Yes, We Exist

#Society & Culture

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Yes, We Exist Podcast is in partnership with the student group Disability: Identity, Culture, & Education (DICE) from the University of Maryland, College Park. Co-hosts Caliph Riley III and Maya Lee interview disabled students about their experiences with their disabled identity and attending school at a largely inaccessible campus. ​Yes, We Exist creates a space that amplifies and affirms the existence of people living with disabilities and mental illness, highlighting the intersection of disability and marginalized identities. "I tell my story with the knowing that our stories are tools for liberation. I speak knowing that all of our voices are important. I speak to leave evidence for the people like me who are searching for reflection and recognition and a “yes, we exist.” -Mia Mingus, Moving Toward the Ugly: A Politic Beyond Desirability

Episodes (2)Default

Episode 1: Is Everyone Disabled?2022-09-26

CW: Experiences of ableism, homophobia. Hosts Maya Lee and Caliph Riley III kick off the pod with an intro episode. They introduce themselves and share some of their experiences and stories. They discuss what disability means to them and try to answer the question: is everyone technically disabled? This podcast amplifies and affirms the existence of disabled people, highlighting the intersection of disability and other marginalized identities. #yesweexistIG: @yesweexistpod Website: yesweexist.wixsite.com/podcast Support us at https://www.patreon.com/yesweexist Music by Jay Fenner Partnered with Disability: Identity Culture & Education Club at UMD (ig: @dice.umd) Sins Invalid  - 10 Principles of Disability Justice  WGSS290 Bodies in Contention (3 Credits) : Explores the contributions of feminist scholarship in framing and resolving contemporary controversies concerning gendered bodies. It includes the ways in which knowledge about the human body has been shaped by cultural ideas of gender, race, sexuality and ability. The name of the podcast comes from a longer quote by disability justice activist, Mia Mingus in her speech, Moving Toward the Ugly: A Politic Beyond Desirability. She speaks about the power of our stories for people who are looking for a "yes, we exist." This episode was recorded in two shorter recording sessions and pieced together - apologies in advance for some wonky audio.

60 min

Episode 2: Emily Yang and the Founding of DICE2023-01-25

Hosts Maya Lee and Caliph Riley III are back to interview DICE co-founder, Emily Yang. She shares stories of having a disability community as a kid and talks about the founding of DICE. We discuss the importance of having a community that understands and validates what you are going through and DICE's goals to make UMD a better place for its disabled students.  Towards the end of the episode, we mention something regarding the Disability Cultural Center that was supposed to be in Jones-Hill House. This episode was recorded in September, 2022 and since then countless students and faculty have expressed concerns that the location is inaccessible to disabled students and the architects have not considered Universal Design concepts. To view the full statement, visit ter.ps/dccpetition. Also be sure to check out this article from the Diamondback - "UMD students say proposed disability cultural center isn’t accessible "  This podcast  amplifies and affirms the existence of disabled people, highlighting the intersection of disability and other marginalized identities. #yesweexist IG: @yesweexistpod Website: yesweexist.wixsite.com/podcast Support us at https://www.patreon.com/yesweexist Music by Jay Fenner Partnered with Disability: Identity Culture & Education Club at UMD (ig: @dice.umd) Social Model of Disability Definition: "Essentially, the social model says that individual limitations are not  the cause of disability. Rather, it is society’s failure to provide  appropriate services and adequately ensure that the needs of disabled  people are taken into account in societal organization. Simply  constructing sidewalks and entrances that are wheelchair accessible, for  example, can turn a disability into an ability." (Sarah Buder & Rose Perry, Ph.D.) WGSS319D Workshops in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies; Disability Studies (3 Credits) : Taught by Dr. Jessica Mathiason. Focuses on a active approach to disability studies with community based projects, as well as a deep dive into historical and contemporary disability studies. Maria R. Palacios is a poet and disability activist. She is also a performer with performing arts group, Sins Invalid. The Committee on Disability Planning and Action (CDPA) will be holding listening sessions for the disabled community. Fill out this form if you wish to speak about your concerns for the DCC or anything else (you must be signed into your UMD google account). Apologies for the choppy ending! Hope you enjoy. Aiming for episodes to come out once a month. Stay tuned. :)

58 min