Disabled students have compared a new scheme, championed by Disabled Students’ Officer Thomas Ron, to being in a zoo. The voluntary student led scheme, named ‘Living Library’, invites disabled students to discuss their conditions with non-disabled students.
Students with mental disabilities will discuss their lives and their condition on a one-to-one basis. Ron has asked students with both mental health problems and mental disabilities to take part in the event. However, it has been met with widespread criticism from disabled students, who are concerned the event will define them by their disabilities and make them feel like zoo exhibits.
One such disabled student is Kirsty, who told Vision: “I think that it is ridiculous to pander to bullies by treating students with mental illness like monkeys in a zoo. I thought that Victorian freak shows were outlawed but apparently not.” Another student, Jane, criticised the scheme, which was previously successively run three years ago at the University.
She said: “The last thing I would want is to discuss my life with people I’ve never met. Most people don’t want to be defined by their disabilities and certainly don’t want to be unnecessarily reminded of them by the people who are supposed to be supporting them.”
Ron explained his reasons behind the event to Vision, saying that he was anxious to remove any stigma that students face on a daily basis.
He added that bullying was unacceptable and that he wanted to “inform students that they should not accept these statements
or ostracism from other students. “It’s also seen as acceptable to isolate or exclude students who are ‘weird’, ostracising them and keeping them out of social circles, which makes university seem like an unwelcoming place.”
Luke, a second year student, was sceptical however, and told Vision: “As a student with mental health issues, I can’t say I’d be comfortable reliving upsetting experiences in front of people, and on a personal level it wouldn’t be worth the relapse afterwards. “I also worry about the other aspects of the project, which would make me feel like an exhibit for people to come and study.”
Kemi, another student, added: “I don’t think that people with mental health issues should have the responsibility of educating bullies. The project is a positive one, sure, but I just don’t think that the onus is on us to stop them from bullying.”
Ron responded to these criticisms, by stating: “The Living Library was an event suggested by multiple students, as well as the NUS, as a great way to talk about mental health. This issue suffers from a conspiracy of silence, and often a great way to raise awareness is to have people talk about their spoken experiences. “This is done in a one-on-one fashion so it is personal and is only with volunteers. Disability in general is an issue where there is a lot of disagreement on how to fight the stigma attached and there will almost never be an agreement.”
YUSU Welfare Officer George Offer said: “The event allows volunteers with mental health problems to share their personal experiences with other students and open up dialogue with them about what it’s really like. The aim is to break down stigma, stereotypes and preconceptions by revealing the identity behind the label and the life and experience behind the condition. Similar events run recently at other universities and a few years ago here at York proved very successful and with the NUS involved in, and hopefully coming down to the Mental Health Week it should be a success once more.”
Ron urges any students who have questions or concerns about the event to get in touch at [email protected].
(Students’ names in the article have been changed at their request)
COMMENT by Jo Barrow
The issue of how to approach the stigma around disabilities is obviously a polarising one.
I have absolutely no doubt that Thomas Ron, YUSU Disabilities Officer was well intentioned with his plans for the Living Library, but student reaction clearly shows that his plan was ill-thought out. There is a fine line between sensitively dealing with an issue and inadvertently causing more stigma by drawing attention to the difference between two groups of people. Unfortunately for Tron, his plan to place disabled students in a room to attract the curiosity of passing students is just on the wrong side of it.
There are two glaring reasons as to why. Firstly, as the students in the articles mentioned themselves, many people with disabilities choose not to define themselves by their differences. This is even reinforced by their decision to remain anonymous when giving the quotes!
Even more saliently, perhaps, is that any student attracted to the premise is invariably someone who doesn’t need the lessons that the disabled students could teach them.
Think about it, when was the last time you thought to yourself, ‘I have some preconceptions that need challenging, let me take time out of my life to question my comfortable, if potentially mistaken, beliefs?’ The case is made even stronger by the knowledge that students are a particularly apathetic breed.
So, although I admire Tron’s passion and commitment to his cause, the Living Library it seems will be ultimately be preaching to the choir with, sadly, very little impact at all.
“Hi,
It appears that Vision seems to have gone around asking students based on an inaccurate view of what is actually happening. Therefore, allow me to clarify what a Living Library is.
It is a chance for volunteers to share their personal experiences in order to break down stigma, stereotypes, and reveal the identity behind the label. Rather than having people be defined by their disability (which is what this article erroneously says) it is showing the person and not the disability.
This was a suggestion by a student and has been done at many universities and is endorsed by the NUS. It was in fact done at York a few years prior (http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/features/flicking-through-the-living-library/11/03/2010) and was a great success.
I hope everyone will come to this living library and see that it is a great event. I am proud that so many people stepped forward to be part of it.
Oh, as a side note, the term mental disabilities is unbelievably stigmatising and incredibly offensive to disabled students, neurodiverse students, and students with mental health issues
It’s really interesting to read the language used in the comments here, ‘how was this allowed to be published’ ‘it seems York Vision did X’
It seems like YUSU can’t brook any criticism from their students at all, anything that is anti-them must clearly come from a position of misinformation, and really, anything that airs such criticisms must be censored appropriately. As far as I can tell, students have a right to have their dissatisfaction heard, and the student media has a right to hold YUSU to account.
TL:DR? YUSU are scared of letting students’ opinions be heard, in case they differ from the official line.
@Lucy, you’re right in one sense, that YUSU do tend to react to criticism in a negative way (silence it rather than respond to it), however, this is not one of those situations.
As the commenters (more qualified than I) above us have said the Living Library has been done successfully before. By putting the zoo quote in the headline Vision are saying that her opinion is important, indeed it is the headline opinion. The reality is that she is in the extreme minority.
Any policy will have its critics, and a news story that takes a line as strong as this one should only be published when the number of critics reaches a critical mass. This isn’t the case here.
@Beth Campbell
As for the ‘personal attack’ comment, this is not a personal attack. No one genuinely thinks that Tron is trying to belittle or cause hurt to disabled and autistic people. In past terms this has been a classic way to brush criticism aside, rather than actually tackling the issue and making your case for a policy.
Mental disabilities? What is that even supposed to mean?
Disabled students campaign supported by current YUSU Disabled Students’ Officer and the former Disabled Students’ Officer. Is anyone surprised?
This is obviously something that is concerning the students they are supposed to be representing so why mess around on a Vision article and why not sort the problems?
Typical of the Union in that they fail to actually address problems, instead focusing on directing the blame away from themselves. I’d do the same, but I’m not elected into a role where I’m supposed to be looking after and representing these people.
Comment moderated by editor
All campus media except The Yorker goes through YUSU censors before being printed. If YUSU don’t want you to see something, you won’t see it. In my experience they’ve only ever censored things which could impact the welfare of a student/students, or which could be taken as offence.
York has gone to the dogs.
Not usually my thing, but I actually feel the need to defend Vision on this one.
It is quite well known (or should be) that Thomas Ron (elected by students regardless of whether they identify as disabled or not) and members of his Network (including his Committee, elected by self identify disabled students) quite frequently do not see eye-to-eye on a great many matters.
I am not a disabled student and my interaction with the Network has been minimal, however, I think that the very real ideological differences between Ron and a large section of the disabled activist community on campus, is the impetus for this story.
Whether this is a purely political spat or not (it very well could be read as an attempt by people within the Disabled Students’ Network, rightly or wrongly, to discredit Ron). It is evident that a group of disabled students feel that Ron deserves criticism for his advocacy on disabled students’ issues.
It is in this regard that I defend Vision. YUSU officer’s actions frequently go unscrutinised. This is in fact not helpful either to them or the students’ they seek to represent. That some students are unhappy about the living library is evidently news. You might disagree with the prominence the editorial team chose to give the story, their choice of picture, pull-quotes and headline, but you cannot really dispute that fact. Having done a bit of this myself, I think its a fairly exemplary news article of the type, both Ron and George Offer are quoted in some length and some depth defending the Union’s position. Their arguments are clearly stated and crucially the piece’s tone is neutral.
The wider issues here I think relate to officer accountability to the students they are supposed to represent. Both the stalwarts standing to their left and those (also disabled students) who might prefer a more “liberal” approach. Of course if a liberation officer is pandering to a contingency wider than those who’s liberation they are supposed to advocate, then even if that is in supposed furtherance of their liberation goals, then it is wrong.
@Lucy
Regarding YUSU censorship. Your right. Relatively few articles are vetoed by George, Kallum, Anna (and those who stand behind them), but there is more than one way to skin a cat.
The living library is for VOLUNTEERS to talk to other people who also VOLUNTEER their time to be EDUCATED. It is not about laughing and pointing, it is about making people who do not necessarily understand what it is like living with a disability to see how it can impact your life.
I volunteered at this event a few years ago and the response we got was that everyone who “took out a book” was overwhelmingly positive that they had the opportunity to talk to someone about a certain mental health issue or discrimination and give a real life meaning to it.
Hate breeds from ignorance and I commend Ron for trying to overcome the ignorance and misconceptions held about disability.
If certain people with disabilities do not like the concept there is nothing forcing them to get involved. It is just about encouraging a conversation about disability. I know from my time as a DSN member that it is hard to do pretty much anything with that network that SOMEBODY wont get offended by. Yes disability can be a sensitive issue but that’s why it needs to be talked about compassionately by people who experience it to people who might not have.
If this event was discussed at a DSN network or sent out via the DSN mailing list with comments and feedback welcome as is the protocol with events like this and concerns were not raised previously (I am assuming this) then it is hardly fair to criticise.
It is articles like this that make welfare volunteers give up trying to make a difference. As a welfare rep yourself Helena Horton I’d have thought you would appreciate this.
@Formerly of the Other Parish: Sweetie, if you don’t go to DSN or know the members properly, then don’t pretend you know what the situation is. Tron is a very unpleasant person and he’s managed to fuck up a lot in the short space of time he’s been an officer, and he definitely hasn’t made a lot of friends in the Network. However, the Living Library is one of the few initiatives of his which most of the members in DSN actually support.
This isn’t Vision ‘holding anyone to account’. What actually happened was that Helena Horton received a press release about the Living Library from Tron, she decided it wasn’t sexy enough so she spun a negative and falsified version of events, deceived students into commenting and published this on the front page so she could claim to have found yet another gripping scandal. Helena, frankly you should be ashamed of yourself. You even expressed interest in participating in the scheme, and now you’ve exploited it just to get attention for yourself. Ironic, given how you were complaining about Gary Holland betraying you in order to net a scoop.
I’m putting my name to this
Everybody knows I’m not Tron’s biggest fan – I think the two of us have come to terms with that. HOWEVER, I will defend this project to the end. I’m not going to get embroiled in argument about campus media ethics, but I do have three main points.
1. Ignorance is the cause of stigma. How else is society supposed to have an open and honest conversation about disability if nobody is given the opportunity to learn? I’m not under the delusion that bigoted people will take time out of their day to challenge their views, but I do believe that many non-disabled students are curious about disability for the purposes of understanding and respect. They should be given the opportunity to ask those question.
2. The disabled people involved are all volunteers. Members of the YUSU disability mailing lists were asked if they wanted to be involved; some did, some didn’t. I volunteered to speak about visual impairment and anxiety. There is no pressure to do so and I do not feel like an exhibit.
3. Tron is in fact a very responsive officer. He listens to his network and accepts criticism as well as most other people do. If there is any evidence that anyone bothered to contact him to protest the event then I can appreciate students’ annoyance with him. However, this does not appear to be the case.
My final word on the matter is that if you don’t want to be involved, don’t be.
The article may be a bit sensationalist (hello, it’s a tabloid!) but essentially I agree with it- how is it up to us to parade ourselves in front of non disabled people, acting like BOOKS for them to CHECK OUT of a Library? It’s exploitative and wrong.
Maybe it’s not a Human Zoo- it’s Disabled people being used as Information Hookers
This is revolting. That disabled student officer should be ashamed of himself. Shame he has just become like every other campus politician and is trying to do something for the sake of it……@Formerly has it spot on.
I for one will not be going and will do my best to boycott that event amongst my fellow students. disgusting
As the comment section shows, this article has been very controversial. I met with the DSN network on Wednesday to discuss the piece and a range of views were aired. For fairness’ sake, I would just like to clarify that many students supported the Living Library as well as those who came to Vision with concerns. We regret any offence caused by their piece and all complaints have been responded to.
Finally, we have had a problem with our online comment section and some comments have been deleted unknowingly. We are not sure how this has happened. Feel free to repost comments, they will go straight up.