As a student with academic accommodations, I found The Hullabaloo’s attempt to raise alarm about rising accommodation statistics presents a misleading and harmful narrative. 

By depicting academic accommodations as an unfair advantage, we are ignoring the structural barriers that accompany disabilities as well as the arduous process to even obtain accommodations in the first place. Reading the article made me wonder what the Tulane community envisions when they think of disabilities. Whether a disability is visible or not should not determine how a student is treated.  

The Goldman Center evaluates academic, dining and housing accommodations. Virtually all facets of university life fall under one of these categories, and as such, so do the barriers certain conditions present towards equitably accessing them. For example, your friend gaining access to the gluten free area in The Commons is likely less stigmatized than the guy sitting across from you in econ who gets to take the exam someplace ‘special.’ 

Neither of these disabilities are observable manifestations of disability, and students may look ‘normal’. However, if one in three Tulane students qualify for disability accommodations, then we must work to destigmatize the experience of being a disabled student in any capacity on our campus. 

Let me walk you through the process of requesting accommodations at Tulane, and you’ll understand that regardless of what accommodation is requested, the process involves logistical hurdles and is quite time consuming.  

First, a student compiles a packet of documentation from their medical providers. After those forms eventually make it back to Goldman and you write a narrative explaining all of your issues, you may now book a meeting with a school representative to discuss what barriers college imposes due to disability. Finally, the Goldman Center staff will request more documentation or begin a several week-long waiting period to hear back about the request. 

This took me over two months from start to finish. Right here in New Orleans, a neuropsychological evaluation, also known as a neuropsych, can cost upwards of $750. A neuropsych eval is often required to receive accommodations, especially extended testing time without a prior history of receiving any in high school.  

Even getting a diagnosis can take months due to lengthy waitlists and logistical hassles. Students receiving accommodations for documented conditions is never an unfair advantage, and the article contributed to outdated ideals of ableism that the Goldman Center worked to overcome. 

In a world that is deceptively woke yet persistently ableist, we have to remove judgement from conversations around academic accommodations. Assuming that we can tell who “looks” disabled perpetuates stigma and reinforces the shame many students feel when first sharing their accommodation letters to professors from the Goldman Center.