Immediately upon transferring to Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) in the Fall of 2018, Sonya was put at risk when the ‘accessible’ dorm she was placed in was on the third floor, and there was no effective policy in place to evacuate students lacking the ability to navigate stairs in the case of an emergency. Over the course of four months, Sonya, along with at least 5 other disabled students residing in the building, would be left in over thirty possibly emergent situations: the fire alarm would sound, and no one would come to evacuate them or provide notification as to the cause of the alarm. Sonya was tossed from office to office before finding that the existing “policy” pertaining to the safety of disabled individuals was one (1) paragraph stating that individuals with disabilities should familiarize themselves with accessible exits, and plan ahead. 

During this time, she held meetings with every level of university administration seeking information on and reform of their emergency evacuation policies. These discussions had little impact, administration refusing to be at all involved or responsible for student safety, rarely answering questions full or directly. Eventually, Sonya rallied the support of the student body at large, holding a two day protest in the school library that resulted in the student senate passing a resolution for the administration to respond. 

These protests and meetings supported the same goals, formulated by Sonya after extensive research on current practices and the needs of students with disabilities: Written policy that outlined the University’s responsibility to safely evacuate disabled students, the option of annual one-on-one safety planning for each of the disabled students living on campus (a plan that would be documented in writing), practice drills with local first responders, and a timely notification of emergent situations (often disabled students would not learn if something was a drill until all other students had been evacuated then released back into the building at the conclusion of the drill). 

​Sonya live-streamed being at risk during multiple alarmed emergencies on campus. In response, Sonya was featured in a local news segment about the issue (viewable here), and the greater public voiced their concerns to the colleges admin with emails and calls. Eventually the administration wrote an eleven (11) page document outlining evacuation and safety procedures, covering a wider variety of disabilities. The thrust of the document remained that the students solely responsible for their safety while on campus; the administration never put in writing their responsibility for the lives of these students. 

Allowed a brief window to submit comments on this document, Sonya drafted pages of notes and submit them to administration. Despite this, none of these changes were incorporated in the final document.  While the university agreed to institute optional individualized safety plans for each student, it remained the responsibility of the student to write their plan, with  no medical or legal expertise provided to the student in the synthesis of this plan. Additionally, There were to be coordinated practice drills at the beginning of each semester. This never occurred without explanation. Upon inquiry, we were informed that the local first responders did not agree to these drills, citing it was a liability for them. 

Through this, there was no acknowledgement from the school of the ongoing emotional and academic strain of this ordeal on disabled students. While imperfect, it became clear that the expanded written policy, existence of individualized safety plans, awareness of the need for disability specific safety drills, and public outcry was as much progress as there would be for the time being. Sonya continued to meet with relevant administrative offices so the risk would not be forgotten, but forced herself to shift her focus to academics. As is so often the case, it became clear the work would never be finished. Sonya spent the rest of her time at Purchase telling stories of disabled existence and resistance through the building of This Body's Heart, and connecting to Purchase's disabled community through social and academic activities, with the hope that even if they were still at risk, they felt supported by one another.​