{"id":334797,"date":"2022-01-18T13:47:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T18:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?p=334797"},"modified":"2022-01-20T09:31:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T14:31:22","slug":"raising-awareness-about-disability-amid-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2022\/01\/raising-awareness-about-disability-amid-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising awareness about disability amid pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
\"Melissa

Melissa Shang is a first-year student, disability activist, and children's book author. She brought her activism to campus to promote greater accessibility measures. <\/p>

Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tCampus & Community\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tRaising awareness about disability amid pandemic\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t
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\n\t\tNikki Rojas\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tHarvard Staff Writer\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tFirst-year Melissa Shang helped form group on campus, pushes for education, representation, accessibility\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n
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The pandemic has turned a harsh spotlight on various economic, social, and racial inequities, inspiring calls by political and civic leaders for reforms. But first-year student Melissa Shang fears that the challenges of one long-ignored group have yet to be brought fully into focus: those with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy disability weakens my lungs, which puts me at higher risk of having a severe case of COVID,\u201d said Shang, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a degenerative nerve disorder. \u201cWhen the pandemic first started, I heard so many people say things like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll be fine. This only affects old and at-risk people.\u2019 As someone who is at-risk, it felt as if I was being excluded. I felt like my classmates, my peers, my teachers didn\u2019t think that my life mattered as much as theirs did, which was pretty difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old disability activist has made it her mission to educate others about issues facing disabled people and improve both their representation in media and their everyday lives. With only one semester at Harvard under her belt, Shang has already used her activism skills to rally students. The Thayer Hall resident, who is considering concentrating in sociology, had a major role in establishing the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club last fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky enough to have found our community at Harvard,\u201d Shang said. \u201cMy friends and I decided to start this group to create a social community for disabled people who are fighting and advocating for our needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shang, who uses a wheelchair and has multiple personal care assistants to help her get dressed and ready throughout the day, has found that Harvard accommodates her needs. She believes, however, that the University could attend more closely to some challenges, particularly improving accessibility, which is a top priority for her group.<\/p>\n

She also noted that there are few courses dedicated to disabilities studies, a situation her club hopes to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of the student body at Harvard, and really the general public, is very unaware of the struggles and challenges disabled people face due to systemic and societal ableism and inaccessibility, so it is important to raise this awareness and advocate for change,\u201d said Shang\u2019s co-president, Sarika Chawla, a junior concentrating in computer science.<\/p>\n\r\n

\u201cWhen the pandemic first started, I heard so many people say things like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll be fine. This only affects old and at-risk people.\u2019 As someone who is at-risk, it felt as if I was being excluded.\u201d<\/p>\nMelissa Shang<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\n

The pandemic has exacerbated the need to educate people about the history of disability in the U.S., Shang said, and the difficulties faced by those with a mental or physical condition that makes it difficult to do certain activities. But her advocacy for the disabled has been a lifelong pursuit.<\/p>\n\r\n

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