00:00:00.660 - 00:00:08.960

Hello. Here we go. So what is your LMU affiliation? Like, when did you start here?

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How long have you been here? Yeah, so I started actually during COVID. I was. I graduated high school in 2020, and I started LMU

00:00:20.400 - 00:00:31.290

in 2020. So I started online as a freshman. My college track has been a little bit weird. I decided to take a three year track because of

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financial reasons, and so I kind of did my sophomore and junior year at once. And so my first year was all online. I was over Zoom and then my second year slash

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third year was in-person, and that was my first time ever on campus. And then this is my senior year, so and I'm going abroad for the spring.

00:00:53.860 - 00:01:10.200

So technically I've only been at LMU like physically for a year and a half, but I've been like in the LMU community now for two and a half years. And then I also I'm a student in the Poli-sci

00:01:10.320 - 00:01:22.650

department and Peace and Justice Department. But on top of that, I also work at LMU, so I am the research assistant for the CSJ Center of Reconciliation and Justice.

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On top of that, I run the COVID 19 testing Center on campus. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

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And then I. I help run a club as well. I'm the director of philanthropy for the Women and Politics Club, and I use I'm an ex student government person.

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So last year I was the vice president of cultural affairs and Justice for ASLMU, and I stepped down this year. But yeah.

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Wow, that's so much affiliation. You know, it's a lot. Okay, so this next question, you can interpret however you want.

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How do you describe yourself? That's a good question. Okay. I describe myself in a lot of different ways.

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It depends who I'm talking to. So for academic things, I'm applying to law school right now. And in that sort of way, I'd say that I

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am a woman. I am a very outspoken woman. I am pretty resilient. I've been through a lot of things and I've kind

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of bounced back and adapted to different situations. I also like identity sort of thing. I would say that I am a woman. I am pansexual.

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I am uh disabled. And those are like the three identities I kind of speak out on the most. And then, yeah, that brings me here.

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But yeah, those are sort of like how I would describe myself or interpret myself. Yeah. Great.

00:03:00.010 - 00:03:07.290

Thank you. Okay. So then we'll go ahead and shift into the questions about COVID.

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My next question is describe the day when you realized or heard that LA was going on a lockdown because of COVID 19. Who were you with?

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What were your first thoughts and what were your first steps? Yeah, so I don't remember the day that L.A. specifically was going down by...

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So it was March 13th, and I was in my ceramics class in high school as a senior, and I was told, Hey, guys, there's this thing called COVID. You're going to be gone for two weeks and then

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you're going to come back. That never happened. So I remember leaving. It was a half day.

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And so I left my ceramics class. And that morning I had been warned by my environmental science teacher that this was likely going to happen. And the CPS Chicago Public school system was likely going

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to have a temporary day on Monday, the following Monday, to give kids all of their information. And pretty much my AP environmental science teacher was like, do not come to that day.

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He was like, You will get COVID. Do not come stay home. I don't care what the school is telling you. It's not going to be two weeks.

00:04:24.900 - 00:04:36.990

And this might be the last time I'm seeing you guys. So I was like, okay, wow, what is going on? And yeah, And then I remember I graduated high school

00:04:36.990 - 00:04:50.280

in the pandemic, so I finished all my classes online. It was really weird because I was just I shut my computer and that's how I graduated. That was that was kind of strange.

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And then I remember over the summer, it was up in the air when it came to LMU. So L.A. was on a lockdown, but all cities were at the time.

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And I grew up in a city, so that was pretty typical. And then I was also in Chicago during the riots after George Floyd's murder.

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And so I was downtown, and our mayor had put up basically the bridges in downtown. So while I was worried about Los Angeles, I was more focused on my safety at the moment because she

00:05:25.500 - 00:05:36.780

pretty much split the north and south side, which was really it was really interesting. But yeah, it was there were sirens going off. We had armed guards on every corner at the same

00:05:36.780 - 00:05:49.800

time that there was a global pandemic. And so that's happening as I am checking my email constantly for updates on LMU. And I don't have the best family life.

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And so I was really excited to get out of my childhood home and be more independent and go to college. And so that that email was really important for me,

00:06:03.990 - 00:06:13.650

that that was that was why I was keep refreshing my email for that LMU update. And I remember getting one update that was saying, okay, here's the plan.

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You guys are all going to come. There's going to be testing. It's going to resume on campus, maybe some hybrid classes that I think went out in, I want to say

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early July, mid-June. And then I got another email that was like, okay, maybe not. And it was.

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So we're going to have a hybrid classes or mainly online classes. You're still going to be allowed to come to campus, that sort of thing.

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And then two weeks before I was supposed to leave to move to L.A. at LMU's campus, I remember I got one email and it was like, It's not happening, guys. Your classes will be fully online.

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And at this point I had picked out my roommate. I had scheduled my dorm. I was. Pumped and ready to go.

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And that was like the email that crushed it all. And it was like I understood it it was a global pandemic and people are dying. And so it's a scary time and it's better to

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stay safe than be sorry, but it really sucked to get that email. And so, yeah, I remember that. And then I was sitting in my living room, I

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think with my mom and my stepdad, and the time that I got that email, I immediately turned to them and I was like, I don't know what to do. I need to find an apartment.

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I can't live here. And so that's what I did. And so within two weeks, I had found an apartment in L.A., found a job, moved to L.A., because I

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was like, I can't do this. I can't do college at home. And so that's just how I had to adapt to the scenario.

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But yeah, and so I had gotten the email and then I moved anyways. But yeah. Wow.

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How did your parents respond to that? Yeah. So it wasn't good, to say the least. My mom is very protective, and so she was like,

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if you're not going to a college and you're not going to be safe on campus, like I don't want you moving. And I was like, Well, I can't study here and

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be productive because that last part of my senior year, although my grades didn't matter at that point, it was really hard for me to study whether that included my disabilities and the function of just being online 24 seven

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or my surroundings or a mix of both. I don't really know what it was, but it was just really hard for me to do schoolwork. So I was like, I can't do this here.

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And if I'm going to start college, like it's important that I'm out. And so we had a really long discussion and I came up with Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoints of like different options

00:09:12.540 - 00:09:22.440

where I could go because my family lived under the poverty line I even applied for land use housing on campus as like an emergency scenario.

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Unfortunately, they turned me down. And so it was it was a lot of back and forth. And eventually my mom was like, okay, I see why

00:09:31.020 - 00:09:38.970

this is right. I had found a roommate or I found three roommates that were all LMU freshmen and going through the same scenario.

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And so she was like, okay, I will move you in. This will be okay. And we kind of just took it on as we

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needed to. But yeah. Wow. So, so I'm wondering if I want to hear both

00:09:55.980 - 00:10:09.480

sides of that, that moment, because so for the first three or four, the first three or four months of the lockdown, you were at home in Chicago and then you moved and we were still kind of locked down

00:10:09.480 - 00:10:15.390

because that was going into the second fall. Right? Or was it the Delta fall, now I can't remember.

00:10:15.690 - 00:10:19.040

I don't know. I think Delta Yes Right.

00:10:19.050 - 00:10:30.540

It was just the still the that huge surge that happened in the winter of 2020. But so I'm wondering, like what what what sort of precautions you and your family took?

00:10:30.540 - 00:10:38.430

Like, did you. All. Buy tons of groceries or like were you wiping down doorknobs back at home?

00:10:38.430 - 00:10:45.300

And then when you moved, what was it like with your roommates in L.A.? Yeah. So great questions.

00:10:45.630 - 00:10:55.560

When I first when the pandemic first happened, both of my parents are high risk. Well, my mom and my stepdad, my dad is not high risk, but I see him less.

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And so that being said, we knew we had to take extra precautions. So I wasn't allowed out of my house. I didn't go.

00:11:08.130 - 00:11:19.320

So as soon as or as soon as the pandemic hit and we knew the severity and I no longer went to class, I don't think I left my house for like two and a half months, maybe more.

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And I think the only times I left were like, grocery runs or like to- I had a drive through graduation. So that was a thing.

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And so, like I we did those. My family tried to throw me a small graduation party. It ended up being five people outside, masked, not eating the pizza we bought because we were too scared.

00:11:47.490 - 00:11:57.960

And so, yeah, yeah, it was just a lot of like if we needed to do something or see someone, you had to do it outside. You had to be masked.

00:11:58.950 - 00:12:08.900

And then there was no travel in that period. So actually when the pandemic first hit, I had not fully decided on college. I knew I was going.

00:12:08.910 - 00:12:15.780

I didn't know where. And I had about I think I applied to 27 colleges. Yeah.

00:12:16.440 - 00:12:27.210

And so when it came to time to decide, I had only toured half of those colleges. And that spring break I was supposed to tour the rest of the colleges.

00:12:28.350 - 00:12:35.640

Spring break was not happening. So we canceled our flight. And that was supposed to be a flight to one of my best friend's house.

00:12:35.640 - 00:12:43.370

And then me and him were going to drive down the coast and tour all the schools that we went to together. And that just didn't happen because of COVID.

00:12:43.380 - 00:12:53.510

And so I during that time, when the pandemic first hit, I was staying at home and I was making like I was watching YouTube videos on what college I should choose.

00:12:53.520 - 00:13:03.960

I was like any information I could get because I'm like a very visual person and I like to see things hands on. And so any information I could get from Google or

00:13:03.960 - 00:13:16.830

YouTube or even like Pinterest post. Or like Reddit. I was like gaming information and making like, spreadsheets of like, okay, I really want this in a college.

00:13:16.830 - 00:13:25.050

This is what I don't like. And then like, I made a blind decision. And so I guess it kind of happened to fall when I was graduating.

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And so it was a weird time because we were dealing with all of this added stress of like, what's next in my future? Plus.

00:13:31.800 - 00:13:41.010

Hey, don't go outside. You might die. So yeah, but yeah. And then when it came to the grocery store shopping,

00:13:41.010 - 00:13:54.960

I remember they would do like every two weeks was a giant Costco trip. And that Costco trip had mask, it had Clorox wipes. My mom weirdly bought a lot of toilet paper and

00:13:54.960 - 00:14:06.840

I was like, Why? Um, but yeah, so that that was that. Yeah. How did you and your roommates approach the precautions when

00:14:06.840 - 00:14:16.170

you got to L.A.? Yeah. So that's kind of a complicated question. So me and my immediate roommate, so me and the

00:14:16.170 - 00:14:24.560

girl who I shared a room with were very, very similar. We were like, okay, we need to stay safe. Both of our parents were high risk.

00:14:24.570 - 00:14:36.030

We were like, We didn't want to go anywhere. We didn't want to party, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, we were in PDO, which is a common apartment complex, and it's known for pretty big LMU

00:14:36.030 - 00:14:41.370

parties. What is a PDO stand for. Playa del Oro It's like Oh, gotcha [around the]

00:14:42.210 - 00:14:49.890

Corner. But so we were like, okay, we're not going to do this. We ended up seeing like a few friends and then

00:14:50.160 - 00:14:58.980

like seeing a few people and we were like, okay, like this is okay. No one's gotten like sick. And then we were like, Wait, no, L.A. does not

00:14:58.980 - 00:15:12.000

have any beds in the hospital. We need to be careful. And so we basically only saw like our very immediate, immediate friends and family and we would not leave or

00:15:12.000 - 00:15:19.280

we would leave, but it would be to go on like a private walk or like any time we did leave, we would bring our mask and that sort of thing.

00:15:19.290 - 00:15:31.230

And then my two other roommates, unfortunately, we disagreed on COVID. And so those two other roommates who were more like apartment flatmates, they were big partiers.

00:15:31.530 - 00:15:42.570

They would like to have like a lot of people over or go to other people's house. And so we really disagreed with that. And it got pretty toxic and bad in there just

00:15:42.570 - 00:15:56.310

because of the whole COVID situation. Until one point, one of the girls got COVID and tried to or not tried to, one of the girls got COVID and we were like, okay, you have COVID.

00:15:56.310 - 00:16:03.930

Can you stay in your room? We'll bring you food to your door. We're like, or if you need to leave, can you wear a mask?

00:16:03.930 - 00:16:09.330

Can you wipe down whatever you're touching? We're going to stay in our room, that sort of thing. We were on the first floor and we had a

00:16:09.330 - 00:16:16.710

balcony we could climb out of, so we didn't actually need to use our front door. But yeah. And then she said no.

00:16:17.010 - 00:16:28.620

She said she was going to come and go as she pleased it was her apartment. And so me and my immediate roommate then basically put Saran wrap around our door and it felt absolutely crazy.

00:16:29.700 - 00:16:40.950

But my mom is a cancer survivor and she was in L.A. and she was trying to see me and I was like, I cannot risk this. And I also have a lung condition.

00:16:40.950 - 00:16:50.910

And so I was like, This could be detrimental. There are no beds in L.A. if anyone gets sick, like we need to be cautious. And so our apartment just fully,

00:16:50.910 - 00:16:58.800

There was like a full split. One side was like COVID safe and the other side was not COVID safe. And it was really hard to mitigate that situation because

00:16:58.800 - 00:17:11.070

we didn't have LMU involved. We were all adults, so parents couldn't really handle things. And then the apartment complex had their own strict rules. And so, yeah, it was complicated.

00:17:11.670 - 00:17:21.480

Yeah. Were you able to resolve it ever or come to a place together? Yeah, not entirely.

00:17:22.830 - 00:17:33.930

We tried. We had a discussion with all of us and the parents, and we, like, came up with, like, a contract system, and that unfortunately didn't work.

00:17:34.980 - 00:17:46.890

And so we even got LMU involved. There was another issue with, like, the roommates as a whole where we needed to get LAPD involved, which was kind of scary for a minute.

00:17:47.250 - 00:17:58.290

That didn't involve COVID at all. It was a different scenario, but the entire place was just a complete mess. And so at just one point or another, me and

00:17:58.290 - 00:18:08.220

my immediate roommate said, okay, we're just going to live out of our room. We had a toaster oven, we had a mini fridge, we had access to the outside world from our room.

00:18:08.220 - 00:18:15.250

We didn't. Need to go into our living room. And so that's kind of just what happened. And then we ended the yearly lease.

00:18:15.260 - 00:18:24.140

And so, yeah. Do you still see those former roommates? No, I don't. Okay.

00:18:24.170 - 00:18:39.080

How do you how do you think or how did you experience the lockdown in relationship to your disability? /ties. Or like, how was the experience impacted by your disabilities?

00:18:39.560 - 00:18:58.130

Yeah, so it was kind of accumulation of my disabilities and also switching from high school to college, my disabilities are primarily learning disabilities. And so when it came to going straight online, that

00:18:58.130 - 00:19:10.280

was really difficult because I'm not someone who can sit for long periods of time. I'm someone who likes physical activity. I was a competitive synchronized ice skater my entire life, and

00:19:10.280 - 00:19:21.320

when the pandemic stopped, I went from skating 27 hours a week to skating no hours a week and staying in a room all day. And so that was a big change because I needed

00:19:21.320 - 00:19:35.390

to figure out ways that I could, like, work out and move my body in ways that would kind of help my mind process information and focus on it. And so going straight to a computer was really difficult

00:19:35.390 - 00:19:47.990

because I would just be sitting there all day. And I think for my first semester at LMU, it was really, really hard because I didn't have like I had some friends, but I wasn't fully engaged in a

00:19:47.990 - 00:19:56.690

community. I had just moved to a new city we didn't like, We weren't doing things on like a daily basis.

00:19:56.840 - 00:20:07.790

I wasn't in any clubs because there were no clubs. LMU kind of felt like or it felt like they didn't reach out to their freshman classes as much as I'd like them to.

00:20:08.090 - 00:20:19.550

And there wasn't an orientation in a way that wasn't a Zoom call, which made sense. But it just all we had was our orientation class, which everyone turned off their Zoom camera for and did

00:20:19.550 - 00:20:31.910

something else. And so, yeah, it was it was really hard. It was also really hard because I was a freshman and I didn't have priority registration at the time and

00:20:31.910 - 00:20:42.680

now I now do, and I got it the semester after. But navigating DSS and my accommodations, well, DSS is saying, Hey, we can't proctor any exams.

00:20:43.010 - 00:20:53.600

My professors are saying, Hey, we're not going to give you exams, we're going to give you all essays and timed essays or not even timed essays. But like you have a week to finish this and

00:20:53.600 - 00:21:04.550

accommodations don't apply to assignments. So that was really difficult to mitigate. And then having to explain to like professors like, Hey, I'm new here.

00:21:04.550 - 00:21:14.720

I've never done a college load of work. I don't know what I'm doing here. I didn't even have a major at the time. I was like, I'm kind of just thrown into the

00:21:14.720 - 00:21:19.400

mess right now. Can you help me? Like, these are my disabilities. This is what I need help with.

00:21:19.820 - 00:21:29.270

And lucky enough, I had great professors who were super accommodating and super willing to talk to me and listen. But I did have some other professors where they're like, Well, I just I don't get it.

00:21:29.630 - 00:21:37.040

And I was like, I don't know how to make you get it. Like, we're in a pandemic right now. DSS can't help me right now.

00:21:38.330 - 00:21:49.370

This is just what I got. And so, yeah, that was, that, was that. So I think that also I mean, that you started to sort of.

00:21:51.180 - 00:22:03.360

Answer the other side of that question, which is like, how did the pandemic affect your college experience? It seems like these two are really entangled, so I wonder if there's a way.

00:22:05.780 - 00:22:16.190

Like you started college in a pandemic. And it's all you know is that. Yeah. Do you think that starting the college in during a

00:22:16.190 - 00:22:25.580

pandemic lockdown had a ver- had a specific impact on your experience, or has it affected your experience in any particular way? Definitely.

00:22:26.240 - 00:22:37.910

One of my first projects that I actually did at LMU was my rhetorical right or my rhetorical arts class for social justice. And I did it on Reasonable or no, I did

00:22:37.910 - 00:22:48.440

it on the COVID 19 impact for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So IDDs. And that was like a semester long project that I

00:22:48.440 - 00:23:00.530

did during the pandemic as I was living with or as I was living myself with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And I was like, okay, I know this affects me. I wanted to see how it affects people with more

00:23:00.530 - 00:23:12.140

severe IDDs or less severe IDDs, or just how it's affecting us in a whole as a community. And it was really interesting because I got to see a lot of my own problems based in like numbers

00:23:12.140 - 00:23:24.440

and the fact that I wasn't alone. Um, and I also like going back to your question about how it affected me. It was just weird, like I felt.

00:23:25.770 - 00:23:35.820

I felt like I didn't have the support I needed in the process, but at the same time I was okay and I think I was only okay because of all of the tutoring and support I'd had in the

00:23:35.820 - 00:23:45.060

past and the way I know how to mitigate situations and adapt to it. But it was a process where it was it was learn as I go.

00:23:45.870 - 00:23:53.550

It was this is totally new to me. I need to figure out a system that works for me. This isn't I go to class every day.

00:23:54.360 - 00:24:08.220

One of the big things for me is that I really need to switch locations to be able to work. So going to school is actually really beneficial because my brain says, okay, you're at school, you're going to do

00:24:08.220 - 00:24:17.810

schoolwork versus I'm in bed because I don't have a desk in this room. I'm going to sleep. But it's, nope, you're on a zoom call.

00:24:17.820 - 00:24:25.470

You need to do schoolwork. And so that was really hard because I couldn't go to a coffee shop. I couldn't go on campus.

00:24:25.470 - 00:24:38.360

And so I had to learn to like. Kind of depersonalize my own room and be like, okay, bed sleep desk, which is two feet away from the bed, is going to be school.

00:24:39.230 - 00:24:44.660

And it was it was interesting. It was it was weird. But yeah. Was it

00:24:44.660 - 00:24:57.260

did it did your body mind catch on to that distinction relatively quickly or. I don't think so. One of the biggest problems I had with that semester

00:24:57.260 - 00:25:10.840

and I'm a I'm a super academic. How do I say this? I, I don't have the best mindset when it comes to academic excellence.

00:25:10.870 - 00:25:20.320

Normally, I compare that to my own worth. And I think that's part of like growing up with disabilities and being told like, Hey, you don't belong here. Hey, you're stupid or special.

00:25:21.130 - 00:25:31.120

And being told like, Oh, you'll never get that far. And so an 'A' on my transcripts makes me smile for multiple reasons. And so I will do whatever I need to make

00:25:31.120 - 00:25:42.130

sure my grades are okay. And during the pandemic and figuring out those first months, I was really sacrificing myself. I was really sacrificing my sleep because I couldn't focus.

00:25:42.130 - 00:25:53.410

And so I would stay up at ungodly hours or I would procrastinate because I didn't know how to organize everything at the time. And so, yeah, that was just kind of how it

00:25:53.410 - 00:26:00.550

all felt together. Yeah. Um, Since we've been talking already for a half an hour.

00:26:00.550 - 00:26:08.100

I just want to invite you if you need to take a break for any reason to move around or I can pause the recording. I'm Good but

00:26:08.270 - 00:26:13.100

thank you. Okay. Let me know. Okay.

00:26:13.930 - 00:26:25.300

So how do you feel about LMU's response to the pandemic? And there's some some sub-questions like LMU's response to essential workers.

00:26:25.690 - 00:26:29.770

Your college's response, you're in BCLA? Yes. Yeah. Okay.

00:26:30.340 - 00:26:40.750

At the university level. And then how do you feel about health mandates like masking or vaccination as they're implemented here? And you can answer any or none or whatever.

00:26:41.050 - 00:26:49.000

Take this however you like. So I'll take the big question first and then you might have to give me the subquestions again just because I'm going to forget them.

00:26:49.330 - 00:26:59.320

No problem. LMU's response to the pandemic? I wish they were more transparent. And I have a very I have a kind of

00:26:59.350 - 00:27:12.940

unique side when it comes to their pandemic response, because I help provide that information for students. I manage the testing center. And so I've been at the forefront of it, not

00:27:12.940 - 00:27:24.070

so much at the beginning of the pandemic, but in the last two years. I started working at the center last fall. And so, yeah, that that was interesting and I have

00:27:24.070 - 00:27:34.960

a unique perspective to that. But their immediate response to the pandemic, I wish it was more transparent. I wish they would have told us right away that,

00:27:34.990 - 00:27:44.890

hey, we're we don't think you're going to end up on campus because I would have been able to find housing sooner. I would have been able to think through some of

00:27:44.890 - 00:27:58.600

my actions more and maybe find different roommates than just rushing out and doing whatever I could in like two weeks before I'm supposed to start college. I remember I actually started college in a hotel room

00:27:58.840 - 00:28:08.020

the day I had come back from the flight. Oh, like it was the first day I'd flown to L.A. and it was like, okay, you're here. Open that zoom call.

00:28:08.470 - 00:28:19.780

And so that was the first time I ever started. And so I wish they were more transparent. And I wish they also gave us more of a heads up or like, even if it's not exact, but

00:28:19.780 - 00:28:32.140

like, hey, guys, these are the plans we're evaluating or taking student input. I know that student input would probably lean more towards open up the campus rather than close it down, and

00:28:32.140 - 00:28:44.620

that might not be the safest thing. So I understand why they didn't take it, but just hearing things from students or talking with students and being like, okay, this is the scenario, how can we help

00:28:44.620 - 00:29:00.640

you? But yeah, in terms of their more recent protocol and their current protocol, I wish vaccines were more mandated. I know that we give out some religious exemptions and

00:29:00.640 - 00:29:08.410

I don't always feel like those religious exemptions should be given. And so that's my own personal opinion when it comes to that.

00:29:08.800 - 00:29:25.210

And that's just in like a I totally understand like Amish exceptions where it's like vaccines as a whole. But there are no Amish people in university. And so I'm kind of wondering about certain exemptions that

00:29:25.210 - 00:29:42.220

we've given out there. And also, like, just I wish they required more testing. I know a few students who unfortunately, like, had gotten COVID like exposure notifications of like close contact exposures and

00:29:42.220 - 00:29:52.550

not gotten the testing and not gotten like repercussions because of that. And so it would be helpful to like. Know that things are happening to keep our safety.

00:29:53.420 - 00:30:01.250

I did like the fact that they kept masks for a really long time. I think masking is just safe in general, especially for our professors.

00:30:01.550 - 00:30:15.110

I know I have older professors with like newborn children and so that can be super dangerous if you're forcing in-person classes and no masking. And so, yeah, that sort of thing.

00:30:15.440 - 00:30:18.680

But that's. That's what I got. Yeah. Great.

00:30:19.060 - 00:30:31.640

And something you said just now just reminded me, and it connects to something you said earlier, But this isn't on the sheet that I sent you. But I've noticed when I started at LMU, it kind

00:30:31.640 - 00:30:43.990

of felt like. Nobody except DSS ever really thought or talked about disability and accessibility. But then COVID really like brought accessibility to the fore

00:30:43.990 - 00:30:57.430

for a lot of people. And I wonder, since you have been on both sides of it, really, like do you feel like the conversation around access has shifted at LMU since the lockdown?

00:30:58.440 - 00:31:09.360

I feel like it's shifted, but not so much around disability. I feel like it's more shifted around. Accessibility, not disability.

00:31:09.360 - 00:31:20.670

And those things can come hand in hand, but they're not always the same. Because accessibility can pertain to anyone. Someone could need more accessibility because their schedule is really

00:31:20.670 - 00:31:32.430

packed or they don't like driving that sort of thing. Someone with a disability can need accessibility because their wheelchair can't fit into an elevator or they can't see the board, that sort of thing.

00:31:33.150 - 00:31:46.830

And so there are certain things that are like hybrid, like hybrid learning can be great and it can be accessible for both disabled people and neurotypical people. And then there's some things where it's like hybrid classroom

00:31:46.830 - 00:31:56.640

style can actually be horrible for some people with disabilities and great for for neurotypical people. And so it really depends on the disability and the person.

00:31:57.660 - 00:32:08.550

But when it comes to like the conversation around disability, at LMU I don't really get I don't think I can speak on what it was like before the pandemic because I was just never here.

00:32:09.810 - 00:32:22.680

But after the pandemic, I've been a little bit disappointed. I feel like disability is left out of a lot of conversations. LMU prides itself on being a social justice institution, on

00:32:22.680 - 00:32:34.410

supporting all identities. And I rarely see disability in those identities that are mentioned. And so whether it be scholarship, whether it be programing

00:32:34.410 - 00:32:48.810

or just policy in general, I feel like they ignore those things. So, yeah, when it comes to like accessibility in like terms of COVID things, I think that's been more lenient.

00:32:49.170 - 00:33:00.390

A lot of the conversation has been around like, Hey, this doesn't need to be an in-person meeting. Let's save everyone time and join the Zoom call. Or like I know a few people, myself included with

00:33:00.390 - 00:33:08.250

disabilities, were like, Hey professor, could you just turn on the transcript real quick? It helps us a lot to have that, especially as you're lecturing at us.

00:33:10.020 - 00:33:21.180

And that's been nice or like recordings of classes that's been a lot more lenient with COVID. But I feel like it's less about disability and more about COVID.

00:33:21.480 - 00:33:31.410

So I know a lot of students with disabilities who would say, Oh yeah, my professor allows me to record in class, but that's just because some people are missing because of COVID.

00:33:31.710 - 00:33:45.930

It's not because it helps them, and it's not because the professor is thinking it would help them later because they have a disability or a processing divergent that is like easier to do when it's a recording or like

00:33:45.930 - 00:33:53.390

a transcript or something like that. So yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay.

00:33:53.820 - 00:34:04.500

What is one thing you hope the people of the future learn from this? And this could be your story, This moment, could be anything.

00:34:05.340 - 00:34:17.430

That's a really good question. I kinda hope the people of the future just know that it's okay to talk about neuro divergence and disability. And it's not...

00:34:18.270 - 00:34:35.340

I know we throw around words like differently abled or specialized, and the medical term is disability, and that's okay. And like, that's a term a lot of people with disabilities are comfortable with, and we don't see it as

00:34:35.340 - 00:34:42.360

a disadvantage. And I think a lot of people think because it has the word "dis" in it, it automatically makes it a bad thing.

00:34:42.630 - 00:34:53.910

But disability can actually be a really great thing. The things that I've learned to do with my disabilities are way past what I know some of my other peers can do and vice versa.

00:34:54.090 - 00:35:03.390

They can do things that I can't do, but I like the way I learn, and I've learned to grow up with my disabilities and I've learned to love them. And so it's not something I want fixed, but it's

00:35:03.390 - 00:35:15.180

more something I want in the conversation. And so as we're doing projects like this and as we're talking and getting more comfortable with disability as a whole, it's nice to know that it's okay to mention

00:35:15.180 - 00:35:26.120

it and it's okay to talk about it, and it's okay to ask like, Hey, can I do anything to help you guys, even if you're not disabled? But like, is there any accommodations?

00:35:26.130 - 00:35:38.460

Is there anything unique or is my teaching style okay for everyone's brain? That sort of questions are great for a community and even not in a university, but even in like work

00:35:38.460 - 00:35:53.430

or even like on fun programing. Like it's just great to include inclusive questions in general, whether it's disability, whether it's about pronouns, whether it's about race, and making sure everyone's comfortable because comfortability ranges from

00:35:53.460 - 00:36:01.470

a scale to a bunch of things. But yeah, [for sure]. Okay, awesome. Is there any do is there any other part of

00:36:01.470 - 00:36:11.840

your story that you that you would want to add that you haven't been able to tell yet? We've been talking for just about 40 minutes and I wonder if there's another any other pieces?

00:36:13.520 - 00:36:24.400

I'm trying to think. I'm not sure right now if there's anything that comes to mind. I think the pandemic was hard for a lot of

00:36:24.400 - 00:36:34.600

people, and it affected us in ways that we won't know right now. Like I know how the pandemic affected me in a short term amount of time, but technically COVID is not

00:36:34.600 - 00:36:43.750

over. I like in 30 years just being online for two years or being like in a room could really affect someone.

00:36:43.750 - 00:36:55.360

And so I guess I'm not going to figure that out until later. And I think it's important for us as a society down the line to say, okay, we need to realize

00:36:55.360 - 00:37:11.950

how some of these kids and some of these teenagers grew up and how their story and the impact of the pandemic or the impact of disabilities or the intersection of them both with different identities, affects everyone differently and

00:37:11.950 - 00:37:21.670

how that might affect them down the road. But yeah, like I still get on an airplane with a mask and some people still look at me like I'm crazy and I'm like, This is just what I'm

00:37:21.670 - 00:37:27.630

going to do from now on, because that's what I know. But yeah, that sort of thing. Okay.

00:37:28.600 - 00:37:37.900

Amazing. I think a lot of the things I do now are because of the pandemic. Like I think back with my friends all the time.

00:37:38.530 - 00:37:50.620

If the pandemic weren't to happen, I probably wouldn't be at LMU. I probably would be taking a history track or somewhat similar track.

00:37:50.650 - 00:38:00.740

I've always been interested in social justice, but I don't know if I'd end up at law school. I don't know if I'd end up double majoring or finishing in three years.

00:38:00.760 - 00:38:10.120

This is just like what happened. And my college experience wasn't the normal college experience. A lot of people are like, Oh, you're going to have the best time in college.

00:38:10.120 - 00:38:19.750

You're gonna party like crazy. No, that did not happen. And I've never been like a big partier. And so I wasn't surprised, but it was really like

00:38:20.560 - 00:38:27.460

college wasn't college for me. It was a place I was at for a really short amount of time. The first year just feels like COVID.

00:38:28.090 - 00:38:40.900

It doesn't even feel like college. The second year was a blur. I was doing everything and everything. So from running, from helping to run the Planned Parenthood

00:38:40.900 - 00:38:52.720

fundraiser to being on ASLMU, and starting initiatives there like gender inclusive gym with Fit Well, like those sort of things. I was just kind of all over.

00:38:52.720 - 00:39:03.790

I was trying to get everything done in one year and now I'm like, okay, I'm a senior question mark. This doesn't feel right, but okay, now I'm done. All right.

00:39:04.420 - 00:39:14.530

Happy graduation. So, yeah, it's a it's a weird thing, but, yeah, my college experience has been different, but I'm kind of happy.

00:39:15.340 - 00:39:28.300

I'm not happy that COVID happened in any way, but I am thankful for the path that I'm on right now, and I think it would be an entirely different path if it wasn't for the pandemic and the break

00:39:28.300 - 00:39:38.860

that we were forced to take as society. So yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, it's great that you have that perspective and

00:39:38.860 - 00:39:48.670

you've been able to say like, okay, which I guess what you said at the beginning when we were talking, you're like, okay, we're just gonna... We're going to find the positive, we're going to

00:39:48.670 - 00:39:53.810

go that way. Yeah. Well, it's great. Okay, great.

00:39:53.810 - 00:39:55.630

Let me stop it. It's so good.