Judy Gentile was a fighter.
As the first wheelchair user to attend MSU, she had to fight for the right to attend accessible classes. She fought for handicapper rights at MSU and founded the Council of Students with Disabilities.
And that’s why the council chose to honor her at a candlelight vigil Monday night. The council held the vigil to celebrate International Persons with Disabilities Day, which was Monday.
A handful of dedicated students huddled in a circle near the rock on Farm Lane Monday night, braving the freezing temperatures to raise awareness for civil rights for people with disabilities.
The ceremony began with a moment of silence to honor Gentile, who died in 1993.
“We felt it would be appropriate to honor a student activist, and Judy was the epitome of a student activist,” said Matthew Weingarden, ASMSU Student Assembly representative for the council. “Beyond being the founder of our group, she was constantly fighting to break barriers on this campus.”
Because many of her classes were held in buildings that weren’t accessible to her, she had to change her major.
Weingarden said Gentile fought hard for changes on campus as a student. He said that once, to give a presentation to the university president, she had to be carried into the International Center.
“It takes a lot to be carried into a building. Not being able to get into a building on your own takes a lot,” Weingarden said. “She was very courageous. It’s obviously very degrading to have to be carried somewhere.”
Gentile’s mother would drive her to school and push her from class to class. When Gentile encouraged more students with disabilities to attend MSU, her mother donated her van and her time to drive other students as well.
Gentile graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. As a graduate student, she became director of the Office of Programs for Handicapper Students - now known as the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities - in 1971.
The atrium in Bessey Hall was dedicated in her honor on May 1, 1998.
“She was awesome,” said Molly Conley, co-president of the council. “I really admire her spirit and what she went through just to be a student here at MSU.”
But the interdisciplinary social sciences senior said the fight is far from over for students with disabilities.
“There’s still a lot that needs to be done. Many of the buildings on campus are only partially accessible,” she said.
That is one of the reasons the council has started the Silver Ribbon Campaign. The council will distribute silver ribbons and hold forums to educate students on disability issues until Dec. 3, 2001.
“Right now, what we’re striving for is visibility,” Conley said. “If people are able to see these issues and are exposed to them, it makes it easier to educate people about how these issues play out at the university.”
She said one of the changes she would like to see on campus is speedier compliance with MSU’s Transaction Plan. The plan’s goal is to make every building on campus accessible to people with disabilities by 2020.
“It’s a nice goal, but it doesn’t help very much for students who are here on campus now,” Conley said, adding that accessibility needs to take into account all types of disabilities. “Accessibility is something that extends beyond just having a ramp near the steps.”
Packaging sophomore Emily Gelbaugh attended the vigil and said raising awareness of such issues is one of the first steps in improving conditions on campus.
“I have high hopes for the campaign,” she said. “I hope it makes a difference, but I know it’s going to be hard. That’s why it’s a good thing this is a yearlong project.”
She said the ribbon campaign should at least raise visibility of some of the issues students with disabilities face.
“You don’t think about disability issues every day,” she said. “It’s not as prevalent in everyday life. It’s easier to ignore people with disabilities, because you don’t see it all the time.”
Heather Banks can be reached at bankshe1@msu.edu.
