Feedback (worried I may have to scrap all of it) Forum

[ashapiro1998!!]

My hands quivered with anger as I read the headline of the University newspaper at my kitchen table. It was the summer of 2019 and an autistic employee at a local restaurant had been verbally assaulted by a professor from the Indiana University Department of Genetics. Although the local paper had done an excellent job in telling the story of the incident in question, more had to be done. As the founder and president of my university’s only student-run organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of the disability community both on and off campus, I knew this incident could serve as the perfect opportunity for the coalition to fulfill its mission of fighting for those with disabilities who were afraid to speak for themselves. I began to type an email to my organization’s co-founder: “Meeting this Friday, we need to talk about this.” In April 2019, I founded the Neurodiversity Coalition at Indiana University. Although there was already a weekly support group dedicated to providing a therapeutic and socializing output for students and faculty with disabilities, there were no options for these members of the community to advocate for themselves on a larger stage should they encounter discrimination in public. Following our organization’s inaugural meeting, I drafted a petition calling for the faculty member’s suspension and encouraged the participation of all 15 members of the organization in the writing process. This petition was featured on the local news and signed by over 1,000 people, leading to the faculty member’s suspension. From there, we held meetings during the first week of every month, hosted showings of films and television programs featuring neurodivergent characters with discussions on how accurate such portrayals were, and hosted vigils in which the names of those lost due to disability discrimination were read. These experiences inspired me not only to be a voice in a crowd of none but helped me develop my communication skills and proactivity. Much more than that, I had the opportunity to listen to the perspectives of those with disabilities who had been impacted by discrimination and who wanted to live in a world where they could be heard without being ignored. Although I recognize that not all stories can be adequately told enough to produce instantaneous change, to be an attorney is to ensure that such a client’s story is not only told, but that such a story can, with appropriate advocacy, lead to that client achieving their goal of a more accessible life and eventually, inspire the same for others.
Despite the Neurodiversity Coalition expanding the conversation around disability on campus, my college town had not reaped the fruits of our labor. While there were occasional messages in the local media such as one-off fundraisers, a full picture had not been painted of the political, social, and judicial integration of the disability community. As a life skills teacher at the local Adult Autism Residential Living Center who taught my students skills including how to negotiate and obtain employment and academic accommodations without fear of denial, I wanted to fill the dead air around me with a singular voice that could become many, as I had done as a student. Thinking back to when I was little, I loved listening to news radio as each story started with an overview of the events in question before cutting to the voices of those impacted. One month later, I sat in the quiet newsroom of the city’s Community Radio station, brainstorming about the best news story for the first episode of the station’s first disability news program. As I sifted through potential scoops, I discovered a story concerning a group of individuals in Upstate New York that had formed a group to sue the rideshare company Lyft. I knew that conveying complex legal analysis via the radio would be a challenging, but as someone who could recognize a great story, I called the attorney Jeremiah Frei-Pearson and the main plaintiff representing the activists. In a tone raging with passion, Mr. Pearson spoke of the plaintiff who had encountered challenges such as finding transportation to accommodate their motorized scooter in such a rural area. Because of this barrier, they could neither get to medical appointments nor share sentimental moments with those they loved such as a visit to their hospitalized husband. Throughout the production of this story, I spent hours researching dealerships that concentrated exclusively on Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, their average cost, and spoke to dealers about their experiences in serving customers. From this experience, I learned that I did not want to just report on change, I wanted to be part of it. Finally, I offer a final anecdote from my current role as a case manager. As a case manager, my job has been to provide resources to those with disabilities who are vulnerable to eviction, starvation, and general inaccessibility. Service to one’s community through legal and political involvement is one of the highest callings one can pursue. I also understand that a critical component in performing such service requires the conveyance of one’s perspective to another to establish understanding followed by mutual problem solving. However, success can be difficult to achieve in our current political and legal landscape as outright dismissal and emotional rejection of an opponent’s beliefs can cloud careful consideration of the facts surrounding the issue in question. To me, genuine service for the betterment of our nation requires more than lobbying, debating, and backing one’s opponent into a corner. Though the winds of time may shift the stories of those who draft and are impacted by legal rulings and legislation, a full understanding of what led to their current outlook are critical in constructing the future of our nation. Founding an organization and creating a radio program dedicated to amplifying the moments in the lives of those most vulnerable in our society are both experiences that have shaped my love for the law and stoked my burning passion for shaping it. From becoming an advocate in college to my current role as a case manager at my city’s first ever Independent Living Center, I have learned the importance of proactivity and undying dedication to improving the lives of my clients and it is through law school that I hope to do the same. In doing so, I am confident that I will be able to contribute to making our nation and legal industry a more perfect union and beacon of hope for our world.