Disability Awareness Month Celebration – October 2025
“See Us, Hear Us, Believe Us”
Disability Awareness Month is nationally recognized during the month of October. We are proud of the accomplishments and contributions of members of this community and embrace the honor and acknowledgement of their achievements. The James Farmer Multicultural Center is working closely with the Office of Disability Resources, as well as Diversability, Talk to the Hands, and Best Buddies student clubs to coordinate and plan the events for this month-long celebration.
Disability Awareness Month Kick-Off – Table Fair
Wednesday, October 1 | 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Campus Walk in front of Lee Hall | (Rain location: 2nd Floor Gourley Living Room, Cedric Rucker University Center)
Join us for our Disability Awareness Month kick-off event where information and goodies, including free t-shirts, will be available from campus and community partners, such as: the Office of Disability Resources, the James Farmer Multicultural Center, Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society, Talk to the Hands, Best Buddies, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Mental Health America – Fredericksburg, and more.
WRP Fireside Chat – CANCELLED
Adaptive Sports Day
Saturday, October 4 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Goolrick Main & Auxiliary Gyms
Co-sponsored by POTS Club, UMW Athletics, and the James Farmer Multicultural Center
This event celebrates the unique abilities of persons with disabilities in the realm of sports. Often, persons with disabilities are discouraged or denied the opportunity to participate in any form of sports. This event will demonstrate inclusive excellence and uplift and champion individuals with disabilities by giving them a platform to shine and excel. It will bring about positive social change through engagement. By participating in the various adaptive sports stations (goalball, wheelchair basketball, boccia ball, and pickleball), individuals have the opportunity to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the complexities faced by individuals with disabilities, as well as their talents and contributions in sports and more broadly.
Silent Dinner
Wednesday, October 15 | 5:00 p.m. | Chandler Ballroom A/B, Cedric Rucker University Center
Sponsored by Talk to the Hands Club
Join Talk to the Hands for our fourth annual Silent Dinner! The Silent Dinner is an event included in this celebration hosted by UMW’s American Sign Language Club. The purpose of this event is to encourage attendees to try to communicate without using verbal language, instead by using American Sign Language, written language, or any other form of non-verbal communication while eating and having fun! So many people do not use verbal language to communicate, and by trying to find new ways to communicate, we are attempting to make our community more inclusive and understanding.
2025 Disability Awareness Month Major Speaker: Dr. Robert McRuer
Tuesday, October 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Chandler Ballroom A/B, Cedric Rucker University Center
Dr. Robert McRuer is Professor of English at George Washington University, where he teaches disability studies, queer theory, and critical theory more generally. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including the award-winning Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability (NYU, 2006). His latest monograph is Crip Times: Disability, Globalization, and Resistance (NYU, 2018), and he is completing a book titled Disability, Revolution for the University of California Press’s American Studies Now Series. He co-edited Sex and Disability with Abby L. Wilkerson (Duke, 2012) and, with Merri Lisa Johnson, three special issues of the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies focused on “Cripistemologies” (Liverpool UP, 2014, 2024). With David Bolt, he is general co-editor of the six-volume series A Cultural History of Disability (Bloomsbury, 2020), with volumes reaching from antiquity to the present.
Sensory Bins Service Activity
Wednesday, October 29 at 4:00 pm | Colonnade Room, Cedric Rucker University Center
Come make a sensory bin to take home and/or make one for local students. Sensory bins allow people to relax and engage with their five senses in a calming and self-regulated way.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information, please contact the James Farmer Multicultural Center at (540) 654-1044 or visit students.umw.edu/multicultural. Please email us at jfmc@umw.edu if you have any questions regarding disability-related accommodations.