SACRAMENTO, Calif. — July is Disability Pride Month. It's a time to honor the history, achievements, experiences and struggles of the disability community.
That's exactly what Sacramento State University is doing by opening a new Disability Cultural Center for students on campus.
Shannon Brown is a student at Sacramento State. She also works as the office manager for the university's Disability Access Center. She says the new Disability Cultural Center is a safe place for students.
"We are here, we exist and we have a space for you," said Brown. "Trying to make it through college while you're disabled is especially hard, and it's good to have the opportunity to build support systems."
Sacramento State opened the Disability Cultural Center over the summer. It's in the Academic Information and Resource Center building.
Students can relax, study, get counseling, play games and go to workshops and social events. They can also use computers to turn text into voice and vice versa.
For Brown, the center provides a sense of belonging and community too. She says the center serves students of all abilities, including herself.
"I received my own ADHD diagnosis, along with anxiety," said Brown. "I'm also a domestic violence survivor and that left me with some PTSD. My son is on the autism spectrum and I'm close-knit with the local autism community and the local neurodivergent community."
Dr. Mary Lee Vance is the director of the university's Disability Access Center. She uses a scooter to go from place to place. Vance says, "without disability, it isn't diversity."
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"The recognition of disability as an identity is critical," said Vance. "If you don't see my disability, you don't see me. And, if you do not see me in my entirety, then you're not able to advocate on my behalf for the barriers that I may experience in the physical sense."
Sacramento State is the first in the CSU system to open a Disability Cultural Center. It's one of only 18 centers on college campuses in the U.S.
The University of Illinois Chicago is tracking efforts being made to open these centers on college campuses nationwide. At least 12 more centers are set to launch in the coming year.
When it comes to the new center at Sacramento State, Vance says it's all about being more inclusive.
"To include disability within the discussions of antiracism, we have to also include antiableism," said Vance. "And, then it becomes part of a larger discussion of how do we become a campus that's more inclusive. And, that's why the Disability Cultural Center exists and the importance of it."
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