexington, Kentucky. Learn more at .

The portal, in development since mid-March, began as a way for the SEADA to provide timely and relevant information for people with disabilities about the COVID-19 pandemic and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Individuals can explore the portal through alerts, fast facts, virtual events and more than 400 resources from known national, federal, state and organizational sources. Some information is available in Spanish and American Sign Language.

“As the worldwide pandemic unfolded, it became clear that people with disabilities and older adults were most at risk of becoming ill and facing a life-threatening virus,” says Southeast ADA Center Director Barry Whaley. “It is our duty to provide accurate information and resources for people to access in the midst of food, housing and financial insecurities.”

The portal also invites people with disabilities, older adults, families, caregivers and direct support professionals to share their stories of how COVID-19 has changed their lives: by writing an essay or creating a poem or sending an art piece, photo, audio file or video that shows the impact of the pandemic.

For more information, visit the

About BBI

The Burton Blatt Institute at ���ϲ����� reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic and social participation of people with disabilities. Through program development, research and public policy guidance, BBI advances the full inclusion of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in ���ϲ�����; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; New York City; and Lexington, Kentucky. Learn more at .

About the Southeast ADA Center

The Southeast ADA Center is a leader in providing information, training and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and disability access tailored to the needs of business, government and individuals at local, state and regional levels. The Southeast ADA Center also conducts research to reduce and eliminate barriers to employment and economic self-sufficiency and to increase the civic and social participation of people with disabilities. Located in Atlanta, the Southeast ADA Center is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute and one of 10 regional centers in the ADA National Network, funded since 1991 by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Learn more at .

The episode is available Wednesday, April 8, at 1 p.m. on and on the . An interactive transcript and text version are also provided.

The podcast series is titled “Protecting Your Mental Health During the Coronavirus Outbreak.” The third and final segment is available Wednesday, April 15, at 1 p.m. It features Blake Jones, a faculty member at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work and a private therapist.

The first segment—which is now online at SoundCloud ADA Live! and on the ADA Live! website—was an interview with Doreen Marshall, vice president of programs at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Each episode is 30-45 minutes in length.

“ADA Live!” is a free online program of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the at ���ϲ�����. “ADA Live!” focuses on the rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The podcast and an interactive transcript and text version are available Wednesday at 1 p.m. on and on the .

This the first in a three-part podcast series on “Protecting Your Mental Health During the Coronavirus Outbreak.” Each episode is 30-45 minutes in length.

Part Two, available April 8 at 1 p.m., features Debbie Plotnik from Mental Health America. Parth Three, available April 15 at 1 p.m., has special guest Blake Jones, a faculty member at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work and a private therapist.

“ADA Live!” is a free online program of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the at ���ϲ�����. “ADA Live!” focuses on the rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Shanti Das

The University’s ongoing Interfaith Dialogue Dinner Series, “Common and Diverse Ground: Raising Consciousnesses by Acknowledging the ‘Hidden’ Things that Divide Us,” continues on Tuesday, March 3, with the second dialogue of the Spring 2020 semester.

The dialogue will include an in-depth discussion on “Faith and Mental Health” with guest co-facilitator Shanti Das ’93 and graduate student co-facilitator Shaelise Tor.

Das is an accomplished entertainment industry veteran, speaker, author and philanthropist. Her music industry career (from intern to executive vice president) included positions at Capitol Records, LaFace Records, Columbia Records, Sony Urban Music and Universal Motown where she worked directly with some of music’s top talent like OutKast, Usher, Prince, TLC, Toni Braxton, Erykah Badu and more. She is also the founder of , a nonprofit that seeks to normalize the conversation around mental health and wellness by curating community conversations, creating content and broadening awareness and education.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Noble Room of Hendricks Chapel. Dinner starts at 5 p.m. The gathering will include a shared meal, facilitated dialogue and two periods of mindful meditation (at the beginning and the end). American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and inclusive food will be provided. Requests for accommodations or food queries should be made in advance by contacting Diane Wiener at dwiener@law.syr.edu.

The third Interfaith Dialogue Dinner of Spring 2020 will take place on March 23 with guest co-facilitator Professor Ralph Savarese of Grinnell College and graduate student co-facilitator Sarah Nahar. That event, “‘Moby Dick,’ Faith and Ecology,” will also be held in the Noble Room of Hendricks Chapel and will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner, followed by the discussion at 5:30 p.m. All events in the series are free, open to the public and do not require an RSVP.

The Spring 2020 “Common and Diverse Ground” series is co-sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach in the Burton Blatt Institute, Intergroup Dialogue and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Over the past five years, the series has brought members of the campus community together in an inclusive environment to explore challenging contemporary issues.

Learn more about the March 3 dialogue dinner on the . For more information on the event series, contact Hendricks Chapel at��chapel@syr.edu��or 315.443.2901.

This makes the journal free, available and searchable for any interested readers. “Assuming responsibility for the open access publication of Wordgathering aligns with the University’s goal of providing shared competency opportunities for students and other constituents around ethics, integrity and a commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion,” said Wiener.

Wordgathering provides an accessible venue for featuring the work of emerging and well-known disabled writers committed to disability poetry, literature and the arts. “As the United States prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2020, offering Wordgathering via open access is especially important as a demonstrable example of the progress we’ve made,” said Wiener. ���ϲ����� is planning several events in the fall of 2020 to celebrate the ADA’s history and the extensive work across disciplines and in the context of the .

For more information, visit or email wordgathering@syr.edu.

MK Czerwiec, R.N., M.A., a.k.a. “Comic Nurse”, will lecture on the emerging field of graphic medicine on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 4 to 6 p.m. at SUNY Upstate Medical University, New Academic Building 4414BC. Czerwiec will discuss how the growing field of graphic medicine can benefit all involved in health care, whether in the clinic, the classroom or the community.

On Friday, Jan. 24, Czerwiec will lead a workshop on graphic medicine exercises from 10 a.m. to noon at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Setnor Hall 3509/10. In this session, participants will engage with graphic medicine exercises to explore creative, reflective and inclusive practices for the care of self and others.

Both events are free and open to the public.

“These ���ϲ����� Symposium events will address issues of power in the silencing of disability and the ‘voices‘ of those who experience barriers in healthcare and healthcare education and practice,” says Diane Wiener, research professor and associate director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach for BBI. “These events will also address how disabled people’s ‘voices‘ are sometimes silenced in Graphic Medicine, the comics industry, and beyond, thus demonstrating why adaptations are necessary to (re)fashion a primarily visual medium so that it is consistently accessible to a spectrum of creators and audiences.”

As was the case with the fall 2019 installments in the series, the symposium is sponsored by the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, the Consortium for Culture and Medicine (Le Moyne College, ���ϲ����� and SUNY Upstate Medical University), and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Czerwiec has been making comics under the pseudonym Comic Nurse since 2000. With UK physician Ian Williams, she co-runs GraphicMedicine.org, a website devoted to the intersection of comics and health. Her first graphic memoir, “Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371” (Penn State University Press, 2017), is believed to be the first graphic memoir created by a nurse. She is also a co-author of the Eisner Award-nominated Graphic Medicine Manifesto (Penn State University Press, 2015) which maps the field of Graphic Medicine.

The event locations have wheelchair-accessible space and bathrooms. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided. Please refrain from using scented products to ensure the comfort and safety of participants.

For information on parking or to request additional accommodations, please contact Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri at 315.443.2156 or razubal@law.syr.edu by Jan. 16.

Before her rights were taken away, Jenny Hatch had her own apartment, worked, spent time with friends and went to a church of her choice. After a court ordered her into guardianship, Hatch found herself in a group home against her will with her cell phone and laptop taken away, cut off from her friends and not allowed to go to her job and church.

In his new book (Amazon Digital Services, 2019),��Jonathan Martinis, along with Peter Blanck, tells Hatch’s story, including how she lost her rights under guardianship and how she won them back when she showed the court that she uses Supported Decision-Making (SDM) to make her own decisions with help from people she trusts. The authors also show how people can use SDM in their life, with family members or others, including in programs like special education, vocational rehabilitation and person-centered planning.

In 2019, the National Council on Disability reported that 45-55 percent of people with Intellectual and/or developmental disability are under some form of guardianship. “Supported Decision-Making” is a practical guide for family members, human service professionals, and people in or facing guardianship.��Martinis and Blanck hope that people with disabilities and their families, friends and professionals will use the book to help develop customized SDM plans that protect the rights of the individual with a disability and empower them to make their own decisions.

The next free webinar—Thursday, Nov. 21, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.—is “Mobile Accessibility: Applying WCAG Standards to Mobile Apps” with guest speaker Pamela Thomas, accessibility analyst in ���ϲ����� Information Technology Services.

The series is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. Co-hosts include the Pacific ADA Center, the Great Lakes ADA Center and the ADA National Network.

Captioning will be provided for the webinar. For registration and more information, visit the�� website.

The theme of the Nov. 11 dialogue dinner is “The Surprising Global Legacy of Anne Frank.” Gillian Walnes Perry, co-founder and honorary vice president of the Anne Frank Trust UK and author of (Pen and Sword, 2018), is the dialogue co-facilitator. The evening is co-sponsored by ���ϲ����� Hillel and will take place at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life, 102 Walnut Place. Dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the dialogue from 6 to 8 p.m.

“I am so delighted to address the Interfaith Dialogue Dinner on Nov. 11,” says Walnes Perry. “The aims and inclusive ethos of this popular event, held for both university and public, sit so well with the work and mission of the Anne Frank educational work worldwide, including the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect in New York. I will be relating how learning about Anne Frank has affected young people for the good in some of the world’s most conflicted and turbulent regions, and how Anne’s diary inspired people such as Nelson Mandela. I hope this will be a springboard for some very exciting Anne Frank educational activity in ���ϲ�����.”

The gathering will include a shared meal, facilitated dialogue and two periods of mindful meditation (at the beginning and the end). American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and inclusive food will be provided. Requests for accommodations or food queries should be made in advance by contacting Bonnie Shoultz at bshoultz@syr.edu.

The fall 2019 “Common and Diverse Ground” series is co-sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach in the Burton Blatt Institute, Intergroup Dialogue, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. For several years, the series has brought members of the campus community together in an inclusive environment to explore challenging contemporary issues.

“The Interfaith Dialogue Dinner Series seeks to serve as a direct expression of ���ϲ�����’s longstanding commitment to fostering and supporting an inclusive, accessible campus community of opportunity for a richly diverse student body,” says the Rev. Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel. “We at Hendricks Chapel are honored to support these important opportunities alongside such committed campus and community partners, because together we affirm that education informed by multiple points of view, life experiences, ethnicities, cultures, abilities and belief systems is essential to academic excellence.”

Learn more about the Nov. 11 dialogue dinner on the��. For more information on the series, contact Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901.

Elizabeth J. Donaldson, professor of English and interim associate dean for curriculum and student success at the New York Institute of Technology.

���ϲ�����’s Humanities Center and the Burton Blatt Institute’s (BBI) Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach are hosting the two-part ���ϲ����� Symposium, “‘Cripping’ Graphic Medicine: Psychiatric Disability, ‘Crip’ Culture and the Humanities.” Elizabeth J. Donaldson, professor of English and interim associate dean for curriculum and student success at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), will give a public lecture on these topics on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Professor Donaldson will follow up her lecture by leading “Drawing Out the Public Sphere: A Workshop on ‘Cripping’ Graphic Medicine” starting at 10 a.m. in 304 Tolley Humanities Building.

This symposium, in the emerging cross-disciplinary field of graphic medicine, engages ���ϲ�����’s and SUNY Upstate Medical University’s constituents in collaboration by drawing linkages across disability studies and the health humanities. Both events are free and open to the public. Community members are encouraged to attend. An RSVP is not needed for the lecture; please RSVP to Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri for workshop participation (information follows).

The Consortium for Culture and Medicine—involving Le Moyne College, ���ϲ����� and SUNY Upstate Medical University—and the ���ϲ����� College of Arts and Sciences are co-sponsors of the events.

Today, graphic memoirs are both popular and acclaimed: for example, Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home” (2006) is taught in college courses and has been adapted into an award-winning Broadway musical. Yet, when Justin Green published his 40-page autobiographical comic, “Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary,” in 1972, he was breaking new ground and inventing a new form. By reading Binky Brown as a disability memoir, Donaldson argues that psychiatric disability and the empathetic treatment of mental health issues are foundational to this genre. Contemporary graphic memoirs of psychiatric disability are both a legacy of Green’s innovative confessional comics and an extension of his work. For students of disability studies, these graphic texts challenge stereotypes of mental illness and offer important and unique insights into the experiences of people living with madness and psychiatric disability.

“These ���ϲ����� Symposium events will address issues of power in the silencing of disability and the��‘voices’ of those who experience barriers in healthcare and healthcare education and practice,” said Diane Wiener, research professor and associate director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach for BBI. “The event will also address how disabled people’s ‘voices’ are sometimes silenced in graphic medicine, the comics industry and beyond, thus demonstrating why adaptations are necessary to (re)fashion a primarily visual medium so that it is consistently accessible to a spectrum of creators and audiences.”

A second lecture and workshop in this series will be held in Spring 2020 with MK Czerwiec, a.k.a. Comic Nurse.

Event Details

Tuesday, Oct. 29:��‘Cripping’ Graphic Medicine: Psychiatric Disability, ‘Crip’ Culture and the Health Humanities
Public lecture by NYIT Professor Elizabeth J. Donaldson
4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library
Light refreshments will be served.

Wednesday, Oct. 30:��Drawing Out the Public Sphere: A Workshop on ‘Cripping’ Graphic Medicine
Workshop led by NYIT Professor Elizabeth J. Donaldson
10 a.m.-noon
304 Tolley Humanities Building
Please call 315.443.2156 or email razubal@law.syr.edu to RSVP for this workshop.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided during the lecture and workshop. For other accommodations, contact Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri at 315.443.2156 or razubal@law.syr.edu.

The new Wordgathering publication team, from left to right: Amanda Page, Diane R. Wiener and Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri. (Not pictured: Kate Deibel)

���ϲ�����’s Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) and ���ϲ����� Libraries will be assuming publication in December 2019 of the digital open access journal and website, . Diane R. Wiener, research professor and associate director of BBI’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, will take over as editor-in-chief from Wordgathering’s founder and long-time editor, Michael Northen. Further support and advisement will come from ���ϲ����� colleagues Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri, administrative assistant of BBI’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach; Amanda Page, open publishing and copyright librarian at ���ϲ����� Libraries; and Kate Deibel, inclusion and accessibility librarian at ���ϲ����� Libraries. As part of this transition, the journal will be made fully open access over the course of the next several issues. Assuming responsibility of open access publication of Wordgathering aligns with the University’s goal of providing shared competency opportunities for students around ethics, integrity, and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“As we celebrate disability awareness and appreciation month and open access week in October, it’s fitting that we celebrate this Wordgathering transition too,” says Wiener. “���ϲ����� Libraries’ Open Publishing Services supports publication of several journals, including , ��and . Adding to this portfolio is a natural extension,” says Page.

In an (Ability Center endowed chair in disability studies at the University of Toledo), the members of the Wordgathering transition team share additional details and background around the transition. Wordgathering was originally published in March 2007 to showcase the work of disabled poets. Later, audio versions were added to accompany the poems in text copy, enhance accessibility and increase readers’ aesthetic experience. The journal evolved to include poetry, essays, book reviews, interviews, fiction, art, excerpts and other work from contributors with myriad disabilities, as well as work by nondisabled people. The journal provides diverse, cross-disability perspectives.

According to the current editor of Wordgathering, Michael Northen, “…Books by poets who actually wrote about their own disabilities in poetry prior to 2000, could literally be counted on one hand…for the first time [with the publishing of Wordgathering], the poets in my group saw their own lives reflected in the poetry they read.” Dr. Kate Deibel notes “Technology has certainly opened up opportunities for disabled creators to contribute their works. I’ll be working to ensure that can continue with Wordgathering, as well as ensuring that people of all abilities can read the content in the journal.”

Northen goes on to say that the transition of publication to ���ϲ����� will enable “the marvelous archive of disability writing published in Wordgathering over the past thirteen years [to] be preserved and accessible to any interested readers or researchers…[and] the available resources that ���ϲ����� has to offer. The journal, under Diane’s direction, and with advisement, sponsorship and support from ���ϲ����� Libraries, the Burton Blatt Institute and others, will be able to expand and develop in directions that have not been possible up to this point.”

According to Wiener, “In thinking of disability arts and literature as facets of cultural diplomacy and communication, broadly, Wordgathering is well-situated to engage actively in and be among the leaders of an ever-expansive discussion and demonstration of Disability, Deaf, Neurodivergent (including Autistic), Mad and Crip poetics, in the world today.”

For more information, visit .

About ���ϲ����� Libraries:

���ϲ����� Libraries provides expertise, information and tools for students, faculty and staff, alumni and the community. With over 4.8 million volumes of resources accessed by 1.2 million physical visits and 1.3 million online visits annually, the Libraries provides information services, responsive collections, knowledgeable staff, and safe and accessible physical and digital spaces that encourage intellectual exploration. In so doing, the Libraries enable the creation of new knowledge, catalyze scholarly collaboration and cultural exchange, and advance ���ϲ�����’s teaching, learning and research mission.

About the Burton Blatt Institute:

The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at ���ϲ����� reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of , former dean of SU’s School of Education and a pioneering disability rights scholar, to better the lives of people with disabilities. BBI has offices in ���ϲ�����, NY, New York City, Washington, D.C., Lexington, Kentucky, and Atlanta, GA.

About the BBI Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach:

The Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach will create and advance interdisciplinary, intersectional educational programs, research and pedagogy focused on disability justice, identities, cultures and studies. The office will also engage with a wide array of University constituents to interface, network and collaborate with local, regional, national and global partners, and pursue development and advancement opportunities that underscore, celebrate and enhance the rich and nuanced experiences of disabled people. Disabled students, faculty, staff and alumni—including the significant experience and contributions of veterans—will be at the heart of this initiative.

“Disability Arts and Culture as Vital Performance” is supported by the 2019 Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) Grant program and BBI’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach.

Thursday, Oct. 17, 4-5:30 p.m., with a reception and book signing to follow, Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library

“In the Province of the Gods”: A Reading by Kenny Fries

Fries is a poet and nonfiction writer who has explored multiple facets of disability and cross-cultural experience from the Galapagos to Japan to contemporary Europe. He will read from his recent work.

Friday, Oct. 18, Noon-1:30, Cortland Lecture Hall, Room 340, Dineen Hall

New Opportunities for Contemporary Disability Writing and Cultural Diplomacy: A Pane Presentation

A panel featuring disabled poets and writers Jennifer Bartlett, Sheila Black, Fries and Connie Voisine, with Christopher Merrill, director of the international writing program at the University of Iowa. Moderated by University Professor Stephen Kuusisto, CUSE Grant principal investigator.

The panel will discuss the development of a new international disability and cultural diplomacy initiative, including experiences and thoughts on disability and cultural engagement, what they mean, what a grassroots disability arts project could be in a global context and efforts to create an International Disabled Writing Program.

“The goal of our symposium is to highlight disability writing and culture, and to plan for a larger international cultural diplomacy program, which will introduce disability arts and culture in select global locations,” says Kuusisto.

“This coming spring, we will be hosting a second disability literature symposium as part of this grant project to address our goal of establishing an International Disabled Writer’s Program in partnership with the University of Iowa,” adds Professor Diane Wiener, co-principal investigator and associate director of BBI’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach.

“Additionally, the disability poetics and literature journal, , will be transitioning to ���ϲ�����, under the collaborative leadership of the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and ���ϲ����� Libraries. The fall 2019 and spring 2020 symposium events and the eventual establishment of an International Disabled Writer’s Program are all interconnected with Wordgathering’s new home at ���ϲ�����.”

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided during the reading and panel, and ASL interpretation will be provided during the reception and book signing. For other accommodations, contact Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri at 315.443.2156 or razubal@law.syr.edu.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and the theme for 2019 is “The Right Talent, Right Now.” The U.S. Department of Labor states this year’s theme emphasizes the essential role that people with disabilities play in America’s economic success, especially in an era when historically low unemployment and global competition are creating a high demand for skilled talent.

In recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the October guest for “ADA Live!” is Liz Weintraub, senior advocacy specialist with the Association for University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The episode is titled “Do You Want a Job or a Career? Reflections on National Disability Employer Awareness Month.” It can be heard Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m.

Weintraub will discuss her personnel career path, the challenges she has overcome, and the role that both advocacy and self-advocacy have played in her career success. She will share her work at the AUCD, including her popular video series “Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy For All.”

And Weintraub will share her thoughts on why the unemployment rate remains high for people with disabilities and the importance of thinking about a “career” versus a “job.”

Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri describes herself as a quiet, timid person. More of an observer and supporter than a do-er. Yet, her favorite superhero is Batman. And she’s passionate about the X-Men. This seeming dichotomy is the driving force behind her extraordinary work spanning more than three decades at ���ϲ�����, to support its academic reputation in the field of disability studies and advocate for her own child and for those with disabilities.

In May 2019, Zubal-Ruggieri became an administrative assistant in the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach in the�� after working as information coordinator at the����in the School of Education for 33 years.��This new post gives her an opportunity to broaden the impact of her work in inclusion and advocacy, and raise awareness globally of best practices to advance the lives and livelihoods of people with disabilities.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the beginnings of her passion. She lost hearing in one ear when she was a child and grew up without adaptive technology. She remembers having a form of social anxiety: “I was terrified to talk on the phone,” she says. “Even ordering pizza filled me with terror. It still does!”

Zubal-Ruggieri’s mother encouraged her after high school to acquire skills that would keep her employed, and with an associate degree from SUNY Alfred, she “drifted into” word processing, which appealed to her inquisitive mind.�� She became an expert at research, at digging, at sifting through mounds of material looking for answers. “I’m a finder, a keeper and never a loser,” says Zubal-Ruggieri. “I’m always searching for something someone needs.”

She has perfected that support role at ���ϲ�����. Zubal-Ruggieri was responsible for coordinating all informational materials for the Center on Human Policy and funded projects, including websites, email accounts and internet listservs, along with the design of promotional materials. All the information had to be relevant and kept current in the field of disability studies—for both faculty and students. She has compiled archives and bibliographies useful to scholar researchers. And along the way, she has learned that oftentimes the way disabilities are represented in popular culture (and hence, popular perception) is far different from scholarly works.

Zubal-Ruggieri’s deep understanding of the challenges facing people with disabilities became critical in her personal life when she gave birth to her son, now 16 years old. At two years old, he was not talking much, and he was subsequently diagnosed as having a speech delay. But with guidance, as well as her own inquiry and advocacy, he was discovered to be autistic.

“My professional life and personal life have forever merged,” writes Zubal-Ruggieri in she launched to help other families navigate the world of labels and advocacy, to share information, express emotion and, as always, be supportive. “I remember the other parts of my professional life—the support of self-advocacy, the support of people with developmental disabilities to live full and complete lives in the community, that while I push to get this diagnosis and the assistance my son needs, I realize that I am pre-loaded with knowledge to guide me forward.”

And as she gathered every piece of information she could to help her parent an autistic son, she became more distressed at the misinformation, mythologies and outright pressure on families. “The more popular narratives of parents who ‘fight’ for recoveries and cures are indeed quite contrary to the fewer, lesser known stories of parents who focus instead on acceptance, accommodation and positive autistic life,” Zubal-Ruggieri says. “As I strongly identify with these acceptance-oriented parent narratives, and as a parent who supports and works for autism acceptance, I have found that there are not enough representations of these relevant parent narratives portrayed in the media or published in general.”

Shaping public perception was what drove Zubal-Ruggieri to propose a symposium, hosted by the Disability Cultural Center at ���ϲ�����, that would focus on comics, graphic novels and other forms of popular media in a called CripCon for short. The first —the theme of which was “Fantastic! Heroic! Disabled?” —was held in 2013, and it became an annual event. With the support of multiple University partners and student leaders, the public event became a bi-annual symposium in 2017 attracting students, scholars, advocates and those interested in engaging in reflective discussions about the representations of disability that exist “beneath the surface” and explicitly within mainstream popular cultures both nationally and internationally.

Zubal-Ruggieri first proposed the idea for CripCon to Diane Wiener, founding director of the Disability Cultural Center (and now research professor and associate director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach). Together, the both admitted comic book nerds set out to change perception and the vocabulary used to define and demean others who are simply different—and to give to those often portrayed as powerless the support they need to empower themselves.

Diane Wiener, left, and Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri, right, both in full zombie makeup, for the ZOMBIE WALK N’ ROLL which took place with an accessible route on the SU Quad for Take Away the Suit, and What are You? “Cripping” the Comic Con 2014.

“I consider myself Robin to her Batman-woman,” says Wiener in describing her relationship with Zubal-Ruggieri. “Because she is one of the most sophisticated, awesome, coolest people I’ve ever met. She’s incredibly intelligent and creative with a unique combination of professionalism, talent, perseverance and a broad range of expertise. I’ve been privileged to be her partner in these important events that have helped to put ���ϲ����� at the forefront of disability studies.”

Together with illustrator Gilles Stromberg and other collaborators, Zubal-Ruggieri and Wiener created the , a team of superheroes with disabilities who take pride in and draw power from their differences. The Access Avengers are multicultural, multi-gendered and multi-ethnic superheroes who fight for an accessible world and seek justice.

The term is intended to bring awareness to the use of vocabulary that labels, marginalizes and demeans individuals. Commonly used terms like “crippling” to describe disabilities lead to harmful interpretations, including the idea that people with certain disabilities can be “fixed.” Promoting the terms “crip” and “cripping” instead of “cripple” or “crippling” provides thoughtful launching pads for discussion.

With her sensitivity to the power of words, Zubal-Ruggieri has even created her own “Dangerous Diction[ary]” of autism rhetoric used to describe (and ultimately demean) autistic people. Phrases like “combat autism” or “warrior mom” imply that it is a fight against something terrible and evil versus an acceptance of a difference. “All of these words are not just militaristic but aggressive, belligerent, uncooperative,” Zubal-Ruggieri writes in her blog. “They make me think of always having to have a winner and a loser. They make me think of how they dehumanize people to be objects, not real human beings.”

Zubal-Ruggieri continues to develop her own communication and other professional skills, knowing that she has more to learn, and the more she learns, the more she can help others. That’s why she has also been a part-time student at ���ϲ�����, taking courses toward a bachelor’s degree. She is obliged to take courses in her major, but also chooses courses “that work for me professionally and personally” like interpersonal communication or design for the business professional or a creative non-fiction intensive Maymester. Just five more courses to go before that degree. And then? She says her next step is likely to be graduate school. Makes sense for a woman who thirsts continuously for new knowledge and the opportunities to share it. Always the gatherer, the finder, the keeper, the supporter.

Wiener will discuss disability arts and culture, and their implications, as underscored by:

• representations of disability as they appear in comics and related media;
• comics and related media as produced by (dis)abled artists, writers, editors, producers and others; and
• the ways these media are (and, in some cases, are not) accessible to divergent constituents, readers, and participants who have disabilities.

She will also discuss (Dis)abling Comic Books, an Honors seminar taught at ���ϲ����� inspired by and based upon the disability-themed “Cripping” the Comic Con (“Crip Con,” for short), the only international, interdisciplinary symposium of its kind. This past spring, the course was offered for the fourth time and the sixth “Crip Con” was coordinated by Wiener with myriad University and community partners.

The webinar series is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. Co-hosts include the Pacific ADA Center, the Great Lakes ADA Center and the ADA National Network.

Captioning will be provided for the webinar. For registration and more information, visit the�� website.

Tom Harkin

The Hon. Tom Harkin—former Senator and Congressman, veteran, author, attorney and chief sponsor of the —will be the featured guest on the July 3, broadcast of , a podcast produced by the ���ϲ����� and . University Professor Peter Blanck, chairman of BBI, will interview Sen. Harkin in celebration of the 29th anniversary of this historic civil rights legislation.

Harkin served Iowa in the U.S. Senate from 1984 until his retirement in January 2015, making him the longest serving Democratic senator from his state. Previously, Harkin served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Iowa’s fifth congressional district. He is now senior advisor to the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University, Des Moines, IA.

Early in his Senate career, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy asked Harkin to craft legislation to protect the civil rights of millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities. Harkin knew firsthand about the challenges facing people with disabilities from his late brother, Frank, who was deaf from an early age. What emerged from that process would later become Harkin’s signature legislative achievement: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Considered the “Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities,” the ADA changed the landscape of America by prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in all aspects of public life, including employment, schools, transportation, local government programs and places of public accommodation. To preserve the intent of the ADA after court rulings weakened its standards, Harkin and former Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced the to ensure continuing protections from discrimination for all Americans with disabilities. It was signed into law in 2008.

In the podcast, Harkin will discuss how the ADA legislation came about, its impact over the last 29 years and the future of civil rights protections for the more than 60 million people with disabilities living in the United States.

To listen to the podcast at July 3 at 1 p.m. (EST) or any time after, visit and the . at 1 p.m. (EST) will be available.

For more information, contact the Southeast ADA Center at 404.541.9001 or visit .

Interested attendees can or register on site at the event. For those who cannot attend the event in person, the welcome and morning panel will be live streamed from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m. The panel will feature comics artists and thinkers who are disability rights activists; captions and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided. are available online.

Returning to the event this year is TGP Nominal, a United Kingdom-based podcast focused on space, science and technology news, and news from science fiction, comic cons and gaming. Audio podcasts are available on the . Contact TGP Nominal for questions about accessing the podcast.

Scarlet Saltee is an Archie Comics character.

The sixth “Cripping” the Comic Con symposium is Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Schine Student Center. The event welcomes all community members to a day centered on this year’s theme, “And Justice for All…?,” focusing on disability justice, freedom of expression and comics culture in today’s world. Participants can register now using the “Cripping” the Comic Con�� Registration is also available on site.

“‘Cripping’ the Comic Con is a disability-accessible convention, which welcomes people from every identity to come be themselves and have a good time while immersing themselves in disability-themed comics, art, workshops and presentations,” says Kate Corbett Pollack, coordinator in the Disability Cultural Center.

The symposium’s preliminary features a plenary session, seven creative workshops, complimentary breakfast and dinner buffets, a gaming room, a quiet (“low stim”) room, an accessible photo booth, autograph stations, vendors and exhibitors.

This year’s plenary panel will be moderated by Diane R. Wiener, research professor, associate director of the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, and co-creator of “Cripping” the Comic Con. The panel features seven leaders, both seasoned and emergent, in the disability and comics world:

• Nancy Silberkleit (co-CEO of Archie Comics) and Jason Harris: Silberkleit and Harris, who is autistic, will discuss a new autistic character in the Archie Comics world, Scarlet Saltee. Scarlet first appeared in Kindness Works (written by Ray Felix and penciled by Fernando Ruiz).
• Leroy F. Moore Jr. and Keith Jones: The Krip-Hop Nation founders will be discussing black disability advocacy and the arts, as well as Moore’s newly debuted graphic novel.
• Georgia Webber: Webber is the author and illustrator of “Dumb” (a term she likewise critiques), a critically acclaimed graphic memoir about vocal disability.
• Jason Pittman: Pittman will discuss his book “The War for Kaleb,” which addresses anxiety and emotional variance.
• Lucy Wales: A recent graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Wales will discuss her work in medical illustration, comics and disability justice.

The first 250 participants will receive swag bags with complimentary panelists’ artwork that can be autographed on site.

Another highlight of this year’s event is the return of Gilles Stromberg ’12, co-creator and illustrator of the . Participants can join Stromberg in a “Create Your Own Access Avenger” workshop. The Access Avengers is a team of multicultural, multi-gendered and multi-ethnic superheroes with disabilities who aim to disrupt problematic representations that are so common in mainstream comics and popular culture.

“Each time the ‘CripCon’ happens, it has its own unique life and culture. However, there is a meaningful thread through all of the symposia hosted over the years,” says Wiener. “In creating and hosting ‘Cripping’ the Comic Con, we are very committed to underscoring the importance of intersecting identities.”

Reclamation of the word “Crip” is also a key component of the event. The “CripCon” was held annually from 2013 to 2017—it is now biannual—and was co-created by Wiener to bring disability culture to the forefront. Wiener explains that while reclaiming language can at times be “a mixed bag,” the “CripCon” uses “Crip” in an empowering way. For more information, see the .

“CripCon19” is co-hosted by the Disability Cultural Center and the Burton Blatt Institute’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, with support from the Disability Student Union, the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee, the Center on Human Policy and the Office of Disability Services.

The event is free and open to the public, and includes complimentary parking in the University Avenue Garage on a first-come, first-served basis.��A livestream will also be available (details to follow).

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided for the entire symposium. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided during the plenary session. The deadline for sharing dietary preferences and for requesting other accommodations is March 29 via the . For questions regarding parking, contact Dee Bailey at debailey@syr.edu or 315.443.5319.

For more information, visit the . To volunteer, complete the . Refer to the for locations.

This article was written by Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience communications intern Nadia Suleman ’19.

The experimental film—by Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, both faculty members in the Department of Transmedia in the —tells the story of a woman with mental and emotional disabilities. The screening will be followed by a discussion and reception.

Emily Vey Duke (right) and Cooper Battersby

Vey Duke and Battersby have collaborated since 1994 in print, installation, new media, curation and criticism, and art video. Their work has been shown at the Whitney Museum, The New York Film Festival, the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and elsewhere. In 2011, they were Featured Filmmakers at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. In 2016, they were Spotlight Artists at the Images Festival in Toronto.

(Dis)courses: Interdisciplinary Disability Dialogue showcases disability literature, media and the arts, focusing on contemporary critical reflection, teaching and research. “Disability is at the heart of human experience,” says University Professor Stephen Kuusisto, director of BBI’s Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach initiative. “We’re seeking a broad understanding of embodiments and imagination across academic disciplines. ���ϲ�����, with its history of disability research, scholarship, and activism, is the perfect place for these vital conversations.”

The final event in the spring 2019 series takes place on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Professor Jillian Weise of Clemson University will give a poetry reading in 001 Life Sciences Complex, followed by a discussion and book signing.

Jillian Weise

Weise is a poet, performance artist and disability rights activist. Her “The Book of Goodbyes” won the 2013 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her speculative novel, “The Colony,” features the characters of Charles Darwin, Peter Singer and James Watson. Her first book, “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex,” was re-issued in 2017 with a new preface. Weise has written about being a cyborg for Granta and The New York Times, and her next book, “Cyborg Detective,” is forthcoming. “Tips for Writers by Tipsy Tullivan,” Weise’s web series, “parrots and deranges literary ableism.” Playing the character of Tipsy across social media, this performance has been cited by Inside Higher Ed, Electric Literature and BOMB.

(Dis)courses series events are free and open to the public. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) will be provided during the readings and discussions. The March 27 film screening will be captioned and presented with descriptive audio. ASL interpretation will be provided during the reception following the film screening. For other accommodations requests, or for questions, contact BBI at least one week before a scheduled event.

Parking is complimentary, on a first-come, first-served basis. On March 27, the Marion Lot will be available, with the Q5 lot designated for accessible parking. On April 15, the Q4 lot will be available, with the Q2 lot designated for accessible parking. Parking locations can be found on the campus parking map. Questions about parking may be directed to Dee Bailey at debailey@syr.edu or 315.443.5319.

About the BBI Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach

The Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach creates and advances interdisciplinary, intersectional educational programs, research and pedagogy focused on disability justice, identities, cultures and studies. The office engages with a wide array of ���ϲ����� constituents to collaborate with local, regional, national and global partners and to pursue development and advancement opportunities that celebrate and enhance the rich and nuanced experiences of disabled people. Disabled students, faculty, staff and alumni—including the significant experience and contributions of military veterans—are the heart of the office’s mission.

Taylor Brorby

The March 7 event will feature Professor Taylor Brorby, of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in a prose reading, discussion and book signing at 7:45 p.m. in Watson Theater, Watson Hall. Brorby is an award-winning essayist and a poet whose work has been featured in North American Review, Orion and The Huffington Post. He is the author of “Crude: Poems, Coming Alive: Action and Civil Disobedience,” and co-editor of “Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America.”

“Disability is at the heart of human experience,” says University Professor Stephen Kuusisto, director of BBI’s Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach initiative. “We’re seeking a broad understanding of embodiments and imagination across academic disciplines. ���ϲ�����, with its history of disability research, scholarship and activism, is the perfect place for these vital conversations.”

The series continues on March 27 at 7 p.m. in Watson Theater, with the ���ϲ����� premiere of “You Were an Amazement on the Day You Were Born,” an experimental film that tells the story of a woman with mental and emotional disabilities. The screening will be followed by a discussion and reception.

Cooper Battersby and Emily Vey Duke

Filmmakers Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby are both faculty members in the Transmedia Department of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. They have collaborated since 1994 in print, installation, new media, curation and criticism, and art video. Their work has been shown at the Whitney Museum, The New York Film Festival, the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and elsewhere. In 2011, they were Featured Filmmakers at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and in 2016 they were Spotlight Artists at the Images Festival in Toronto.

On April 15, at 7:30 p.m., Professor Jillian Weise of Clemson University will give a poetry reading in Room 001 of the Life Sciences Building, ���ϲ�����, followed by a discussion and book signing.

Jillian Weise

Weise is a poet, performance artist and disability rights activist. “The Book of Goodbyes” won the 2013 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her speculative novel, “The Colony,” features the characters of Charles Darwin, Peter Singer and James Watson. Her first book, “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex,” was re-issued in 2017 with a new preface. Weise has written about being a cyborg for Granta and The New York Times, and her next book, “Cyborg Detective,” is forthcoming. Tips for Writers by Tipsy Tullivan, Weise’s web series, “parrots and deranges literary ableism.” Playing the character of Tipsy across social media, this performance has been cited by Inside Higher Ed, Electric Literature and BOMB.

Events in the Spring 2019 (Dis)courses series are free and open to the public. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) will be provided during the readings and discussions. The March 27 film screening will be captioned and presented with descriptive audio. ASL interpretation will be provided during the reception following the film screening. For other accommodations requests, or if you have any questions, please contact BBI at least one week before a scheduled event.

Parking is complimentary, on a first-come, first-served basis. On March 7 and 27, the Marion Lot will be available, with the Q5 lot designated for accessible parking. On April 15, the Q4 lot will be available, with the Q2 lot designated for accessible parking. Parking locations can be found on the campus parking map. Questions about parking can be directed to Dee Bailey at debailey@syr.edu or 315.443.5319.

The Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach creates and advances interdisciplinary, intersectional educational programs, research and pedagogy focused on disability justice, identities, cultures and studies.