HM Disability Rights Student Activist Featured in Teen Vogue
Isabel Mavrides-Calderón, a student activist for the rights of the disabled and member of the Class of 2023, was featured in a recent Teen Vogue article about the effect of the pandemic on disabled people and the current state of disability rights. In “11 Disability Rights Activists on Where the Fight for Justice Stands,” Isabel eloquently states:
The pandemic highlighted the ableism ingrained in all aspects of society. There has never been the appropriate infrastructure in place to support disabled people. For years, disabled and chronically ill students begged for remote options when they were hospitalized or couldn't get to school, and we were always told it was not possible. The medical system and mental health services were inaccessible to people who could not physically get to the facilities. If society would have listened to disabled folks in the first place, our transition to a more digital world would have been smoother. I hope this showed us that accommodations benefit everyone.
Isabel has been fighting for the rights of the disabled since the age of 13. At HM, she is president of the Speech Team and the Latinx Advocacy Club, junior editor at The Review, and first violin in the orchestra. Outside of school, Isabel has been spotlighted in many online and print articles, and has used social media to raise awareness about the injustices that disabled people face on a daily basis. She has worked as an organizer for the ACLU and Center for Disability Rights, a writer for various disability rights campaigns, and a guest speaker at various conferences and panels.