We’re writing as students angered by the WSA meeting on April 17. On this night, the WSA took up a discussion of the Disability Studies cluster. Instead of raising legitimate questions or issues, the assembly raised criticism, claiming the cluster was discriminatory. First, we would like to provide some background information.

Wesleyan Students for Disability Rights is a student group that was founded in the fall of 2008 to promote awareness and activism of disability issues at Wesleyan. Last year, in addition to hosting events to raise awareness and promote dialogue about disability issues, we drafted a statement of needs and goals to identify issues on campus. During the writing of this document, it became clear that including Disability Studies in the curriculum was essential.

While Disability Studies is a fairly new academic field, the University of Illinois at Chicago has had a PhD program since 1998, and several other schools now include undergraduate, masters, and PhD programs and certificates. With the backing of professors and the administration, the Disability Studies cluster was approved by the Educational Policy Committee for the 2011-2012 school year. As you may have noticed on WesMaps, the cluster includes 11 courses for next year.

Last week, certain WSA members raised concerns about the cluster. Members of Wesleyan Students for Disability Rights (WSDR) were invited to the WSA meeting on April 17 to answer questions and address concerns. We expected questions about Disability Studies, but instead we were ambushed with concerns about the inclusion of one class. For spring 2012, the cluster includes the class AMST 201: Junior Colloquium: Critical Queer Studies, taught by Claire Potter. Many WSA members suggested that including a Queer studies class in the cluster implied that being queer was a disability, which demonstrated that they hadn’t looked at the course description and were unaware of queer studies as a discipline committed to subverting societal norms and discussing identities beyond queer sexualities. The course description makes this clear:

This junior colloquium will give students a solid theoretical foundation in the field of queer studies, and help students imagine the uses to which theory can be applied…we will also explore the centrality of queer theory to other interdisciplinary fields that center the body, such as feminist studies, gender studies, critical race studies, transgender studies, fat studies and disability studies.

At the very least, a reasonable person should see that the class is included for valid academic reasons, not for purposes of discrimination. At the WSA meeting, many members demanded a text on WesMaps explaining the cluster. Notably, WesMaps doesn’t include any text explaining what any academic field is. Including an explanation for one individual field is inherently discriminatory—unlike the inclusion of AMST 201 in the cluster.

As a compromise, other WSA members proposed a name change. Frankly, this is unacceptable. Disability Studies is a recognized academic field, with societies and journals. Changing the name of the cluster is akin to renaming the Economics department for its focus on market economies.

For over 40 minutes, members of WSDR answered uninformed and patronizing criticism from WSA members. Several times, members claimed they weren’t offended, but other people would be. Apparently, certain members of the WSA think the average Wesleyan student is unable to read a course description or run a quick Google search to figure out what Disability Studies is and why AMST 201 is included.

Near the end of the discussion, Zachary Malter ’13, a WSA member and candidate for president, spoke. Malter said that WSDR should hold forums to inform students about disability issues and that the course cluster should be removed entirely. Rather than calling for education on the issue, he advocated censorship of the curriculum, removing a developing and important field of study. This is unacceptable and shows a lack of respect for his fellow students and their interests.

This University deserves a better WSA president. We need someone who supports the endeavors of all students, not one who would eliminate a field of study to address uninformed criticism. We invite Malter to clarify his comments.