Alpha Psi Omega's official motto is "Seek a Life Useful.” To "Seek a Life Useful" is to live life to its fullest potential, and we as an organization have the power to do so by promoting the arts}, raising awareness, and sharing individual artistic voices through one unified community.

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Alpha Psi Omega strives to be diverse, to create equal opportunities, and to be inclusive. As an organization, we commit to creating an accepting environment that holds open conversations with, and about, minority groups.This website provides NMCs, members, and individuals not affiliated with APO, with resources that they can use to better educate themselves and educate others.
In turn, better education will lead to healthy conversations and encourage these individuals to be proactive in their own lives.Staying silent while other individuals are being discriminated against is a form of discrimination in itself. Being proactive in equity and inclusion will help make this chapter of Alpha Psi Omega a welcoming place for all.
Our Alpha Psi Omega DEI Committee strives to make every voice heard.Seek every life useful.

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Here is where we will post upcoming DEI Events!

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Here is the link to open the DEI Holiday Calendar spreadsheet!
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Our Chapter Website: apogammagammaua.weebly.com

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Any comments, questions, or concerns?
Email our DEI Coordinator, Valerie Allen, at [email protected], or fill out our Anonymous Feedback Form!While the form can be used for anonymous feedback, it can also be used to ask for advice, or to ask respectful questions about experiences that other minorities may face. You can keep it anonymous, or leave your name if you'd like. Questions will be answered on the DEI Media page.The only way we can achieve a healthy environment is by hearing your opinions.
We want to make sure every voice is heard, any feedback is appreciated :)

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Here is where we post media that other students have created for education and entertainment :)

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In honor of disability pride month, I thought I would talk about some of the ableist experiences I've encountered in the arts as well as what I've done to combat that. So many ableist experiences have shaped me into the performer I have become. Without these troubling experiences, I would not be the performer I am today.By the time I was twelve I had gotten incredibly comfortable with the phrase “you aren’t strong enough for this industry” that was uttered frequently by my trusted theater teachers. That is a phrase I still have in the back of my mind all these years later. But lately, I’ve been trying to deconstruct this phrase into a more positive one. Instead of reminding myself why I’m not strong enough to pursue an industry I love, I try to ask myself what kinds of attitudes produce this discriminatory line of thinking. After all, would I truly enjoy being a part of an industry where performers are still discriminated against based on ability? I still question why I want to go back to an industry that showed multiple times that it would not include me. Why do I run back to something that has only shown me pain in the past?One of the most significant experiences that I will keep with me until the end of my days was during a pre professional theater intensive when I was in high school. It's tech week and we were lighting a number. The lighting designer wanted to use a strobe. As someone with Epilepsy, situations like these make alarm bells go off in my head. Although I do not suffer from photosensitive Epilepsy, I still like to be safe. When the lighting designer was made aware of this problem, I was called “selfish”, “too sensitive”, that I was “ruining the lighting designer's vision”, and that “if this was the professional world, I would get fired without a second thought”. So I was taken out of the number, and that was all. It’s moments like those where I realize that I am not seen as a person, only as a liability. But that situation still affects me to this day. I am a believer that if your art can only work with such a narrow view of the people performing it, maybe it’s time to reconsider the type of art you are making. Having to decide whether I even want to tell my superiors about my disability is always a hard one. As someone with Epilepsy, walking on eggshells around my abled bodied counterparts is just part of my regular day.Although incredibly painful, I still love performing, I still love teaching, and I love nothing more than being alone in a dance studio. Because of everything that I have been through, I try to make sure that no one has to go through what I will have to go through. My greatest failure as a performer and as a person is if those under me will have to endure even a fraction of the ableism I have encountered. I’ve always been a believer that if I affect just one person with my actions that that would be enough. I think there are many different cultural attitudes that lead to ableism. I’ve always thought it always comes down to fear and ignorance. Many times, we aren’t
knowledgeable about ideas that don’t directly affect us. Because of this, I am a firm believer that the first step to learning is listening. We fear the unknown and bask in ignorance because of this.There are many changes I would like to see when it comes to improving inclusivity in the performing arts industry. Throughout the last few years, I've been able to involve myself in teaching adapted dance classes to children with disabilities and taking masterclasses on how to make dance education more inclusive. I love making the arts as accessible as I can. I always go back and forth on what I want to do after college, for there always seems to be too manys dreams and not enough time. But I know that one aspect I would love to have in my future career is making the arts more accessible to all. Silent battles are still ones that are being fought, even if they don’t affect you. I would challenge my audience to look around during your rehearsals, your shows, as well as the art you are consuming see how accessible it is. I am incredibly thankful that I was able to share my story for this pride month. I hope that the person reading this was able to gain awareness and get something from the article as well!

"Shut Up and Dance: Neurodiversity and Disability Advocacy in the Performing Arts" by Morgan Holder

“You are replaceable” is the constant backtrack to pursuing a career as a performer. We are told from a very young age that mistakes, exceptions or second chances do not exist in this industry. While this ideology negatively affects all artists, those with disabilities experience acute psychological and physical damage from this mentality. The pervasive ablism that exists in the industry can often lead to disabled artist leaving the field altogether and thus creates a gap in much needed knowledge and perspectives.My name is Morgan Holder, and I am a neurodiverse dancer with ADHD. For the past two years, I have been an undergraduate dance major at the University of Alabama. Studying dance as an academic pursuit has been one of the most fulfilling endeavors of my life. I have been extremely lucky to find support and encouragement within the faculty in regard to my ADHD, but I shouldn’t have to consider myself lucky to find support. I still believe there is more work to be done in order to make the department and higher education as a whole accessible. As dancers, we are always striving towards perfection. There will always be ways to improve. There will always be work to be done. Why can’t we approach accessibility and inclusion in the same manner?You do not have to have a disability to know that pursuing a performing arts degree often operates with a unique academic structure. This often means that accessibility structures and resources from the University don’t often translate to what we need. For example, it is quite difficult to take a performance-based exam in a distraction free space when music is blasting through the speakers, people are cheering and talking, and everyone else who is performing are trying to grab people’s attention. Like many neurodiverse people, I suffer from sensitivity issues and noises are particularly terrible for me. One of my symptoms includes an audio-regulatory disorder where my brain cannot filter noise which can and has been debilitating for me. Yet, I am afraid to ask to step out of classes, rehearsals, or auditions when I become overwhelmed because I don’t want to miss instruction or let the powers that be—for whom I rely on for grades, performance opportunities, industry connections—even consider that I may be an inconvenience to work with.For a long time, I was afraid to speak out for myself. Even so, I have found that communication and honesty is key to self-advocacy. You are your best advocate, and if you can’t be your advocate, find an alley or mentor who will advocate on your behalf. While self-advocacy is necessary for individual success, until we acknowledge the systematic ablism in the performing arts, we are never going to see progress. The disabled community has to be loud and unapologetic. When we fight for accessibility and inclusivity, everyone wins.The performing arts belong to no one, and we have just as much of a right to find success and fulfillment as our non-disabled peers. The truth is that this industry needs us. We need disabled artists not only for representation’s sake, but also because of our ability to offer new insights and perspectives. Being disabled means entering a room already knowing that you will have to adapt something in your environment to succeed. We do not walk through the world blind to its faults. We face them every day. Disabled people are already trying to imagine a better world because we are not accommodated in this one. At the end of the day, that’s the role of an artist—to see the world as it should be and show that vision to others.

"Disability Representation in the Entertainment Industry "
by Jackson White

Throughout my 19 years, something that I have struggled with the most would be my relationship with my Cerebral Palsy, and by extent, the relationship between Cerebral Palsy and my career aspirations. When you look at your favorite actors, actresses, musicians, artists, dancers, or TV personalities, how many of them are openly disabled? Too small a number. In a day and age where your image is everything, it can be hard to hold conversations that serve the intentional purpose of discussing something that makes you seem flawed. Keyword being “seem”. As artists, our job is to portray the highs, lows, and in-betweens of the human experience. The most uniting factor between the entire human race is the wide range of emotions that serve as a way to relate to any other individual. People with disabilities are no different. While we may walk differently, move differently, or look differently, the complexity and depth to each person is still there.Because acting is something that can be so personal, raw, inspiring, and delicate, an actor's job is unlike almost any other. While many “9-5” jobs consist of to-do lists and spreadsheets (amongst other things of course), the task of an actor is to communicate through experience. We encourage audiences to feel something, to think differently, or to understand on some level what another person is going through. We strive to tell stories. We celebrate differences. But we live in a society where they are often overlooked. There is so much pressure in the industry to look a certain way, to train a certain way, to live a life on a certain path, that disabled people miss opportunities. However, the foundation is there. The emotions are there. The love, loss, pain, excitement, joy, embarrassment, anger, and passion are all there. If we strive to tell human stories, stories that encapsulate everything it means to be a person living on this Earth, then we need to extend that to actors that are of different abilities.I understand that I am extremely blessed. So incredibly blessed. I can move without the assistance of a wheelchair, I can communicate my thoughts effectively and articulately, I can sing, dance, jump, exercise, and drive. Most people probably don’t know I am disabled until it is pointed out. You might notice I walk a little differently or wear an ankle brace. This is something I often take for granted, being able to disguise my CP, and being able to pursue any dream or goal that I have. I have performed in numerous plays and musicals, acted in short films, performed with competitive show choirs for 6 years, played sports, and so much more. This is such a blessing, I sometimes can’t wrap my head around it. People all over the world have disabilities and physically cannot do these things. Something they can do, however, is feel. Relate. Share. I confidently believe that God gave me these circumstances and this life to be a representative for those people. It is extremely imperative that we extend the same opportunities that able-bodied people have to those who are disabled. We are all human, and we are all on this floating rock together. We need to join together as one human race, and as actors, it is our job to tell the stories and share the experiences of this race, with equal opportunity for all.

"Nothing About Us Without Us: Autism in the Performing Arts" by Sassy Mednikow
TW: Ableism is Discussed

I have autism. It’s not a secret, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a fact about me. Any time I tell someone, I get the ring of “Oh, I wouldn’t be able to tell!” or “But you’re nothing like my 3-year-old nephew who has autism,” or the dreaded, “But you seem so normal!” I don’t feel normal, not at all. Not when I so constantly feel out of place. Being autistic in the theatre world can be hard. It’s a world where no one is themselves up on stage, but once they’re off stage, they completely switch to themselves. Autistic people, in a way, can never “switch to be themselves.” Autistic people have a defense mechanism called “masking,” and it’s essentially our way of making sure that we blend in with others around us. It’s exactly what it sounds like, putting a mask on so others don’t see who we truly are. Some people, like me, take it to an extreme, and feel like we can never take our mask off. That, in my opinion, is why I have been so drawn to theatre. It’s because I never have to stop being someone else.However, there is lots of ableism towards autistic people in the theatre world. The first thing that popped into my mind when I thought of ableism in theatre is the show “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” While there are lots of problems with the book in and of itself, what I will talk about is the Broadway producers’ decision to not cast an autistic actor to portray the lead character, Christopher. While it is never explicitly states that Christopher has autism, it is highly implied, even going as far as to state he has Asperger’s syndrome (a neurological disorder on the autism spectrum) on the synopsis of the book that the play is based on. Despite this lead character being neurodivergent, the two actors playing Christopher on Broadway do not have autism. To quote Ari Ne’eman, the president and co-founder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, “At the end of the day, this is a concern because the production has shown that they are not looking at the perspectives on actual autistic people as a priority.” This is a recurring problem in the performing arts world, as directors and producers ignore the perspective that actually autistic actors can give to an autistic role.Another instance that comes to mind is Sia’s controversial movie, Music. Despite originally casting an autistic actor for the lead role of the movie, who is autistic, she proceeded to fire her and cast her protege, Maddie Ziegler, instead. She then famously tweeted horrible things to autistic actors who stepped up and said they were happy to take on the role so the character could have the perspective of an actually autistic actor, saying that they didn’t get the role because they’re bad actors, and clarified that she cast some neurodivergent people, but not as “prostitutes or drug addicts,” (Sia’s words, not mine) as if that was a gift to them. Despite the constant backlash to Sia about not using an autistic actor for the lead role, the movie went on to premiere a few months later. The movie was not only a huge sensory overload with loud music and bright colors, but it also featured a scene where Music, the autistic character, was lain down on as a means of restraining her, which is highly condemned by autistic people. This shows that Sia did not work with autistic people for years as she claimed to have done. This controversy blew up because of Sia’s reaction, however, this kind of stuff is constantly swept under the rug.
None of this changes the fact that I love the performing arts and always will. However, I believe if you love something, you should be able to call out where its weaknesses are. And if you ever have any questions about autism, remember to ask an autistic person directly. You can contact me directly, if you’d like. I love talking about autism and the betterment of the autistic community. And, to quote many many tweets to Sia, do nothing about us without us.

A Poem By Nic Lincoln

"Acceptance Saves Lives"
by Grant Pethel

Women's History Month Spotlight By Anabeth Johnson