DREAM hosts a special graduation ceremony in recognition of students with disabilities. // Photo courtesy of Leon Wu.
Across Hofstra University, many organizations are celebrating May graduates. One group will host their first-ever graduation ceremony in recognition of their members’ accomplishments – the Disability Rights, Education, Activism and Mentoring (DREAM) chapter at Hofstra.
“It’s for every Class of ‘22 student who’s graduating who identifies as someone with a disability,” said Kadaline Jackel, a senior psychology major and president of DREAM. “They don’t need to be registered with [Student Access Services (SAS)]; they don’t need to be an undergrad, and they don’t need to be a member of DREAM.”
The ceremony is open to all 2021 and 2022 graduates and will be held on Friday, May 20, at 1 p.m. in Room 246 of the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library. All attendees must fill out a Google Form in order to receive a certificate and a purple and white graduation cord, representing DREAM’s colors.
DREAM is a national organization that has many chapters at colleges and universities that recognize students in higher education with disabilities. The Hofstra chapter was established last semester, but it is not yet a Student Government Association (SGA) recognized group. For the graduation ceremony, DREAM received funding from Crime Scene Investigation: Hofstra (CSI), the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement and the Residence Hall Association.
Sam Gong, the president of CSI and a member of DREAM, thought this was a good idea for the group and wanted to offer their help.
“The fact that [DREAM is] here and they’re bringing attention to the community is the best thing that ever happened to the campus,” said Gong, a senior forensic science major.
Jackel believes that all students who have a marginalized identity should be recognized, especially during graduation.
“There are grad ceremonies for pretty much every marginalized identity, besides students with disabilities,” Jackel said. “I realized that’s just another aspect of campus life that disabled students just aren’t readily included in.”
Gillian Atkinson, DREAM’s administrative advisor and Hofstra’s director of Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion, oversees many undergraduate groups on campus that represent a marginalized community. With many celebratory events for people of color, LGBTQ+ and first-generation graduates, Atkinson wants all of the students to acknowledge their success.
“It’s a huge accomplishment that they have been able to overcome whatever the marginalization is of their identity to achieve the status of a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate – honestly, even an associate degree,” Atkinson said. “I think that honestly acknowledging being able to be resilient and persevere through the challenges of their identity is something that all institutions really need to start to take a look at.”
Although students want to celebrate their success, they also acknowledge that being a part of a marginalized group on campus has a learning curve.
“I have not been using the label of disabled very long, and sometimes I’m one of those people that [is] kind of like ‘do I even fit it?’” Gong said. “But DREAM has been very good with letting me open up and learn more about myself. This graduation ceremony is giving me another opportunity to learn more about myself and about the people that are around me.”
Although this will be Jackel’s last event as DREAM’s president, she hopes that what the organization accomplished in one semester will help expand the group to gain more members.
“We’re in the process of getting SGA recognition and also getting recognition from DREAM national, which is something that’s really important to us,” Jackel said.
For students who may be struggling with joining a group, Gong shares this advice:
“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, because that is how you start to learn,” they said. “Then you start to recognize yourself, recognize others, recognize the community as a whole.”
[email protected] • Jul 20, 2022 at 10:52 pm
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