Graduation season is upon the streets of Bellingham, and the second annual Disability Community (DisCo) Celebration and Award Ceremony will occur on June 6.
The DisCo ceremony is intended to celebrate Western Washington University’s disability community by honoring graduates in a commencement with maroon colored cords.
Axel Cichocki, the supervisor for the Disability Outreach Center (DOC) at Western, said previously the centers held a ceremony representing the Disability Access Center DAC) and the DOC, along with LGBTQ+ Western and other student services.
Last year the DOC and DAC decided to have a ceremony celebrating the disabled community at Western, which was hosted in the DOC in Wilson Library 165 with 30 people.
“This year, we are very excited to be able to expand the ceremony and launch the DisCo Awards,” Chichocki said.
Students, staff and alumni will deliver speeches in addition to recognizing the first DisCo Award winners. Violet Smith, a graduating student participating in the ceremony, said the disability affinity groups on campus have been a great space. They have found community, so they want to support others and celebrate their own graduation.
“I think when you're disabled, or at least in my experience, graduation is even a bigger deal than it might be for other people,” they said. “Certain barriers, ableist structures or different experiences that have been difficult make graduation less of a straight line or a more difficult experience. So I think it's really great to celebrate with people that might be more likely to get it and might have similar experiences.”
Organizations like Western’s Career Services Center and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Developmental Disabilities Administration will table the ceremony.
Events like these are important because they bring recognition to students with disabilities who might have to overcome more hurdles than their peers, said Roberto Morales, the associate director of Washington State University’s Access Center.
“The more universities start doing graduation courses with disabilities, or having some sort of celebration to recognize that community, I think it will lead to a lot more change to support and have conversations about disability,” Morales said.
The ceremony will provide refreshments and a program featuring the accomplishments of graduating students.
“We want to celebrate this important milestone for our graduating students, recognize outstanding inclusive achievements and honor our community, especially when many in our community are under attack and facing significant impacts to their lives and wellbeing,” Cichocki said.
We can make campus more accessible by considering who is being excluded and not making disability an afterthought in event planning, said Morales.
“If someone were to come in with a disability, would they be able to fully participate and engage in that event?” Morales said.
The ceremony will take place in the Viking Union Multi-Purpose Room from 5-7 p.m. on June 6. It's open to current and graduating students, staff, faculty, alumni, family, friends and community members.
“I think it's really great to have community and have spaces where it's fun because I feel like there's an idea disability is like a bad thing, or a deficit in people's lives,” said Smith. “Having a space where it's a celebration is a really great thing.”
Adah Bassok (she/her) is a city news reporter for The Front this fall quarter. She was previously a campus life reporter for The Front, and she is a news and editorial journalism major at Western. Outside of the newsroom, you can find her reading and exploring the outdoors. You can reach her at adahbassok.thefront@gmail.com.
