By Andrew Mollenauer
This week at Stories Beneath the Shell, we’re ecstatic to introduce our first newsletter, where I will write weekly summaries of three notable stories covered by our reporters in the previous week. For one of those stories, I will go further beneath the shell with a weekly spotlight that digs deeper into the subject matter of the piece.
VP Debate Watch Party:
Last Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Sen. JD Vance (R) commanded the attention of some 43 million viewers. Among them were a few dozen University of Maryland students who convened in the Shoemaker Building for a watch party sponsored by the Department of African American and Africana and Black Girls Vote. The groups organized the event in tandem to inspire students to take initiative amid a political race widely regarded as the most consequential in American history. Dr. Jason Nichols, senior lecturer in African American studies, told our reporter Jack Wynn that he wants students to empower themselves through voting. Black Girls Vote founding president Denise Demontagnac on Tuesday added, “[We are aiming to] provide resources and speak with students who are looking for more resources or don’t know where to start when it comes to voting.”
Brazil Week:
By the time UMD’s School of Languages, Literature and Culture kicked off its Brazil Week last Monday, the nation’s independence day had passed more than three weeks prior; but the week of recognition was presented with purpose to dozens who attended the screening of “We Are Guardians.” The film explores deforestation, a plight with a stranglehold on the country, which is home to most of the Amazon Rainforest. According to Greenpeace, a nonprofit tackling environmental issues, about 17% of the Amazon by 2022 had been lost to deforestation in the last 40 years. “The scale of the devastation in Brazil, seeing it [on film] is very different from reading about it,” said UMD student Nancy Loy to our reporter Ashna Balroop. Brazil Week also featured a display of students’ art. The theme of this year’s installment of Brazil Week was “Forest Protectors.”
Disability Awareness Month (SPOTLIGHT)
Last Tuesday marked the beginning of October and the university’s annual Disability Awareness Month. The Disability Inclusion Resource Fair opened the month’s lineup of various events to promote the cause, which includes Mental Health Awareness Week Oct. 6-12 and the Disability Studies Speaker Series featuring three scholars in the field between the 21st and 30th. While the month’s designation of observance and the implementation thereof provide steps toward awareness, a recent survey suggests there’s work to be done. More than 70 current UMD students participated in a random survey that asked about their beliefs and attitudes regarding disability awareness and whether they thought this month’s topic of focus was being adequately addressed on campus. The results, while limited in sample size, indicate several potential trends that suggest UMD could be doing more to bolster October’s efforts with year-round emphasis on disability awareness. For example, about 70% of respondents said they did not know about Disability Awareness Month before taking the survey. The revelations that followed could explain why—most students surveyed reported they aren’t knowledgeable of relevant services on campus and feel those resources and awareness aren’t promoted enough.
When asked how much they knew about disability services on campus, 57% of respondents said they knew “nothing” or “barely anything.” All the while, 41% of students surveyed said they’re impacted by or otherwise passionate about the topic, and 50% indicated they want to learn more. For perspective, 91% of students surveyed care about disability awareness in some manner, yet only 31% and 42% said they feel UMD adequately promotes awareness and its services, respectively.
Amy D’Agati, director of TerpsEXCEED, told our reporter Samantha Cohen last Wednesday that it’s important to approach disability awareness with an unrelenting effort that lasts more than a month. “We always try to be involved,” D’Agati said. “We like to take it through the whole year.” TerpsEXCEED, a post-secondary program for students with intellectual disabilities, was among the represented organizations on campus at the resource fair early last week. The associate director, Meredith Gramlich, said she enjoys the opportunity for engagement that Disability Awareness Month affords TerpsEXCEED and organizations like it. “We can showcase and engage with people with disabilities and their lived experiences, inclusive practices, and have dialogues about how better to promote an environment that is welcoming for everyone,” Gramlich said. Gramlich declined to comment when asked about students’ responses in the survey for this story. However, she said that Disability Awareness Month is a great way to demonstrate our community’s commitment to lead by example. “It is an opportunity for UMD to raise the bar of awareness of available resources and opportunities.”