Disability Advocates of Grand Valley State University joined with Campus Links, Disability Support Resources and Facilities Services in an effort to engage students with Autism Awareness Month, kicking off the advocacy efforts on Tuesday night, when the Cook Carillon tower lit up blue in honor of World Autism Awareness Day.

Campus Links peer mentor Ken Pierson said joining the “Light It Up Blue” campaign seemed like a great way to raise positive awareness on campus. The campaign itself has grown tremendously each year all across the world.

“Last year, the Great Pyramids, Sydney Opera House and a number of other iconic monuments were lit blue,” Pierson said. “We wanted to bring this terrific awareness to Grand Valley to show our support for our peers and individuals around the world.”

Karlee Davis, president of Disability Advocates, along with other members of the organization, wanted to celebrate the day on campus and spread awareness with a message that elicited questions and started dialogue.

“It was important to light up the clock tower blue to get students talking and wondering about the purpose behind the blue tower,” Davis said.

She said GVSU facility members Tim Thimmesch and Michelle Holstege listened to the idea and helped Davis and the rest of Disability Advocates make it happen.

“It was fairly easy to plan for the clock tower to be lit up blue, (and) this shows the tremendous support on campus for Autism Awareness,” Davis said. “It was great to see many individuals coming together to encourage positive awareness on campus.”

The act set the stage for other events that will take place throughout the rest of the month to shed some positive light on autism, she said.

“There is a stigma placed on individuals with disabilities, and I saw the need to join forces with friends, with and without disabilities, to break this stigma,” Davis said. “All people should be recognized for their strengths and personality. A disability is something a person has, not who they are, and it is important to open the minds of others to this fact.”
Pierson said there are a lot of thoughts regarding what causes autism, but there is not a common agreement.

“Because of this, there is a widespread misconception that autism is a disease of epidemic proportions,” Pierson said. “This negative perspective that autism needs to be cured and eliminated often takes away from a person’s identity as people begin to focus on the individual’s autism rather than their personhood.”

Disability Advocates will be meeting tonight at 9 p.m. in Kirkhof Center Room 2264 to discuss upcoming events. Organization representatives said the group welcomes new members and ideas.

[email protected]