Notre Dame student government is sparking important conversations around inclusion and education across campus, specifically through advocating for the creation of a minor in disabilities studies.
Benjamin Gallei, director of the Department of Disability Advocacy, explained the multistep process towards meeting this goal includes the department needing to accept the minor, professors committing to teach classes for it and administration facilitating an academic approval process.
”The idea has been revised and refined over the years, with other initiatives such as establishing ASL courses being created as we went along,” Gallei said.
An aspect of this initiative that has remained consistent is that it has been a student-led effort aimed at recognizing a meaningful gap in the University’s curriculum.
“We hope that this minor would allow students to be prepared to better be able to advocate for and understand the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities in their own careers and personal lives,” Gallei mentioned.
Brent Fragnoli, a care and wellness consultant at the Center for Student Support and Care, shared his strong support for the initiative.
“If a disability studies minor were to be created, it would be a meaningful step in creating an even more inclusive and empathetic community at Notre Dame,” he said.
The minor would better equip Notre Dame students with the knowledge and awareness to encourage deeper discussions of inclusion in both academic and professional workspaces.
“This would be an opportunity to broaden understanding of disability in cultural and historical perspectives and foster a deeper understanding and awareness of an important student population that our office serves,” Fragnoli said.
Senior Katie Finn has spent years advocating for increased levels of awareness on disabilities.
“Much prejudice and discrimination towards disabilities comes from a lack of understanding of disabilities themselves,” Finn said. ”If people would take the time to study disabilities, they would gain further understanding of the complexities and in turn foster more inclusive communities.”
Finn also brought attention to the gap of academic offerings in the subject area at Notre Dame. She emphasized that this minor would be valuable to students across disciplines, from healthcare to education fields, especially as they enter into diverse workplaces and leadership roles.
“If we want to truly invite educated dialogue surrounding politics and relevant topics in not only today’s society, but the future’s, then we need to study the foundations to gain understanding,” she said.
In the process of developing the minor, student government has examined similar programs at other top universities, where “Boston College, Georgetown, Villanova and WashU offer a minor to undergraduates in disability studies or a closely related subject,” Gallei said.
Student government has created a list of classes that the minor would include. Some of these are: Disability in American History and Culture, Abled in a Disabled World, Creating Inclusive Identities, Fundamentals of Austism and Social Movements for Health and Disability Justice.
Additionally, they have surveyed over 200 people to gather data about interest in the minor. Student body president Jerry Vielhauer, vice president Sonia Lumley and chief of staff Ethan Chiang have joined Gallei to discuss the addition of the minor with dean of the College of Arts and Letters Kenneth Scheve.
“The impact that I envision this minor will have on the broader scene of disability awareness on campus is that it will be a massive victory for the disability advocacy community on campus, as it would cement disability advocacy in a permanent way through the academy,” Gallei said.
Members of the Disability Advocacy Department have met with multiple departments across campus about including the minor in their curriculum.
“Even if students don’t take the minor, having the minor present can increase interest and enrollment in many disability related classes, getting students more involved,” Gallei said.
