Posted 8:41 a.m. Monday, July 31, 2023
Membership is reviving in disability advocacy organization on campus
Many UW-La Crosse students are interested in disability advocacy. UWL has an organization for that.
DREAM, a student organization, is open to anyone on campus with or without a disability committed to spreading disability awareness.
DREAM stands for Disability Rights Education Activism and Mentoring. It is a national organization with chapters across different college campuses.
“We know students, faculty and staff on campus would love to join; we just need to reach them,” says UWL senior Emily Young, DREAM president. “By growing our organization, we will be able to better serve our campus and La Crosse community by spreading disability awareness.”
UWL’s disability student organization has a long history on campus. It started as the HSA (Handicap Student Association) in the 1970s and advocated to make buildings on campus accessible for students with disabilities. HSA then became Students Advocating for Potential Abilities (SAPA) before becoming DREAM in 2018.
COVID-19 took a toll on DREAM membership, notes Young. But UWL ACCESS Center Director Andrew Ives has been a huge support in helping to revive the organization. Young has also played a large role in helping the organization thrive, notes Ives.
“This fall semester will be the first semester where we have a complete officer board team, which is very exciting for us!,” notes Young. “Many students have shown interest in our organization on Instagram and MyOrgs, so we are looking forward to seeing our membership grow at our meetings and events this fall.”
To learn more about our organization, visit its MyOrgs page or follow the organization on Facebook and Instagram @uwldream. Additionally, find LinkTree with easy access to contact information.
The organization is connected to the campus ACCESS Center. The main partnership between DREAM and the ACCESS Center is UWL’s Accessible Awards at the end of the school year, recognizing UWL faculty and staff that are the most accessible from student nominations.