In honor of Disability Awareness Month, the Disability Justice Fair was hosted last Wednesday which swapped the atrium’s cafeteria tables with informational posters at lunch. Students explored and engaged in activities and discussions to deepen their understanding of disability awareness.
Edie Young, the president of the Disability Student Alliance (DSA), said the purpose of the fair was to educate the school community. Young started the fair in her sophomore year with the support of the Student Government, and it became a “huge success,” causing its continuation for a third year.
Students and members of the Jackson-Reed community were given a “passport,” which was a sheet of paper with various questions about the different tables. Tables included the invisible and undiagnosed disabilities table, which included flyers containing tips to help support disabled friends and tips to help one share a condition with a friend or family member.
Other tables, such as the sensory disability table and the physical disability table, portrayed the various types of disabilities and treatment methods. The “spread the word to end the word” table contained information on the importance of society to stop using the “R” word. A poster labeled the “JR Inclusivity Tree” displayed on the table was decorated with white paper hearts, where people signed their name in support to end the use of the word.
Katherine Dorsey, the DSA sponsor, added that the fair was “important because people with disabilities are often overlooked and misunderstood. Even outside of this school, with the community and the world, people with disabilities aren’t given the same opportunities and rights.”
Junior DSA secretary Mira Klouda hopes that the club “creates an environment where everyone is accepted regardless of their ability. While we have our differences, we should try to accommodate those differences so that we can all just live our lives to the fullest and just sort of thrive.”
Klouda helped run the mental health table, which presented information about stress, coping mechanisms, healthy relationships, and different mental health disabilities.
“We should all be treated with love and respect and dignity, and we’re all people at the end of the day,” said Young.
