Student Voice: I Am Also

Last year, the Hereford Times editor, John Wilson, reached out to the College to invite student voices to contribute to a longstanding feature in the paper. Titled Talking Point, the column features opinion pieces from a rota of local people, and RNC students will contribute to four columns during 2024.
Three eager students volunteered for this exciting opportunity, and the first of their pieces has already hit the press. Raven Scott's article, titled I Am Also, was published last week, and you can read it here:

I Am Also

If you pass me in Hereford High Town, what would you notice first? Probably not my dyed hair or platformed boots.

When most people see me, they define me by my white cane and glasses. You might wonder to yourself whether I am safe and if I need any help. You might not notice that I am walking independently, with my own belongings and destination, like everybody else.

Many of my sight-impaired peers refuse to use a cane because it makes them look vulnerable. I express myself through my appearance, hoping you will notice other features to define me by. I could be “that blind person”, or I could be the person with green hair, or with a bird tattoo. These are all characteristics of me, and I cannot be reduced to just one.

I am currently in my third year studying at the Royal National College for the Blind, where I cook, shop, study and socialise like my sighted peers. Soon, I will study psychology abroad, because I am responsible for myself and my future, like any other student.

Recently, I was walking to the shops when a passing, well-meaning man took me by the shoulders and steered me around some scaffolding, without considering that I had my cane to warn me and did not need help. My specialist equipment may indicate a disability, but it does not mean I am struggling. There is only one way to know if a disabled person would like help… Ask us.

So, see the cane and glasses. Hear I attend the RNC. But also notice how I dress, hear that I like crafts and writing, and I speak German. Ask how I do art and birdwatching with a visual impairment, rather than assuming I can’t.

I am disabled, but I am also an individual. So, let’s make a deal; I won’t assume your capabilities, if you don’t assume mine.

Raven Scott, 14 March 2024