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Thursday, February 15, 2024
Volume 162 No. 10 SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
GRAPHIC BY MELANY GUTIERREZ
Disabled students establish club
By Nikita Bankar
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A new campusbased club, the Spartan Disability Alliance, is hoping to bring change and accessibility to San José State Students who live with disabilities. The Spartan Disability Alliance (SDA) is open to students of all abilities and is a space for people to connect, learn from each other and bring both accessibility and inclusivity to all parts of campus life, according to its Instagram. The club plans to have weekly meetings with a variety of disability related activities, games and host discussions on intersectionality, equity and ableism, according to the same website. SDA President Diya Agrawal, a political science sophomore, said the idea for the club was formed in September of last semester when she and justice studies junior Riya y Katyal y realized
there were no spaces for disabled students to come together to feel included in campus life. “Riya and I were wondering why there isn’t a space for disabled students to come together and be fully included, and have everything accessible to them in a recreational and social space,” she said. “We decided to soon start a club, and from there we’ve built our team.” Vice President Riya Katyal said the club will not only support students who need assistance, but will also foster a community. Katyal said she also hopes students are able to spread the word to people they know, so that their club grows. “It’s open to all people, so anyone can step in and make a difference,” she said. “We are planning to hold community building events like game nights and movie nights to show people that they are not alone.” Katyal y said one event
that further pushed the group into starting the club was a plushiemaking event in the Student Union, which was not easily accessible for Agrawal, who is in a wheelchair.
join events like these but can’t.” SDA plans to hold discussions that can help them identify where accessibility and inclusivity can be improved on campus, and
We are planning to hold community building events like game nights and movie nights to show people that they are not alone.
Riya Katyal
SDA Vice President
“We had to take the elevator up to get to the ballrooms, since the line was going down the stairs,” she said. “We really wanted to be respectful, but if we wanted to we would have to take the stairs up, and that was not an accessible option. That was when I was getting frustrated, because I understood that there are p who want to other p people
how to take steps towards change, according to their Instagram. SDA Secretary Anna Ryan, kinesiology junior, said when she came to SJSU, she immediately went to the club listings, and was surprised to find that there were no disability related clubs. “I did find the adaptive sports club, which is when q , she I inquired about it,”
said. “It is no longer in existence, so this is my way of revamping that with also adding in other aspects of disability.” Ryan said she also noticed that emergency protocol at SJSU was not accommodating for students with disabilities. After meeting both Agrawal and Katyal at the stuffed animal event, Ryan saw a sign about what action to take in case of an emergency and the content of the sign bothered her. “There was a sign that said ‘People with disabilities wait for assistance,’ ” she said. “I was like, well that’s not good. What are we going to do if there is a fire or something?” Agrawal said the club has plans to address and tackle these accessibility problems by bringing it up to the administration of the school. “It is 100% in our plans to talk to the right people, whether they be admin or otherwise,, to gget these
issues rectified,” Agrawal said. “I think these things just take a little bit more time. If they were so easy to resolve, it would have been done a while ago.” Agrawal said the club is about full acceptance of everyone, and said she hopes communication with the right individuals can help them avoid running into obstacles. Katyal said the club aspires to make a positive impact on campus life that will benefit all students, disabled or not. “We really want to make a change for the better,” she said. “It might be another hurdle, and we might struggle, but I know that we have the intention of working on this and making a change.”
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