A new relationship between InclusiveU and Syracuse University’s Student Association has students with disabilities working on SA committees is the culmination of a plan a year in the making.

The partnership between the two organizations started in early February. InclusiveU students — SU students who have intellectual or developmental disabilities — will work with SA members on various committees, including the Diversity Affairs and Student Life committees.

The idea for collaboration between InclusiveU and SA was first discussed last spring, while now-Vice President Angie Pati was campaigning with now-President James Franco, Pati said.

One of the campaign pillars that Franco and Pati ran on was diversity.

“Diversity is very multifaceted and we often forget all that encompasses diversity,” Pati said.

During their campaign, Pati and Franco discussed how SA could reach out to groups that SA hadn’t connected with in the past, she said. Tori Cedar, who worked on the Franco-Pati campaign, was also a part of that conversation, Pati added.

Cedar is a peer trainer at InclusiveU. The program accepts students with disabilities into the university, where they are enrolled in classes to receive a certification of completion in a certain field or focus, Cedar said.

As a peer trainer, Cedar works with InclusiveU to organize events throughout the Syracuse community and ensure that students are enjoying their experience on campus.

“This year, most importantly to me, my goal was to ensure that we got more involved with organizations on campus,” Cedar said.

Cedar, who was good friends with Pati since freshman year, said part of her position on the Franco-Pati campaign was to help promote awareness for inclusivity, diversity and acceptance.

The idea for a partnership between SA and InclusiveU was revisited at the beginning of the spring semester, Pati said. Obi Afriyie, SA’s parliamentarian, played a role in getting the idea off the ground, she added.

Afriyie, who is also a Student Life columnist for The Daily Orange, said he realized that SA was not connecting with as many different groups on campus as the organization had the capability to.

“SA has the power to do so much, we have so much influence, and the best part about that is we can make sure that everyone gets what they want and everyone gets the chance to join the organization and use its resources,” he said.

Before he discussed an InclusiveU collaboration with Pati, Afriyie said he was unaware that Pati had previously addressed the partnership with Cedar.

This semester, Pati and Cedar had a meeting to discuss how to get InclusiveU involved in SA. They decided that having InclusiveU students join SA committees would be a good first step for the students to express their opinions and ideas, Cedar said.

“A lot of the time in the disability community our voices are not heard, which is problematic and not right,” Cedar said.

Pati said running a campaign with Franco that focused on increasing inclusivity and diversity showed her that there have been times when students have not felt welcomed in SA. As an organization that represents the entire undergraduate student body, it’s important to have diverse representation in SA, Pati added.

“When we have representation in SA, then we’re able to have more policies and initiatives that are working toward an increasingly inclusive campus,” she added.

Some SA members pointed to the evolution of the cycle share program, launched during SA’s 60th legislative session, as one of the more recent ways SA has worked to promote inclusivity. SA originally launched the cycle share program as the “bike share program,” but then added two adaptive cycles so students with disabilities could also utilize the program.

Jon Rushmore is an InclusiveU student who joined one of the SA committees. Rushmore, who has been with the InclusiveU program for four years and is studying education, said he started working with SA to learn how to serve on a committee and help the community.

Rushmore added that SA should continue to work to encourage InclusiveU students to participate in SA, show them what the organization does and what students can be expected to do if they join.

Andrew Benbenek, a first-year InclusiveU student who said he’s hoping to study sports broadcasting, is currently on SA’s Diversity Affairs committee. He said he feels it’s important to show that people can become involved on campus, no matter their background.

“I want to be able to have the directors of InclusiveU say to the next kid, ‘this is what you can do,’” Benbenek added.

Published on February 18, 2018 at 7:19 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu