Archives for October 2003

This originally appeared in The Tactile Mind Weekly in Trudy’s ON HAND column.

The waiter came over to us and handed me a note. A friend and I were at a restaurant having dinner, laughing and exchanging animated stories.

The note said, “The man that was sitting behind you earlier paid for your tab and said he has a little daughter that is deaf. He said to tell you ladies to have a great day!”

We sat there, looking at each other in complete surprise. We hadn’t even noticed the man, who had already left. What an incredible random act of kindness, we thought.

This led to a discussion about how we often make an impact upon hearing people without even realizing it. Anytime, anywhere we use ASL, we’re sending out a message.

And I like to think that this message is a positive one: that we lead normal, happy lives, and that we -choose- to use ASL.

I told my friend about how I walked into the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf office one time and approached the office assistant (who was hearing). She smiled and said, “You don’t remember me, do you?” I didn’t, and apparently, I had taught her how to fingerspell the alphabet when we rode the bus to day camp. I was flabbergasted–I don’t remember much about the camp, but I do remember being a bit isolated at the camp, being the only deaf camper. I can’t even remember riding the bus.

Often this has happened: when I’m out in public using ASL, deaf children come up to me and ask if I really am deaf just like them. I love how their faces light up when I nod happily and say, “SAME!”

We all have had ‘coincidence’ encounters like that. But I, deep in my heart, believe they’re no coincidence. Whenever we use ASL in public, we’re setting a wonderful example. Phooey on those who pity us. They have no idea what they’re missing.

Besides, if using ASL gets me a free dinner, I’m all for it.

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This originally appeared in The Tactile Mind Weekly in Trudy’s ON HAND column.

I featured a local deaf student in a recent issue of the magazine DEAF SUCCESS. Last Saturday, one of her classmates came up to me and said, “I’m angry! Nobody ever told me about this magazine! I wish I knew so I could have my family subscribe! I loved the story about. . .”

As she said this, I started wondering about why many teachers or schools don’t include deaf-oriented publications in the classroom. In fact, I recently got a letter from a deaf teacher who wrote that the magazine was too advanced for his high school students in a mainstreamed program.

If they’re too difficult to read, isn’t it the school’s duty to make the publications accessible or interesting? There are so many ways this could be done, especially by using different activities and assignments. For instance, with DEAF SUCCESS, which profiles deaf people from all walks of life that have achieved success in some way–teachers could require students to do presentations on a person, or to do skits about a person. For THE TACTILE MIND QUARTERLY, teachers could have students analyze or translate the poetry or stories for their literature or reading classes. And of course, Deaf Studies classes could easily use these publications.

Sure, schools have to follow specific standards and requirements. I don’t care. They still should find a way to incorporate deaf publications in their classes. We all know how powerful the printed word or picture is. Besides, students do benefit from these publications, “advanced” or not. I know because I was one of these kids once.

The “hearing-impaired office” (sic) at my high school placed deaf publications on a magazine rack, and I went into the office each week to read the newest issues of deaf publication. It was in this very office that I discovered my deaf role models. I also started believing that I could become a writer, because I saw how they were published in some of these publications.

I don’t see how schools can NOT incorporate these publications in the classroom, regardless of whatever reasons they come up with. I guess, to me, it’s a no-brainer.

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This originally appeared in The Tactile Mind Weekly in Trudy’s ON HAND column.

For about two years, I was on a constant high.

I discovered Home & Garden TV (HGTV) a few years ago when Mom, who’s an interior designer, was watching a show that actually was captioned. Within five minutes, I understood why paint jobs and flooring choices matter to people.

I became hooked and couldn’t get enough. Room by Room, Decorating Cents, Designers’ Challenge, and Designing for the Sexes–all captioned! More and more shows came on that were also captioned, like Curb Appeal and Weekend Warriors. I tuned in whenever I could. When TLC began airing Trading Spaces and While You Were Out, I was in heaven. The shows were like comfort food to me–cheery hosts with design experts on hand reassuring viewers that we, too, could make our homes beautiful on a budget.

But the unthinkable seems to be happening. I’ve noticed that, lately, less and less home decorating shows are captioned. New shows on HGTV, like Mission: Organization, aren’t captioned. Even Trading Spaces and While You Were Out aren’t captioned regularly anymore.

With a new house, this has become somewhat of a crisis for me. I like the happiness I get from knowing that I, thankfully, will never do as bad of a job as Hildi does on Trading Spaces. And don’t even get me started on how wonderful Vern Yip is.

Maybe I’ll take the lead of a friend who wrote to the FCC when Court TV didn’t caption programs. Court TV now offers captioning on the majority of its programs, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

But one thing’s for sure: I’ve learned that I shouldn’t ever take captioning for granted.

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This originally appeared in The Tactile Mind Weekly in Trudy’s ON HAND column. This issue featured a “topic issue” with articles answering this question: Who Should the Next President of Gallaudet Be?

The ideal Gallaudet president, for me, must have firsthand knowledge about the university’s impact upon the deaf community–as a child, as a student, and as an adult.

Here’s what I mean by that. I grew up often browsing through my parents’ Gallaudet yearbooks, wondering about the stories of the people in the photos. I had people constantly telling me about their experiences at Gallaudet. I heard so many rumors–both good and bad–about what life was like at Gallaudet. But I always knew Gallaudet existed, and I’ve long understood its impact upon us as a whole. Bottom line: I grew up with Gallaudet in my life.

I. King Jordan, the current president, became deaf in his 20s, and didn’t have any clue about Gallaudet’s existence until after he became deaf. He isn’t a product of any educational system as a deaf student–he doesn’t really know firsthand the struggles a deaf student often goes through with teachers’ lousy signing or low expectation. In fact, it’s been printed that he calls himself a hearing person who has a hearing loss. In fact, a recent article on Jordan reports, “Asked how he responds to critics who say he’ll never really understand Deafness, Jordan shrugged and said, ‘They’re right.'”

I believe that Jordan’s lack of childhood knowledge about Gallaudet is why he has struggled so much in maintaining student support in many areas. Certainly, he’s done a lot for the university in terms of fundraising and maintaining relationships with Congress and hearing people, and he certainly is a nice fellow. But students’ and alumni’s mistrust of the administration is at an all-time high. Even I find myself astounded by the choices some of the administration has made, especially within the past decade.

For instance, when I edited Silent News, I decided to run a story on a department’s decision to close down (or “merge”) a major. I contacted that department to get an official statement. Their response? The acting dean (who was hearing), threatened me with a lawsuit, even though it was hardly a blockbuster story. What were they afraid of? When I shared this with a deaf administrator, he said, “Nothing new. Welcome to the world of Gallaudet administration.”

While it’s true that this separation between administration and students is common at many universities, I don’t think it should exist at Gallaudet, given the size of the school and the close-knitted nature of the community. Gallaudet is a pillar of the deaf community, whether we want it to be or not.

The next Gallaudet president has to have an in-depth understanding and firsthand experience of being a deaf person–not a late-deafened person, but having grown up deaf from childhood to adulthood. S/he also has to have a true appreciation of Gallaudet’s importance to the community. Hiring a president who truly gets it is the only way the university can win back the trust of alumni and students.

NOTE: The article about Jordan can be found at
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=1364

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