Michael Ndubisi reports:
“Advocates for people with disabilities are working alongside University administrators with the aim of creating a cultural center for students living with disabilities. If established, a disability cultural house would become Yale’s fifth cultural center and the first in 29 years.
The push for the creation of a new cultural center began in the fall of 2019 with Disability Empowerment for Yale, which is an undergraduate advocacy and affinity organization for students with disabilities. DEFY’s then-president, Paige Lawrence ’21, and a collection of board members including Joaquín Lara Midkiff ’24, worked with the Yale College Council in drafting a proposal for adoption by the YCC Senate. DEFY worked with the YCC, the then-Resource Office on Disability (now Student Accessibility Services) and the Yale College Dean’s Office to get their proposal for the Persons with Disabilities Cultural Center off the ground.