Michelle Jones

Today, we are remarkable. I’m certain a lot of you have been called some variation of that word before—remarkable, extraordinary, inspirational, so on and so on—and I do not plan to undermine the truth value of those statements. Being the English grad student and first-year composition instructor that I am, however, I do want to take a few minutes to complicate and expand the scope of why, precisely, this compliment is warranted. 
   

Whether visible, invisible, or some combination of both, we are all disabled college students, about to be graduates. Statistically, that already puts us in a rather note-worthy category. As of 2023, only slightly over 20% of people with disabilities over 25 held a four-year degree or higher. That number both seems and is, frankly, disturbingly low, and there are very real, societally-entrenched reasons for that, the overcoming of which, makes us both remarkable and integrally important to furthering the improvement of that statistic. 
 

The social model of disability, the predominant theory currently held by Disability Studies scholars, argues that our impairments are not the primary disabling factor we face. Instead, it is an accommodating, sometimes hostile, society which truly disables us. Consider that the Americans with Disabilities Act is nearing its very youthful 35th birthday this summer. Think about the ugly laws which once existed across this country, prohibiting visibly impaired individuals from being present in public spaces (all for the comfort of the able-bodied) majority.  Finally, recall your own challenges when trying to access accommodations, whether in school or beyond. Our impairments certainly add complexity to our lives, sometimes very painful complexity, but, most of the time, they are not the sole factor which hinders us from achieving our goals. 
 

Yet, here we are! Finishing our degrees! Being present in a space which celebrates us for who we are, as people with disabilities, a place which recognizes the achievements we have already had and those still in our futures. But, perhaps, more important than the way those in this room recognize us, is how we recognize and present ourselves. 
 

There is a term within Disability Studies, radical visibility. Whereas that term generally refers to physical presentation which does not adhere to the comfortability of the able-bodied community, I would like to modify its meaning slightly. We are radically visible by participating in this recognition event. Yes, we are being honored, but we are also making a statement. We are claiming our impaired identities by our very presence. We are acknowledging the realities of those impairments at the same time as we celebrate our capacity to succeed in a society which still struggles to recognize us as fully capable participants. And, importantly, we are not hiding who we are, impaired, soon-to-be college graduates, friends, children, all of the things which make us ourselves. We are radically visible as full people, and by being so, we reject this society’s ongoing penchant for ableist thinking and behavior. 
 

By being here today, as you are, identifying as we do, in all our multiplicity of being, we put into practice a truly wonderful quote from Angela Davis, “I'm no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I'm changing the things I cannot accept.". Today, and in the commencement ceremonies to come, we further the change. We continue to widen the door of opportunity for those who come after us. We make it more possible for that dismal statistic from earlier to grow. We are radically visible, gaining power for ourselves and others through our authentic presences. 
 

Congratulations class of 2025!