Last week, a social media post went viral after it highlighted the school’s instructions about guest parking for graduation in mid-May. UNT’s website had warned guests to “[b]e prepared to walk a distance” from where they park, and that the trek from some areas could take up to 10 minutes.
“Shuttle service will not be provided,” the instructions continued. “Guests with mobility issues may want to consider not attending in person and watching the livestream of the ceremony instead.”
That suggestion offended many in the Denton community, including residents with disabilities and UNT alumni and professors.
The Twitter user whose post went viral had included a screenshot of UNT’s commencement-parking details along with the caption: “So you’re telling me that my mom shouldn’t attend my graduate level graduation all because UNT was too lazy to provide shuttles/handicap parking alternatives???? It’s not like I’ve paid for 6 years of tuition at this point that could’ve easily gone toward shuttles…”
A Facebook user further decried the school: “I am a disabled alumni of UNT. Its [sic] really shameful they have decided people like me don't matter!!!!!!!”So you’re telling me that my mom shouldn’t attend my graduate level graduation all because UNT was too lazy to provide shuttles/handicap parking alternatives????
— Sie ♡ (@sierra_jereane) March 28, 2023
It’s not like I’ve paid for 6 years of tuition at this point that could’ve easily gone toward shuttles… pic.twitter.com/lTdbFVghO4
UNT has since amended the language on its website, but many Dentonites are demanding that the school issue a formal apology and make changes to improve accessibility.
Denton resident Valois J. Vera wrote to the Observer that the ordeal unfortunately illustrates the daily reality for many people with disabilities. The disabled activist and poet slammed such discrimination as criminal, violent and dehumanizing: “Yet, through the abled lens, it is viewed as an ‘inconvenience.’
“UNT is obligated by federal laws (ADA & Section 504) to provide access to Disabled people,” Vera continued via text. “We are 33 years past the signing of our civil rights legislation and Disabled folks are still dismissed and treated like second class citizens.”
Deb Armintor, a UNT professor and former Denton City Council member, railed against the school in an email to President Neal Smatresk, which she then posted to Facebook. She wrote that she was “appalled” that UNT “has made graduation so inaccessible” and demanded that Smatresk publicly apologize.
Speaking with the Observer, Armintor said she was “outraged” but not surprised by the “deliberately discriminatory and segregationist language” used by the school. “And also, in addition to that, I am outraged by the discriminatory and segregationist reality that that language is describing,” she added.
UNT has since changed its website to remove the suggestion that people with disabilities consider livestreaming the ceremony instead of attending in person. To Armintor, though, the school still has work to do.
“We are 33 years past the signing of our civil rights legislation and Disabled folks are still dismissed and treated like second class citizens.” – Valois J. Vera, disabled activist and poet
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The university had also previously used the term “special-needs parking,” for instance, which Armintor noted isn’t inclusive language. (UNT's website was later updated to read “accessible” parking.) People with disabilities and advocates have blasted the term “special needs” as infantilizing.
The news is even making waves nationally. Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, retweeted the post from the UNT student.
While Town said people with disabilities do need options for remote participation, she’s been worried that it’ll merely be wielded as a way to avoid providing accessible in-person experiences.
“[V]irtual options become a tool to segregate disabled people,” she continued. “Exactly what’s going on here.”
Reached for comment, UNT said in an emailed statement that celebrating all students' academic achievements and their families “is of the utmost importance to us.” The school added that its administration works with various partners, including the Office of Disability Access, to make sure that commencement can be accessed by everyone.We need remote participation options all day, everyday.
— Maria Town (@maria_m_town) April 2, 2023
BUT I’ve been concerned that places will use remote participation as a way to get out of making in-person experiences accessible & virtual options become a tool to segregate disabled people. Exactly what’s going on here. https://t.co/jFSGcW36Qv
“This includes ASL interpreters, accessible seating and parking, livestreaming the ceremony and other disability accommodations,” the university continued. “In addition to a drop-off spot for graduates and guests located on the east side of the Coliseum, accessible parking will be in close proximity, with an additional accessible overflow lot if needed.”
UNT also included links to additional commencement-related FAQs and information.
Armintor urges the university to consult and listen to people with disabilities in the UNT community who are “being directly harmed by not just the language, but the lack of access that this language describes.” For instance, many are calling for shuttles from the parking lots to the event, which Armintor says the school should oblige.
The way Armintor sees it, people with disabilities shouldn’t be shut out by UNT’s infrastructure: They should be able to enjoy graduation just like everyone else. “It's really outrageous and devastating,” she continued. “And I hope that these changes are in the process of being implemented.”
