Fighting for Their Lives and Their Education - The UCLA Sit-In

The Politics of Disability

Content warning: Mild cursing, mentions of harassment by law enforcement

The Disabled Student Union at UCLA (DSU) provides a safe and inclusive place for disabled, neurodivergent, and ill people to feel accepted. Its purpose is to empower students through advocacy, education, and pride, build relationships with the administration and wider community, remove access barriers on campus, and advocate for disability rights.
As of February 14th, 2022, when this episode was recorded, the Disabled Student Union was on day 14 of their protest/sit-in.
They are protesting the administration's refusal to commit to a hybrid program, despite the fact that disabled and chronically ill students are still disproportionately affected by COVID.
Co-founder of the UCLA Disabled Student Union, Quinn O'Connor (she/they)
and member, Christopher Ikonomou (he/xe) share their reasons for protesting and what they and other protestors have experienced during the sit-in.
Follow DSU on social media: @dsuucla (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Note regarding sound quality: This interview was done via Zoom. Quinn and Christopher were outside of where the sit-in is happening and the connection was poor at a couple points. Please reference the transcript (found here) for clarification.

The Politics of Disability was named Best Interview Podcast at the Astoria Film Festival in both October 2022 and again in June 2023.