Clare Raises Questions about Disability Access

Renowned disability and gender activist Eli Clare came to campus on Wednesday, April 30th to host his talk, “Meditations on Disabled Bodies, Natural Worlds, and a Politics of Cure.” As the title suggests, Clare ventured to tackle the difficult and often cumbersome issue of “cure” and the politics that surround it. Clare himself lives with Cerebral Palsy and identifies as genderqueer.

Through excerpts from his writings, Clare shared anecdotal evidence of the destructive nature of our culture’s “inane” search for remedy to all disability. The talk focused on a wide variety of issues under this broad umbrella, including the caustic nature of “special” nomenclature, the “ableist” practices of organizations like the Sierra Club and the perception that a “restoration of health” is necessary for all people with disabilities. Clare’s stories ranged from humorous anecdotes of unintended condescension to contemplative comparisons between environmental restoration and the desire for a cure.

While diversity is always a salient issue at the College, diversity of ability is not discussed nearly as often as are issues of racial or sexual diversity. As Clare said, the lack of conversation in the context of an elite liberal arts college can serve as an “immediate separation of these students and faculty, which is just one manifestation of segregation.”

According to Jodi Litchfield, the American with Disabilities Act Coordinator for the college, about 7 percent of the student body identified as disabled in the 2012-2013. This figure is small when compared with the U.S. totals, which hover around 19 percent according to United States Census. That number is considerably smaller for people between the ages of 15-24, but statistics for this age group were only available for “severe disabilities.” Despite considerable representation on campus, there are many challenges that face this student population.

Assistant Professor of Education Studies Tara Affolter of the Education Studies Department sees the challenges facing disabled members of the college community firsthand.

“I think Middlebury tends to echo and amplify the ways disability is viewed in dominant society,” she said. “That is, disability resides within the individual and we accommodate individuals on an individual basis (if at all).”

As someone living with a hearing impairment, Affolter has had to deal with her fair share of struggles here on campus. Five years ago, microphones were not necessarily provided at all speaking engagements, which has since changed thanks to Nathan Beman Professor of Mathematics Priscilla Bremser.

Still, accommodations for disabilities have not gone far enough, Affolter believes, because the focus on individual disabilities puts the burden of advocacy on each student or faculty member instead of making the College a more inclusive place for everyone.

“For those who become injured playing sports … they feel inclined to apologize,” said Affolter.  She listed a variety of examples, including the story of an injured athlete who had to navigate four flights of stairs to get to a class because her professor believed it was inconvenient to move the location of the class to accommodate the injured student. Affolter pointed out that many buildings on campus have little or no accessibility for people who use crutches or a wheelchair.

In light of many discussions on campus centered on body image, Clare forced a small group of students to broaden their notion of what “image” means. His prose provided an impetus for the whole campus to consider an issue that, while not often discussed, is certainly salient and affects a large portion of the college community.