A Resolution Calling on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate to Establish a Permanent Disability Community Seat

S. 22-6 A Resolution Calling on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate to Establish a

Permanent Disability Community Senator Seat

1 WHEREAS Tufts is extremely inaccessible in, but not limited to, physical spaces,

2 classrooms, online environments, housing, dining, transportation, and reasonable

3 accommodations;

4 WHEREAS students with disabilities make up a significant portion of the student

5 population. In the fall of 2018, approximately 15% of undergraduate students were formally

6 registered with Student Accessibility Services1, now the STAAR Center, at Tufts. However,

7 this number is under representative because many disabled students are not registered with

8 STAAR and face barriers to receiving accommodations. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 adults

9 in the United States have a disability that impacts major life activities2;

10 WHEREAS Tufts does not have formal representation for disabled students in TCU or

11 otherwise;

12 WHEREAS TCU Senate has a Women's Community Senator, Africana Community Senator,

13 Latinx Community Senator, Asian American Community Senator, First Generation College

14 Student Community Senator, Indigenous Peoples’ Community Senator, International

15 Community Senator, LGBTQIA+ Community Senator, and an SMFA Community Senator

16 which shows that other identity groups have representation through TCU Senators;

17 WHEREAS the creation of identity-based senator positions gives voice to particular

18 underrepresented and marginalized experiences;

19 WHEREAS a permanent Disability Community Senator would recognize and support the

20 community of disabled students at Tufts;

21 WHEREAS we recognize that one Senator cannot encompass the diverse and intersectional

22 experience of disability, we hope that this senator will strive to uplift the varied experiences

23 of our community members, especially those most marginalized;

24 BE IT RESOLVED that the TCU Senate establish a permanent Disability Community

25 Senator seat to begin the work of removing access barriers and supporting community

26 among disabled students at Tufts;

27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU swiftly elects a permanent Disability

28 Community Senator in Spring 2023.

Respectfully submitted by Jessica Goober (A’23), Anthony Davis-Pait (A’23), Ary Wolfe-Herman (A’24), Tyler

Pisinski (A’24), Andrew Gumbert (A’24), Morgane Hanley (A’25), Rob Treanor (A’25)

The authors of this resolution request a response from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate within two weeks.