Looking Forensic Inaccessibility in the Eye: My Experiences as a Low Vision Competitor

The 2022-2023 competition year was my first on the collegiate circuit, and as an entire season it was truly unforgettable.I had jumped in full steam ahead as a dedicated first year on the Minnesota State University, Mankato Speech and Debate team which was easy, because I instantly felt at home there.I worked incredibly hard throughout the entire season and eventually earned my seat in the van to my first NFA national tournament at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.I had brought a slew of events and topics I was passionate about and had been working on throughout the year: A poetry program reflecting on my newfound non-binary identity; a witty prose about the trials and tribulations of making friends as an adult.I had even branched out into and become incredibly passionate about my communication analysis on the Deaf President Now movement at Gallaudet University in the 1980s.The preeminent, though, was my After-Dinner Speech regarding accessibility in forensics.Accessibility had been one of the core pillars on the MSU team, and my coaches were paramount in helping me actualize my ideas when it came to solving the issues I was seeing.Breaking this speech to octafinals at NFA, especially as a first-year, meant the world to me, especially because accessibility is a topic I am so passionate about.It was also comedically satisfying; I had a visual aid of the step I regularly tripped on outside Bradley Hall during the Norton earlier that season, an experience many know all too well.My clumsiness, ignorance, or just plain blindness due to my vision disability only amplified this 'humbling' and continuous occurrence.We finally made it to awards, where the NFA president announced that, beginning that year, they would be displaying octafinalists on a projection screen in lieu of verbally announcing them to streamline the hours-long awards ceremony.I felt instantly disappointed.As a low vision competitor, I knew I wouldn't be able to see my name on screen.It felt like a slap in the face after all the arduous work I had done, especially considering my speech was about accessibility.Disabled students deserve to be celebrated just the same as anyone else, but when opportunities to celebrate have inherent barriers, it just doesn't feel celebratory.This experience was one of the most sobering I have had that truly caused me to feel alienated from the activity, but it is just one of many barriers that disabled competitors, judges, and coaches face every day.1.