Prof. Kanter and Yohannes Zewale LL.M. ’19 and Current S.J.D. Candidate Discuss Disability Rights and Citizenship on Panel 

Our understanding of citizenship can be transformed when viewed through the perspective of people with disabilities. How do disability rights fit into the modern Human Rights framework? Have universities become more accessible and if so for whom? Are disabled students fully included in higher education’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts? And how do disability rights in New York State and the United States compare to other countries? 

Professor Arlene Kanter, Founder and Director of the Disability Law and Policy Program (DLPP), and Yohannes Zewale LL.M. ’19 and current S.J.D. Candidate participated on the “Renewing Democratic Community: Disability Rights and Citizenship in the Modern Civil Rights Era” panel hosted by the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The panel discussed how promoting disability rights moves us closer to realizing the promise of full citizenship in democracies here and around the world. 

Led by Chris Faricy, Associate Professor of Political Science and the inaugural Hicker Family Professor in Renewing Democratic Community, additional panelists included Brian McLane, President of Paradigm Solutions; Beth Myers, Lawrence B. Taishoff Assistant Professor of Inclusive Higher Education; and Paula Possenti-Perez, Director for the Center for Disability Resources.