Low temperatures inside lecture halls and academic buildings are significant concerns for students with disabilities that are sparked by sensitivity to cold weather. These include siezures or arthritis and many other mobility related disabilities. Students reported having to practice spacial strategies to manage their disabilities. This includes strategic absences from academic and social spaces.

Example of harmful practices in academia: low temperatures in lecture halls

Many universities have attendance requierments and enforcement policies to improve student learning and develop student responsibility. However for students with disabilities, attendance is more of a technical requirement and bureaucratic hurdle. Attendance policies often lead to self reflection and re-evaluation of social image, which affects students sense of worth within higher education. 

Example of Harmful Practices in Academia: Attendance Policies 

Policies in academic spaces often make it more difficult for students with disabilities. These policies include the length of a semester or class sessions and objective testing techniques to evaluate student progress. These arbitrary policies and practices impact students with disabilities and create barriers to recieving higher education.

Gettysburg College

People with invisible disabilities face a decision of whether or not they should disclose their disabilities in higher education. Students with invisible disabilities often withold information about the impact and extent of their disabilities to avoid social stigma and exclusion. 

Social stigma surrounding disclosure of invisible disabilties in higher education

 Adi Sapir & Adi Banai (2024) Balancing attendance and disclosure:
identity work of students with invisible disabilities, Disability & Society, 39:8, 2032-2052, DOI:
10.1080/09687599.2023.2181765

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