Written by Rachel Morgan, MSc Crime Science
Hi! My name is Rachel and I am reading for an MSc in Crime Science in the Department of Security and Crime Science.
In my former life I played tennis internationally. I loved those times of travelling, though a very fast paced masters degree takes priority. It was a great way to smash preconceptions - not many people thought that a totally blind person could rally, let alone win 2 world championships. There was a particular freedom to flying across the court instead of looking for landmarks with your cane and being very process driven.
Disability History Month
Disability History Month is very important to me, 15% of people globally have some from of disability. While we have come a long way even since the Equality Act we still have a very long way long way to go. I get people regularly grabbing me without consent, once by the back of the neck! It’m going to respond with far less alarm if you ask me if I am ok rather than grab me when I wouldn’t know you are there. Would anyone want a stranger approaching them in such a way?
If I could get any message across to the world it’s that I’m just a regular human being who just can’t use her eyes. This is why I personally believe in the phrase ‘person with a disability’ rather than ‘disabled person’; whilst I still face so many more challenges, that shouldn’t take away from me, Rachel, the cat loving crime scientist.
Studying as a student with a disability
In terms of studying it’s safe to say that my experience is vastly different to my sighted friends on the course. Everything takes so much longer to do, and it takes out of your RAM for the day. Where someone else may exit Euston Square and walk until they see the Portico, I would look for the cobbled paving with my cane, follow it until I am where it curves after the main gate and then aim (with varying success) for 45 degrees, and then hope I am walking the right way to find the entrance by the side of the Portico, it can be very tiring.
Depending on the type of reading I switch between speech and electronic braille, though reading is a much slower process when skim reading is not an option. I often read a chapter on my way in to campus. Depending on the topic I will turn off my phone screen and hear the inevitable ‘Do you know that your phone doesn’t work?’. Still, it’s a better option than someone looking over you shoulder to see you are reading a chapter on lone actor terrorism for instance.
My dissertation aim is to map certain crimes in the capital to give a spatiotemporal analysis to see if policing strategies are the most effective they could be. While I can produce the maps using software I won’t be able to assess them myself, so we are trialling the use of a 3D printer to make detailed maps with different heights representing colour depth. It's very exciting to be able to use this kind of technology.
In an ideal world we wouldn’t need Disability History Month. That being said, I don’t believe in equality, but rather in equity as everyone has their own lived experiences and needs. If I could give any advice to other students with disabilities it would be to plan out things in a way that is manageable. Do switch off and join societies that interest you - enjoy being part of the UCL community. My last piece of advice is to reach out when you need help - as much as the thought of a UCL degree and its workload is daunting, everyone only wants the best for you and to help you succeed!