Effects of professors’ language choice at Gallaudet When the professor asked her to stay after class, Melissa felt her pulse quicken. She had always been uncomfortable with some of this professor’s behavior. She knew she should speak up and ask him to stop, but for a student to confront a professor was risky, especially before grades were posted. It did not seem to be a wise decision as she considered [...]

  Just as I’m flying to California State University Northridge to present at their Deaf College Student Leadership Conference, I was reading a copy of Newsweek. There was a story on the infectious appeal of the #Occupy Wall Street movement. One particular quote stood out to me: “In 2008 vast new numbers of Americans transformed the political process through social media and small-donor fundraising, electing a rank outsider, Obama, who [...]

The Washington Times has a great article here about how the H Street corridor in Washington, DC near Gallaudet University is now a hot spot for deaf friendly bars, restaurants, and clubs.  As much as 10 percent of any given establishments’ revenue comes from deaf patrons from the area. The amazing thing is that this has taken place during a development boom on the H Street corridor; many new businesses have [...]

  I’ve adopted a saying lately: “Nothing is without weight.” I say this to myself in my mind as I go through my day, as my meanderings are halted with the shock of seeing speaking in front of me when I had barely become accustomed to the relief and comfort of visual communication (on what the world deems sacred space for such: Gallaudet University). They don’t know the weight of [...]

Is America a good place for Deaf artists? Is the American Deaf community supportive of its artists? A few months ago I was told one of my students might not get the opportunity to study photography at the college of her choice. Why? Because her chosen major is in an arts field, and she was told she could only gain financial support by going into majors that would yield jobs. [...]

Some thoughts grown out of recent discussions on Gallaudet. There are still those who oppress Deaf writers, attacking them personally instead of their ideas. The focus is on groups and their particular foibles rather than on elevating the discourse of ideas, and that pulls us all down. So in the Tradition of Joanna Russ’ “How To Suppress Women’s Writing”: 1. Hint coyly that Deaf students apparently don’t have the right [...]

(Continued from Part I) Gallaudet is many things, but it is also a target. And an excuse. It absolutely does not matter anymore what Gallaudet actually does or doesn’t do… “That’s Gallaudet” rules the day. Overtly greasy cafeteria pizza? No other university in the United States could possibly serve such a thing!  Too much paperwork to fill out in order to get financial aid? Inconceivable! Are other universities even using financial [...]

It was reported, though unconfirmed, that a proposal was made for the development of a “Hearing Space” on Gallaudet’s campus. It is unknown at the moment who made the proposal or how seriously it is being considered, but the mere mention of the idea was enough to spark a conversation among several deaf writers. Among many people, the first reaction was, “Why should there be a hearing space at Gallaudet?” [...]

I’ve been a professor at Gallaudet for eleven years now. In that time I’ve distilled a number of observations—not only about Gallaudet but also about the general deaf-hearing community—that I would like to discuss here, because I can see from certain recent articles and vlogs that tensions are present. I say “present” because that’s the only term I can come up with that is honest.  I don’t know if the [...]

(Illustration by Adrean Clark) Every time there is an advance in surgical audiology or genetic engineering, a wave of alarm ripples through the signing community. Doctors are intent on eradicating deafness. They subscribe to the belief that there’s something wrong with being deaf. So they make it their business to try to fix it, hoping to ultimately wipe it out from humankind. But those who are culturally deaf are worried [...]