The Tron Legacy

Thomas Ron’s proposal for socials solely for disabled students, primarily targeted at freshers, comes from the right place but I feel it is hopelessly misguided. While I am sure we would all welcome improved awareness of disability issues and improvements to the disability provisions at the University of York, I believe most students do not want to define themselves by their ‘disability’; a label that is both arbitrary and incredibly diverse.

As someone who has suffered from a relatively minor form of dyspraxia, the tangible effects of which are terrible handwriting and a complete inability to play sport, I guess I would fall under the ‘disability’ label- at least in the official sense. Indeed, the University has arranged support sessions, extra time and a laptop to use in exams to help me overcome the condition. Organising the help was a doddle compared to the bureaucratic nightmare that is the state education system.

While I can see some merit in Ron’s idea from an informational and experience sharing standpoint, I would not ever consider going to these events. Despite information about the University’s support provisions being patchy and very much ‘do it yourself’, I simply would not attend.

Throughout my academic life I have been dogged by the ‘learning difficulties’ label. My handwriting has always been a problem but at secondary school and college it became a real issue, as it became obvious that examiners would not be able to read what I had written. Queue endless meetings with incompetent bureaucrats who treated me with suspicion, and infinite assessments in which I had to repeatedly prove my condition. Things reached a low point at college when, farcically, the invigilator did not realise I was supposed to be doing the exam on the computer.

The point I am trying to make is that I have been afflicted by the ‘disabled’ label all my life and frankly, I cannot stand it.

I have never defined myself by my condition and outside of an educational context, I have barely thought about it, it was always the dysfunctional system that did that.

University has been a paradise in comparison to my experiences with the secondary school because for the first time, I have barely had to think about my problems.

I think I had one serious conversation about it in my first year with another student who turned out to also be dyspraxic; we never mentioned it again and neither she nor I define ourselves by the condition.

The weakness in Ron’s plan is that it assumes ‘the disabled’ to be a homogenous entity that define themselves as such, and express immediate solidarity with others who fall under this unhelpful adjective.

The problem is that this is not the case; disability is an immensely diverse and completely heterogeneous phenomenon that encompasses a huge spectrum of varying physical and mental conditions with hugely diverse needs and experiences.

The assumption that people who fall under what is ultimately an arbitrary label, and are likely to find solidarity with those individuals who also do, is patronising.

It ignores our endlessly diverse backgrounds, experiences, interests and personalities; in essence, it reduces individuals to a base level which says nothing about us as humans.

I am as likely to find common ground with someone called James than another person with dyspraxia, considering the proven effect names have on our personalities and life chances.

What concerns me most with Ron’s scheme is that it is primarily targeted at first years. When we first arrive at University we often choose to cling onto the closest display of friendship in order to avoid the social awkwardness of freshers’ week. In most cases it’s our nearest neighbour. However, if Ron’s idea was to take off, disabled students may find themselves increasingly clinging onto each other. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but there is a danger of alienation from the rest of the student community and a significant loss of social opportunities for those ‘disabled’ students.

Finally and most importantly, these socials are likely to be rubbish. There is nothing more uncomfortable than going to a social with a bunch of people you don’t know and have little in common with; tenuous conversation and awkward silences are almost certain to follow.