MANY WHO DEVOTE THEIR LIVES to social justice can point to a definitive moment when the need to stand up to inequality became saliently apparent . Not so many can say they experienced such a moment at the age of six , but for Cyndi Jones , Revelle ’ 74 , a first-grade classroom would prove to be her first touch with the harsh reality of discrimination .
Jones contracted infantile paralysis , or polio , at the age of two . As a young girl in St . Louis , Mo ., she was selected to be the March of Dimes poster child in the region . Jones remembers the excitement of being the young girl on crutches waving from parade floats and featured on local billboards . Throughout the 1950s , hers was the smiling face meant to open people ’ s eyes to polio . Yet when the organization ’ s mission moved from polio fundraising to vaccination , just the reverse occurred — Jones ’ eyes were opened to the prevailing attitudes that she and other people with disabilities faced .
“ I was in class and a new poster was being distributed ,” Jones says . “ They used a photo of a couple of kids running through a field , then a photo of me in a party dress . Over their picture it said ‘ THIS ,’ and over my picture it said ‘ NOT THIS .’ I wanted to crawl under my desk .” Jones went home that day with an acute sense of being wronged , and more importantly , the resolve to do something about it . “ I told my mom that the March of Dimes cannot use my photos anymore ,” she recalls . “ That ’ s when I realized how society viewed disability . That ’ s when I became an advocate .”
What reads like a tragic instance in the life of a young girl would only be Jones ’ first brush with the social injustices she would spend her life fighting against . Upon moving to San Diego , Jones was not admitted into her neighborhood school , but was bussed across the county to a school for children with disabilities . This was before legislation such as PL 94‐142 and Section
Change Catalyst An insensitive tear-off vaccination voucher featuring six-yearold Jones set her on a course of lifelong disability rights advocacy .
504 prohibited discrimination , and Jones acknowledges the opportunities afforded to her even before Section 504 passed in 1973 . “ UCSD didn ’ t have to accept me , either ,” Jones says . “ I ’ m lucky that I was already enrolled in college even before I had the right to attend .”
Even though she was admitted to UC San Diego , a lack of accessibility and accommodation at the time ultimately took a substantial toll on her education . Using crutches to navigate a growing campus in the 1960s was not easy . “ I always had to choose my classes based on where they were located , not who was teaching them ,” Jones says . The distance from her dorm
to educational facilities proved to be a major obstacle ; her inability to travel to Geisel Library — then known as the “ not-so ” Central Library — impacted the quality of her classwork . “ It was exhausting trying to make it to classes . I was always late , and I was tired by the time I got there . But back then , the sentiment was ‘ If you can ’ t do it , you can ’ t do it .’” Finally , during her senior year , she faced a nearly impossible circuit in order to take courses required to complete her degree in biology .
“ I had to take three core classes that were back-to-back . The first was in Revelle 2722 , the second over in Muir , and then back to 2722 . I really couldn ’ t do it on crutches ,
Highlights from Cyndi Jones ’ career show that within the prolonged fight for change , even the slightest actions can cascade into profound impact . Take two phone calls that helped put people with disabilities into the greater public consciousness :
1983 : “ I was grocery shopping and noticed that Wheaties was asking for nominations of athletes for their next box . I called the head of Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports USA and said , ‘ You know we could get a wheelchair athlete on the front of a Wheaties box . Who are we going to nominate ?’ In the summer of ’ 84 , there was George Murray , who was a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon ’ s wheelchair division . He was on 3 million boxes ; I get goose bumps thinking about how many mothers of kids with disabilities saw that and realized their child could get into sports .”
2000 : “ My husband ( Bill Stothers ) and I still work to increase media coverage of disability . We noticed the U . S . Census Bureau puts out media fact sheets for trendy topics or holidays , like how many turkeys were sold this Thanksgiving , etc ., but there had never been one that addressed disability . Just prior to the ADA ’ s 10th anniversary , we suggested they make a fact sheet on disability in America — they did , and have continued to do so every year since .”
34 TRITON | SPRING 2016