Easy for you to say

The SJC at Brock University will be hosting an upcoming free concert event with the band Hello Kelly, Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region (LDA Niagara) and community member Sarah Burgess.

The Student Justice Centre’s recent establishment in the Brock community has been founded on creating awareness of the social inequalities that exist on campus. The SJC also provides comprehensive assistance to students in the form of community resources as well as confidential and non judgmental listening.

Celeste C. Rodrigues, Special Events Peer with the SJC, has been eagerly awaiting the upcoming concert event.

Rodrigues’ approach to planning events comes from creating a safe space that celebrates equity. The purpose of the upcoming event is to highlight disability as an ability.

“One of our mandates is to fight the stigma against disabilities,” said Rodrigues. “The event is to promote disability as ability.”

The event will kick off with the LDA Niagara presenting on the services they provide including what defines a learning disability.

Following the presentation, community member Sarah Burgess will be sharing her story and poetry that will be sure to demonstrate how extraverted she is.

Burgess suffered an accident with a train when she was younger, which resulted in a brain injury that left her unable to speak and limited her mobility.

“She has come through a lot of difficulties and I think this event is special for her. This is her moment to be extraverted and to show people she isn’t disabled in any way,” said Rodrigues. “Meeting her has really changed my life just on a personal note. I don’t want to take for granted me being able to communicate with people.”

The Canadian band Hello Kelly – now based in Tennessee – will be performing and highlighting the key theme of abilities. The band’s latest album, Easy for You to Say, is wordplay on the lead singer Francois Goudreauls’ speech disorder which prevents him from communicating clearly.

Goudreaul does not consider this a weakness, but rather a unique perspective and a challenge to tell a story. “The hope is that people will hear my story and be encouraged to overcome the hurdles and hardships in their own lives,” said Goudreaul in an interview on the band’s official website, hellokellyonline.com.

Hello Kelly’s style has emerged from aspects of punk, hip-hop and indie. Rodrigues is excited to meet the band and to have them perform at Brock where she could ask what it is like for them to be a Canadian band living and working in Tennessee, and if the speech disorder is still a large barrier.

The SJC wants to continue taking a good message and creating a celebratory event that students can get behind. In the upcoming months the SJC has many unique events in the works.

The annual Poetry Slam competition is something that Rodrigues is looking forward to, adding that the event will incorporate multi-cultural aspects.

The SJC encourages you to get involved. You can find the SJC on campus at Decew Residence Room 226 or contact the organization at info@brocksjc.com.

The concert event is on Oct. 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Isaac’s Bar & Grill. and is free to anyone.You must have a ticket to attend. Tickets can be found at the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) office.