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Disability Community Protests on University of
Minnesota Campus
by Emily Smith
On Thursday, March 23, 2006,
members and allies of the disability community gathered in front
of the Ted Mann Concert Hall to protest philosopher Peter Singer.
Members of the Disabled Student Cultural Center, The Arc of Minnesota,
Advocating Change Together, and many others joined together in the
first disability-related protest on campus in over ten years. The
event was on the front page of the Minnesota Daily. It was also covered
by KARE 11 news to spread our concern to the wider community. Though
the focus of Singer’s lecture was on factory
farming and vegetarianism, he has been challenged by people with disabilities
for his controversial views advocating the right to euthanize babies with severe
disabilities and in some cases adults, grounding his understanding of disability
as negative and deserving of pity. We did not intend to discourage people from
listening to Singer’s
lecture, but rather our goal was to show attendees that they cannot glorify
Singer’s
views on animal ethics, as many in attendance of his talk shows clearly do,
without recognizing that this support is for a scholar who is extremely discriminatory
against people with disabilities. With over fifty people present, persevering
the cold weather while holding signs with slogans such as “your attitude
is our only handicap,” “everyone belongs,” and “disabled
lives have value too,” our message to Peter Singer was clear: his presence
in our community is not welcome. Further, we hope to capitalize on the attention
this protest received around campus to continue our ongoing fight for a Disability
Studies program. We’d like to extend special thanks to our speakers,
Professor Alex Lubet, U of M student Kathryn Ware, and filmmaker, activist,
and author Billy Golfus, for sharing the personal stories of disability that
Peter Singer soeasily pushes aside in order to practice a philosophical theory
in the bubble of academia.
A free luncheon was held onApril 7, 2006 a the Disabled Student Cultural Center
(DSCC). On behalf of everyone at the DSCC, we are extremely grateful for all
who attended the protest and discussion. We hope we can maintain the ties across
organizations that this protest encouraged us to build. For more information,
please contact Emily Smith at shmithers@hotmail.com or
call 612-624-2602.
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Left to right: Luci Kennedy, Rick Cardenas,
Russell Richard, Tim Benjamin and Mary Kay Kennedy protest at the U
of M
First disability protest on U of M campus in
10 years
A cold day couldn't stop these protesters
from speaking their truth
The cold and dark didn't stop protesters from
sharing their sentiments with the public
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