The Access Radio Hour blends music by disabled artists and conversations about disability at Emerson. Hosted by Access: Student Disability Union's Vice President for Community, Greyson Acquaviva, this accessible radio show brings disability to WECB every Friday from 2-3pm EST.
The audio of this interview can be found here.
Greyson:
Hello, and welcome to the interview portion of this Access radio show. We're doing a little bit of change up this time, we're actually having Harper my awesome co-host. Hello, Harper.
Harper:
Hey, Greyson
Greyson:
Welcome to the show again.
Harper:
Nice to be here.
Greyson:
Of course, yes. And she is going to be actually interviewing me in a turn the table style episode where I will be answering these interview questions. So Harper, you created a great list of interview questions. Why don't we get right into it? Sorry about my dog in the background?
Harper:
Yeah, no, it's all good. I'm excited to have our little change up and hear from you for our last episode, or, you know, last typical episode of the semester. So yeah, let's do it.
Greyson:
Last episode before everybody moves out, of course,
Harper:
Yes. Of the like, formal semester time.
Greyson
Yeah.
Harper:
Cool. Well, I'll kick us off with our very classic, first question. Tell me a little bit more about yourself. You know, who are you?
Greyson:
Yeah, I know that one. I love it. So my name is Greyson Acquaviva. I am 21 years old Jesus, I'm old, but I'm older than I actually am, because of all my like, horrible back pain and all that. I feel like an old man sometimes. And also the fact that I love way too many older stuff. So anyways, um, yeah, I'm 21 years old. I'm a junior VMA. student and I also love editing. You know, I am also living by myself. I also have Tourette syndrome. I'm on the autism spectrum a bit. I have OCD. And I have ADD which is a great combo when it comes to like, homework in school and all that. You know, it's just a cool life. I think what's nice is that my disabilities don't define me. But they actually kind of also help make me who I am in a bit of ways because if I didn't have Tourette's and OCD, or if I didn't have Autism, or if I wasn’t on the spectrum, if I didn't have ADD, it wouldn't feel like me, you know what I mean?
Harper:
Yeah. Oh, for sure.
Greyson:
Yeah. So I definitely agree that that it’s been a part of my life. And even if I could change it, I probably wouldn't, because it really makes me stand out from the rest and makes me have more of a sense of community as well, within those people.
Harper
Oh, nice. Oh, that's great. We're gonna get into like, all of that.
Greyson:
Yes. Sorry…
Harper:
No, no, do not apologize. No, it was fantastic. But well, we'll start with sort of how you got involved with access and the impact that access has had on your life?
Greyson:
Yeah. So interesting enough, I found out about access from Matt Fisher. He emailed me saying, “Hey, Greyson”, and basically that there's this organization that's starting to be created with Harper, you, and Zach Swasta, the former co-president and now alumni of access. But, uh, yeah, Matt Fisher was emailing me saying, would you be interested in this? And I was like, Yeah, that'd be pretty cool. And when I found out later who Harper was, as you know, it was you and I sort of shared the same floor, or I mean we were right across from each other my freshman year.
Harper:
Yeah, you lived across the hall from me.
Greyson:
Yeah. And I didn't really know it was you, I was like, oh, that's very interesting that there's another Harper in the school, which I guess there is anyways, but like, it was just it didn't really click in my mind that it would have been you. So it was pretty cool to like, see you in this. And knew Zach Swasta from being sort of Facebook acquaintances, but didn't really know him at all but I always loved his posts, etc. You know, they were very interesting and funny. But yeah, it was nice, because I got into it by email through Matt Fisher, and I'm so glad I did, because it has had such an impact on my life. I mean, I wouldn't even be doing this radio show our radio show if it wasn't for access, which I'm excited about it. And I'm always happy about it. But It’s also had an impact me, because I've also found out there's more people sort of like me, here at Emerson. I always sort of felt like an outcast sometimes, so it was kind of nice to see that maybe I wasn't so different from other people at the school and that there was more people with disabilities and things like me, so it was so nice and heartwarming to hear that, and, you know, it's just a great community, Harper. It's just a great community. And it's just great to be with it and it definitely has an impact on you, no matter how much you’re trying not to do it, you know.
Harper:
For sure. I love seeing the community and how it sort of no matter how much you engage with access that it always seems to have some sort of impact, which is something I think those of us like, on the e-board can be really, really proud of. So yeah, that's great. And yeah, and I love that, sort of, you know, five or six people that got in on like, the very ground floor were there for the first couple of meetings, I think you were the only one that came directly from SAS, and so I think it's really interesting to see like, the different ways people got connected. But yeah, so you mentioned some of your disabilities. So I was wondering if you could kind of share with us how your disabilities affect your life. And maybe if there's like one or two things that you wish people could understand better about the disabilities that you have?
Greyson:
Yeah, so um, the real annoying thing I really have is Tourette syndrome. And they'll see that I also have a little bit of me on the autism spectrum, ADD just slightly, but uh, I think one thing that has made, like how it has affected my life, OCD affects my life. Because I can fixate on something so much that it becomes obsessive and it makes things a little bit harder to not like cope with it if isn't done. So like sometimes, if I'm in the zone of doing homework or something, if something happens, where someone needs me to do something else, and I'm in that obsessive OCD zone I get I can get a little annoyed and mad for I'm trying to focus on this. And it's never I'm not trying to be mad, or annoyed at them or anything. It's just you know, OCD can like, make me be so obsessive that it's like I need to get this thing done no matter what and I can't have any distractions. I need to get this done just so that I can move on to the next thing basically. And I, to just sum it, you know, it's hard to have that because it that makes it sorry, the phone's ringing in the background. Oh, yes. It's our old our old phone. We actually hooked up an old telephone, one of the ones that are like, as you can hear, like the ones from like old hotels and all that.
Harper:
Sounds like an antique.
Greyson:
Yeah, it's an antique, and yeah, that's what it is. It's an antique telephone. And my mom has always wanted one. And I didn't think it would actually work. But it’s so cool, because it actually works. But we never pick it up because no one ever calls our home number because we just call people that we know through, you know, our regular cell phone numbers. So when we hear that it's like, oh, telemarketer don't pick up. Yeah, yeah, but anyways, back to the question. Tourette's definitely affects my life a lot because it can affect how good or productive I am at working, I can have tic fits and also like meltdowns because of autism as well. And, and that's been more prevalent because of the Covid 19 pandemic, you know, being more isolated and being a little bit more, like, not being able to see people so it can definitely, that's definitely an effect I think more so than others. Tourette's definitely has a really big effect to me because it's just a part of my life. And I've always had it and it's definitely been hard for a lot of people don't understand it. And a lot of people think it's either one of this extreme thing where people are just like, all of a sudden just doing weird things. And it's not really, it's very nuanced. I mean, each person with Tourette’s has a different level of severity in it. Um, you know, it's really misunderstood and I wish people understood it better. That's one thing I wish people understood better Tourette syndrome. And you know, the fact that it's different for everybody. And sometimes you've got worst cases of it, and some people have mild cases of it. I'm in sort of the middle of it, I guess. So I'm kind of lucky there. But it's still, like, it still makes me feel so tired and drained out at around like 8pm or 9pm at night even though I sometimes need stay up later to do homework and all that which sucks. But um, it's just the way it is, you know, I burn more calories because of it because I'm always moving. Working out is harder because, you know, my hand tics and also my, what do you call it, just my body movement, tics, I a have leg tic and all that I have, sort of butt tic where I just squeeze my cheeks but it like makes it hard for me to like walk sometimes, though. And like I have an ankle tic where sometimes all of a sudden, my ankle will just literally just give way because I'm doing an ankle tick and trying to walk at the same time. So I've been known to fall all the time. And I was notoriously known in school to like fall down the stairs all the time because of ankle tech. And so they just like it was kind of funny in a way. But yeah, it's definitely those things that have had a big effect on my life.
Harper:
Oh yeah, for sure. That's super interesting stuff. And like, really interesting how those different disabilities like play into each other and some are similar and different. Oh, there's so much there. This was fascinating stuff. I love this show. I'm so glad we do this.
Greyson:
I love it too.
Harper:
Sorry, I have ADHD too. I'm getting off topic. Next question. So, how has your experience been with SAS and using accommodations through SAS?
Greyson:
So I've been lucky, because I kind of, well here’s some backstory first. When I was in high school, and when I was in, you know, middle school a long time ago, my parents would help me with accommodations and all that. It wasn't until really college that I had the full fledge responsibility of, you know, making sure my accommodations are met and making sure you know, I asked for this accommodation, so it was definitely a big change. And luckily, because I'm kind of vocal about it and because I know that if I don't get some accommodations, it makes class just super hard for me and makes it almost unfair in a way because it gives me an unfair disadvantage to people without disabilities, so those accommodations make it so that I can be as successful as the people that don't have accommodations. But the one thing I've been very lucky with is that they've been they've been very nice and they've been very thoughtful and how they do things, approach things. I'm really glad that I've been able to talk to them around my like, around my worries about school during the pandemic and they were able to help me you know, take classes this semester from home and they they were able to help me through that transition of like having I was having I was so excited semester without a great set of classes you know, I was so excited about this semester but then the you know, we changed to flex classes, which couldn’t be done unless you were at school. So that really was a bummer. But then I was still able to even get some really great classes that I would have never suspected to be great classes. I knew psychology of relationships was but with Malcolm Puritan’s class of contemporary world history, I was worried it wouldn’t be so great, but it blew my mind, it was so much fun. Although I do kind of wish I was able to do the classes I signed up for before flex classes were the norm, I am 100% happy with how these other two classes turned out. But yeah, I would say that my experiences with SAS are so different from yours even probably others and it has been kind of easy and kind of nice. But it's also been frustrating at times, like when, you know, I’ll try to not to get into that much, but basically I was worried about the pandemic next semester and how it was getting worse. I had to have a long string of emails with Diane and Matt Fisher to make sure that everything was okay and set for me for next semester, just so that I could be safe. And that I could be, you know, able to have, the safe space to do my Tourette’s and all that but also be safe from pandemic, or COVID.
Harper:
Yeah, for sure. And I think that speaks to how everyone's experiences are different and how the pandemic is making different experiences even more different. And just, there's a whole wealth of stuff within that, within that realm for sure.
Greyson:
And I think part of it is, sadly because I'm a guy, and that really sucks. And like also, the fact that I'm white, I guess kind of helps in a way. And that's something that overall any school has to work with. But I definitely feel like I have an unfair advantage in that, that I can be vocal and not have repercussions. Yeah, I definitely feel a little bad that it's easier for me, but I also feel glad that I'm able to get those accommodations and I am able to have the things be to be made to have me be the most successful I can be like any other person at this college.
Harper:
Yeah, yeah, totally privilege is really complicated. But I think it's super important to acknowledge that, like, I'm always happy to hear when people are acknowledging their privileges and the way that other people might experience things differently on the basis of race or gender, you know, even disability, so I think that's really good stuff to be aware of and engage with is, for we all sort of carry on in our work at Emerson and beyond and just to always be conscious of those types of things is important.
Greyson:
Oh, definitely.
Harper:
Yeah. Great. So, you're the host of this radio show Greyson, which is fantastic. And the show has brought so much good stuff to access. I was wondering if like you could tell us a little bit more about what it's like to work on the show. Like, do you enjoy it? What kinda stuff do you do? Is there any interplay with your disabilities and like how that affects your work on the show?
Greyson:
So yeah, of course, I love making the show I've had a blast doing it, it was so nice to hear from WECB, that this is one of the more high quality shows that they've had. And they've been listening to it and love it each week. You know, it's also just so much fun to make. Because I also love editing and Film Editing, but also audio editing. and it definitely helps with I'm trying to later on in life. I can do it for hours and not have a boring time and also I’ve gotten into that groove where recording, writing the script each time, sending it for approval and getting the songs and all that has become much easier and more fluid, and the process has gone so much quicker - I can get it done in like an hour or so if need be. I’m actually probably going to be editing this as soon as we're done with this interview. Yeah, it's just great. It’s a lot of fun. The process is pretty simple. If you didn't know before we pre record these shows each week, these weekly interviews are also pre recorded, the whole show is pre recorded, and I use Adobe Audition to edit it all together and basically put music and write my script for what each week will be. You know, I have certain things that I say all the time like “Hello, welcome back to the Access Radio Show. I'm your host, bla bla bla,” and I have fun ways of like saying what the next song will be, which makes it easier and sorta nice to do. It makes it easier to get editing done and editing is just so much fun, so I love that. As for my disability and how they interplay with the show. When I'm editing, my disabilities, sort of like almost go away except for OCD, besides fixate on it, on the thing that I'm doing so much. And that really helps because I can stay editing in the chair for like, like maybe eight hours, four hours in a row without having to move and it's still fun somehow. Some people might call me crazy, but I love it.
Harper:
Yeah, no, that's nice. The next question is about like editing and VMA stuff. But first, I just wanted to like, give you like major kudos for the work you do on the radio show. Like I've sort of been in like the production manager chair for this show, like all semester, and just watching you, like grow into this role has been really, really phenomenal and seeing you like take on each week and like get excited about what music you're going to select, and like who we're going to interview and, you know, we've had like grace, and I'd like talk on the phone. Most weeks I feel like to like, you know, check on like, Okay, what questions are we going to ask, like our interview this week? And like, you know, we it's just been really great to like, yeah, see that show come together. And you always put in such phenomenal work. And I know, I can always like trust you to put out like quality content. So just like, thank you for all your great work on that. But yes to editing and VMA stuff, because that is your major and sort of what you're focused on. And I know you spoke a little bit about how editing, like exists for you, but I just wanted to film anything else you want to share about your major and like why you're drawn to that, and sort of what your experience has been with that kind of stuff.
Greyson:
Yeah, so I am a VMA major, but I love it. And the main thing I focus on is editing. And the reason why I love editing and I loved editing from very early age. And one thing I was always kind of sad and like, kind of annoyed about was that I the Oscars started stopping showing who won best editor on television. And that I feel like was a little bit of a dig at how much editing is underrated and I when I when I looked at like the top editors in the world, I mean in the US, and when I looked at the best editors who are doing film editing, I never really saw someone like me with a disability per se, and I never really felt that inspired by it because there was not someone like me. So I hope maybe that if I do one day become sort of famous within the realm of editing, or at least like, famous when it comes to like, people in the industry know me as a really great editor, not necessarily famous, like becoming like a really well known editor with fans and all that I guess. I definitely feel like it would be nice and maybe I could be that inspiration for someone else to try this because I definitely don’t think there’s enough representation in editing, especially with women and people of color, as well as people with disabilities. So I think it would be really cool if I could sort of be that person that could help bridge the gap and make it more accessible to people with and all that.
Harper:
Yeah, I love that so much. I love thinking about sort of, like, quote unquote, behind the camera representation because that's so important to it's not just, you know, actors or musicians or the people that everyone's like seeing, it's the people that are, you know, making these, you know, products/media from start to finish. So I love that. And I really do hope that you become like, the disability editor icon that you deserve to be.
Greyson:
Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.
Harper:
Cool. Well, shall we? Shall we wrap it up there?
Greyson:
I think we're good. Thank you so much, Harper, for this amazing turn the tables episode and your amazing questions.
Harper:
Thank you. I mean, I just took inspiration from what we do every week. But no, it was a pleasure to get to interview you. And it's always fun to come on the show. So thank you for having me.
Greyson:
Thank you for interviewing me.
Harper:
Yeah. Awesome.
Greyson:
So that will conclude our interview segment. Hope you liked the new way new changeup this this episode, and we'll continue with the music in just a moment.