Every year, thousands of college students suffer from autoimmune diseases in silence.
Unclean dorms, eating areas, and vents can pose an invisible threat to these students -- making them sick and causing them to live in fear on their own campus. To make matters worse, many immunocompromised students are unable to get an effective education remotely. due to poor remote learning standards. Their grades drop as a result of their diagnosis; they are often forced to drop out to stay healthy.
The Autoimmune Alliance's Autoimmune Rights Campus Initiative seeks to change that. We want to empower every student with a safe, clean, and inclusive educational environment. This means fighting to change outdated policies on college campuses that put the lives of over a million students in danger. Our campus ambassadors create change on their campus by:
Advocating for disabled students and faculty on campus to make sure everyone is free to learn or teach in a way that keeps them safe and healthy. No one deserves to drop out of college because of an illness they can’t control.
Coordinating with local and national advocacy groups to build a coalition of disability groups supporting our movement. The more like-minded groups we can partner with, the more likely we are to change policies and finally protect the millions of Americans suffering in silence from an autoimmune disease — as well as the millions more who are immunocompromised.
Create and maintain a social media movement on their campus to raise awareness about this invisible issue impacting the lives of over 23 million Americans. Creating buzz in their local area helps us convince decision-makers that protecting the autoimmune is necessary.
