WKU Forensics held its first annual “Disability Justice Showcase” Wednesday in the Ogden College Auditorium, featuring five performances on disability, neurodiversity and chronic illness.
Christian Butterfield, senior creative writing major, was the main organizer of the showcase and a performer. Butterfield performed a persuasive piece about the rise in suicide rates in people with autism.
Butterfield said speaking at the showcase “makes a statement” that this community is here and is a vital part of a nationally recognized speech team.
“The real success of our activity is learning how to advocate for our communities, to our communities,” Butterfield said in his opening remarks. “We believe that to build a beautiful world, you must speak it into existence.”
Kirsten Eversmann, junior criminology and sociology double major, performed a poetry piece about the struggles hard-of-hearing individuals face.
In her speech, Eversmann connected her own experiences with hearing loss to advocate for her community. She also informed others how to avoid worsening hearing loss.
“I really wanted to do something to showcase how hard-of-hearing individuals and the deaf community aren’t very thought of a lot, how people aren’t very mindful of their environmental sounds and how our hearing is getting worse,” Eversmann said.
Eversmann said she approached this performance with humor because she loves connecting people to an important topic through laughter.
Abram Tingle, junior electrical engineering major, said he attended the showcase with some friends. Tingle said his favorite performance was the piece done by Eversmann because it was funny and easy to follow.
Tingle said he believes more awareness needs to be brought to these showcases because the conversations in the performances are important to talk about.
Sydney Rettig, junior hospitality and tourism double major, was another host and performer in the showcase. Rettig performed a poetry piece based on her experiences with chronic illness.
Rettig described in her opening remarks the importance of this showcase. She said she hoped these performances and these conversations would continue for many years to come.
“This is a showcase about disability inclusion, acceptance and, of course, justice, whether it be in neurodivergency (neurodivergence), hearing loss or invisible illnesses,” Rettig said in the opening remarks. “This showcase affirms not just our existence, but our right to exist.”
