Phil Pacanowski
27th November 2007

The LSE Students’ Union (LSESU) Disabilities Awareness Week took place last week with a variety of associated events. The week was in collaboration with the LSESU Debate Society and featured, among other events, a performance from a renowned stand-up comedian.

The week began with a performance by deaf comedian Steve Day in the Underground Bar. He has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and is known for his routine “Deaf in the Afternoon.” He gave a question and answer session after the show. A yoga instructor, Amrit Singh, visited the LSE on Tuesday to provide a specialised yoga session for disabled students.

The largest number of events took place on Wednesday. The Disability Friendly Awards event took place that day. The purpose of the event was to recognise members of staff who had gone out of their way to help students with disabilities, despite it not being part of their brief. The Awards were followed by the Disability & Diversity Consultative Forum, which takes place once per term. The main event on Wednesday evening was a debate organised in partnership with the Debate Society, which discussed the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. The week was concluded with a series of one-off careers advice appointments, booked specifically for students with disabilities. The Battle of the Beavers, an entrepreneurial event wherein participants compete to create an ‘enterprise’ incorporating a fundamental awareness of disability, was closed due to lack of interest.

Lucie Goulet, a second year international relations and history student commented, “the Disability Awareness Week is a great way to raise awareness at the LSE about students with disabilities. However, I wish they had promoted their events more so that there could have been more people attending.”