Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them.” – Thomas Merton
What *IS* the DAC Blog?
Written by the DAC team
Brenda Brueggemann:
The DAC blog is a place to feature not only academic but also advocacy-activist and community work, starting with the UConn campus. And perhaps, in the future, growing outside the Storrs city limits. Not only to UConn’s regional campuses (wouldn’t that be great?) but even to other college campuses where disability events, activism, advocacy, intellectual work is taking place.
But for now: start local.
The DAC Blog is also a place to feature student work, community, activism, skills. From the ground up –rather than, say, a Disability Studies program sanctioned by the upper administration and then requiring hundreds of forms and bullet-pointed lists to navigate. Those aren’t shiny things –and we are drawn to shiny things!
This blog is a place of collaboration, of collegiality, of teams of us mushing husky-style together in our sled across the tundra of Disability & Access Land. (I hope you can picture a small murder of crows driving a husky sled here!) And finally, the DAC Blog is a place for gathering –in clever, trickster, communicative, shiny-things, and “murderous” ways.
Hannah Dang:
“Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.” –Leigh Bardugo
Hello fellow crows! The DAC blog is a safe space open to anyone who needs a place to be themselves. We’re a groovy gang whose goals involve fighting crime, seeking adventure, and spreading our wings to make the world a better place. On our blog, we welcome student work of any kind, academic-based informationals, art pieces, and other works. Based around disability studies, our collective is also for anyone who has an interest in social activism, justice and discrimination, stigmatization, and other controversial topics.
Upon joining the team, I’ve started to see the world for what it is and what it will become. Surrounded by love, acceptance, good taste in music, and a penchant for all things shiny, a big part of our Disability Access Collective is our courage to speak out and share our stories with the world.
100% committed to the caw-se, we are happy to have such a supportive murder.
Madison Bigelow:
The DAC blog is a platform for people who are either members of our community or *would like* to become members of our community to voice their understanding of the world and the people who make up that world. How do we identify and address injustice? How can we begin to dismantle systems that continue to deny people access to the world? How do we support our community? These are just some of the questions I hope to see discussed on the blog in the coming years.
No two views are the same, and the perspectives that arise from different people’s orientations and positionalities are crucial in the discussion of community-based activism. The DAC blog, in other words, is a space where anyone can participate and contribute to better make sense of the world and how we navigate it together.
Ashten:
The most important part of the Disability & Access Collective is the last word: Collective.
Many students navigating higher education have shared experiences feeling “alone” or “othered” –or don’t know where to begin. This only adds to the ever elusive world of academia. This would be enough to ruffle anyone’s feathers, which is why we made a conscious decision to flock together.
DAC provides that space. Outside of all of the jargon and bureaucracy, to think and speak uninhibited, make connections, and explore what it means to be humans (or crows!) We hope our readers know that our nest is always open. Swoop in and stay awhile. We truly cannot wait to learn from, and with, you!
Elisa Shaholli:
Space is a really important theme I think of when it comes to the DAC. The idea of who composes a space is, who a space is meant for, what the space looks like, and what it feels like are all critical aspects of any place. DAC has been a space that has encouraged and welcomed perspective, life stories, and experiences to be shared. When it comes to the disability experience, storytelling is so crucial. Every day is a new story for us, whether it be a climax or a resolution or maybe a conflict that has appeared. This space really seeks to coax out those stories, share them, and learn from them.
While academic research is crucial, it’s structured in a way that leaves out some of those really important personal stories that need to be shared. With a blog like the DAC, nontraditional pieces are able to find their home, pieces that can be relatable, educational, and formative.
Our blog logo of the crow initially started with a bit of fun and jokes in our group, but everyone on this team really spreads their wings to try to welcome in their fellow crows!
Ally Carbutti:
The DAC blog is a home—warm with the orange tones of autumn, crows cawing up in the branches. Roosting together in branches of education, activism, conversation, and storytelling. It’s a space for all the voices and views of our disabled community to come together in the safety of our nest. To simply exist—with no judgment or stares.
Stares—we’ll leave those for the eagles. Us crows will teach you how to watch—how to notice the differences of the world and get curious, ask questions, learn how to simply just love. Nobody is born hating: that’s something taught. If you come with hatred, we hope to show you love again.
I hope you hear (or feel) our voices calling, and you come to join our song. We want to wow you with your shiny thoughts. We hope to fly far, reaching many great distances.
This is your invitation to join our festive flock.
Disability & Access Collective 