Robert Dunbar wanted his first town hall as Columbia’s disability student advocate senator to feel nothing like a meeting.
On the third floor of the Student Center, Student Government Association hosted its “Disability Student Advocate Town Hall: Thanksgiving Fest” on Friday night, Nov. 21. With “Free Birds” playing from a television, Dunbar, a junior acting major, invited students to settle in, watch a movie and talk about what inclusion should look like on campus.
Dunbar, who has ADHD, said his approach comes from lived experience. He often explains his disability from moments like zoning out in line for a water fountain and snapping back to realize he was the only person still standing there.
Those moments, he said, shape how he thinks about creating space for others.
“It’s better to have someone who has been going through this their whole life and understands it,” he said, “rather than someone who has never been through any of this and has no clue how to help or support this group of individuals.”
He ran for the newly elected SGA disabilities student advocate seat in September because he knew what it felt like to be left out. Students with disabilities, he said, deserve support from someone who understands those challenges firsthand.
Dunbar said many students still struggle to find the resources they need on campus, a gap he hopes to help close.
Junior fine art and art management major Michael Kowalkowski, who also serves as and the vice president of finance for SGA, said he feels supported by Columbia but knows it’s not the case for every individual.
“Given the scale of our school and the idea of ten advisors for the entire student body, that’s where the challenge can come in, especially with the budget change,” said Kowalkowski, a diabetic. “That’s speaking for myself, I think the school is trying their best, but it’s just hard because we don’t have the resources or funds to do the best we could in every circumstance.”
Danielle Hirschhorn, the director of SSD, said she was excited to have a social opportunity for students to come out and to get to participate and have more awareness about her office.
She planned to show “Free Birds” to her nieces and nephews during the Thanksgiving break.
“Thanksgiving is really just a time to reflect and think about the areas of privilege that I have,” she says. “Trying to think about ways to spread some of that and how I can be a member of our community here on campus.”
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
