Education, community-building, and advocacy as resistance to ableism: How disability leaders and activists build disability-inclusive campuses.

What is it about?

We tried to understand the goals, tactics, and actions used by students resisting and challenging ableism on and beyond college campuses. Participants included 11 students attending selective 4-year colleges and universities across the United States, 10 of whom identified as disabled. Participants described four primary strategies: education; forming, restarting, and sustaining campus disability organizations; advocacy and influencing policy; and online engagement and content Their goals included reducing nondisabled people’s ableism, having disability community, creating more accessible campuses, and responding to ableism.

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Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash

Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Stewart (2019) warned that traditional definitions of activism “render certain types of resistance invisible” (p. 4). He cautioned that defining activism solely in traditional ways would lead to failure to consider “the needs of students who resist through non-traditional means” (p. 4). College students are using multiple but often unrecognized tactics to resist ableism. They also are creating community spaces (e.g., student organizations, online communities) in which they can thrive, but often are unsupported by universities. Participants’ efforts to reduce ableism on and beyond their campuses often went without desired and potentially beneficial support from campus staff. That must change.