Hey! So Glad You're Here.
Who are we?
Hold the Lift! is a collaborative work of the UCLan Disabled Student Society. We have content creators from all backgrounds who work together to write, photograph and document the daily lives and challenges of students with disabilities. Our motto is 'Nothing about us, without us'.
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Why are we called Hold the Lift!?
The name came about during a workshopping session - students were sharing their experience of being unable to use lifts in buildings because they were full of able-bodied students or they felt stigmatised for using the lift. We felt that Hold the Lift! symbolised the struggle we have to use resources that are meant for us.
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What is our aim?
Disabled students have often been disregarded in academia. We here at Hold The Lift! want to represent disabled voices on issues such as accessibility, university life and politics. The point of this platform is to put disabled voices first and advocate for our issues directly.
Meet the Team
Regular Contributors
Mel Kennedy
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Mel Kennedy studied for her combined undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy and society at UCLAN from 2018-2021. After campaigning for disability issues at university, she realised she wanted to pursue a future in disability studies. When Mel isn’t campaigning, she likes to research disability and work on her book, which she hopes will eventually be published.
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Winner of the 'Article of the Year' Award
Molly Froude
Molly studied BSc Neuropsychology at UCLan from 2018-2021. Whilst she was a student, she was involved in the Disabled Students society and wrote articles for the ‘Hold the Lift!’ online magazine in her final year. Molly still doesn’t know what she wants to do as a career long term but hopes to save up for a masters whilst enjoying being an auntie to her beautiful nephew, Roman
Arthur Hewitt
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Arthur Hewitt studied Music Theatre from 2018-2021 at UCLan. After getting involved with Hold the Lift in his final year, Arthur decided to apply for his Postgrad PGCE teaching students with disabilities because when he was younger, he had no disabled teachers to look up and wants to change that.
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Winner of the 'Article of the Year' Award
Alex Martin
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Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Jacobs
Sarah Jacobs is a third year student studying British Sign Language and Deaf Studies. She has a Non-Epileptic Seizures and is Hard of Hearing. She is active in Student Government and plans on using her platform to highlight access issues both in education and wider society.