Celebrating Disability History Month
Here at the Guild, we’ve been celebrating Disability History Month which started on the 16th of November and ended on the 16th of December. UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) is an annual event to create a platform to focus on the struggle for equality and celebrate the achievements of people living with a disability and the Guild supports it as part of our More Than a Month campaign. This is the sixth year UKDHM has happened. The dates change every year, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to check next year!
This blog outlines some highlights of all the activities that we supported and hosted this year and what we’re doing next.
Learning BSL & Celebrating our Societies
We launched the month by teaming up with our British Sign Language Society to host an open-to-all informative session. Alongside many Dominoes pizzas to keep our brains ticking the student speakers discussed the history of BSL, how it differentiates from American Sign Language as well as addressing how regional accents/dialects can shape BSL. We also heard one student share her story and privilege us with an insight into her experience as a disabled student. The session was rounded off with some excellent film and TV suggestions and brilliant learning resources including the ‘Sign BSL’ app which has videos demonstrating how to sign correctly and has a dictionary resource taking you from basics to advanced levels.
BLS’s very own president Claudia took to the Guild social media channels to do a takeover to share her story and experience as a disabled student here at Liverpool. Highlights from her Instagram takeover can be found on the Guild’s Instagram page, or her blog is here
Disability Society were also busy commemorating the month with their usual schedule of activities, including several ‘crafternoons’ and games nights, as well as a screening of Elf in the Guild’s cinema room – the perfect way for our students to come together and feel the Christmas spirit!
You can find our more about each society in the above links, and keep an eye out for their events on their social pages and the Guild’s online calendar of events.
Mood boosting Zine Making
The Guild complimented these activities with some of our own events which included a Zine making event – mini handmade magazines, normally made non-professionally for people to express their thoughts on specific topics for small distribution. This was a fun way for us all to get creative and take some time away from the stress of university as we approach the end of Semester one.
There was also the Disabled Students Meet Up – part of our wider Student Community work which supports groups traditionally marginalised by mainstream society and/or the wider student body. The Meet Up was a chance for students to meet fellow disabled students, eat some more free pizza, have their voices heard and help your officers create a Guild for everyone! If you missed this event, or are interested in our other Student Community Meet Ups you can find any upcoming events here, or you can sign up to our Student Communities mailing list to hear about further events and activities.
Quiet Space on Campus
We also provided a ‘Quiet Space’ every Tuesday from 10:00-16:00 in the Library Room in our building. We would like to install a permanent quiet space on campus and are working with the University to do this as part of our joint work to build an inclusive campus environment and community. However, in the meantime, we wanted to provide our students with somewhere to go if they’re feeling overwhelmed at university and need to adjust their sensory environment. We also wanted to hear about other ideas and suggestions to improve said space and received some great feedback which we will feedback and incorporate into our future work.
Finally, we compiled some great resources for you to discover useful resource, support and how to get involved with the Guild and our work around students with disabilities. The full list can be found here Resources and Charities @ Liverpool Guild of Students or your can pick up copies of our recommended reads from the library, including Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert and The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu.
So much more than a month
We have really enjoyed celebrating this month. However, we think it's important to note that Disability History should not only be celebrated for one month out of a year. Disabled peoples’ history and experiences are always current and important, it’s more than just a month. It’s important that we celebrate everyone's histories throughout the year, especially those who are underrepresented. More information on how the Guild is committed to celebrating our student communities and identities throughout the year and upcoming activities can be found on our More Than a Month campaign page.
If you would like any support regarding disabilities, you can reach out to the University’s Disability Support Team who can provide you with help and advice around campus accessibility, funding and how to access disability support for your studies.
Alternatively, the Guild’s Advice team can provide free, independent, non-judgement advice on a range of topics including academic issues, wellbeing, accommodation and university life. You can reach out by email at guildadvice@liv.ac.uk or attend a drop in appointment (available weekdays between 13:00-16:00) at Guild reception.
