Review: All The Light We Cannot See

Stones are just stones and rain is just rain and misfortune is just bad luck. Some things are simply more rare than others, and that’s why there are locks.” -Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See Synopsis: Marie-Laure is a blind girl in France who adores her father, a museum keeper who carries a valuable, magic…

top ten tuesday

Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity

Diversity in media is an issue that’s really important to me. Racial/ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and people with lower socioeconomic status appear far less often in books, especially those assigned in school (unless part of a curriculum unit surrounding that topic). Here are a few of my favorite books that celebrate diversity: 1.…

This One’s For Compassion

I recently spent two weeks on crutches after falling and badly bruising my femur. I’m in less pain now, but stairs are still difficult and I can’t bend my knee enough to sit in the back seat of a car. I’ll admit that I spent a lot of the first few days on crutches being frustrated…

Beyond the Bechdel Test

Last week I wrote about the Bechdel test, which asks a few basic questions about any given movie to begin evaluating feminine roles in film. Women, however, aren’t the only underrepresented and compartmentalized group in the mainstream American film industry. While modern laws prevent discrimination in workplaces and schools based on age, race/national origin/ethnic background, religion,…

Expecting

I have a lot of day-to-day expectations. Some are basic, like having adequate food and water and a place to sleep. Others are higher-level, like that I can communicate with people around me and they will understand and respect me. I rarely consciously think about these day-to-day expectations, and that’s because they stem from various…

accommodations symbols

Looking Beyond Barriers

One of my favorite involvements on campus is writing for Buzzsaw magazine. Right now, I’m in the process of writing an article about equal opportunity for disability in the workplace. Every interview I’ve done for my article has been thought-provoking, but I especially enjoyed my visit to the Finger Lakes Independence Center. I spoke with Program Director Larry…