Technology

While reading the text, I noticed how many things virtual communities can offer to a student like Lindsay.  Being text-based, Lindsay can easily follow along with conversation and communication.  People are more likely to engage in these conversations and community (because of that sense of anonymity)than face-to-face interactions.  This will be especially good so that Lindsay can communicate and interact with hearing students who may feel awkward trying to interact with her.  There are many great forms of CAI that would be highly beneficial to her (183-4), such as having syllabi, papers, and events all online well in advance so that Lindsay can actually prepare and get things squared away with the Office of Disability Services, if she does need an interpreter.  Technology also allows Lindsay to really maneuver and get information without physically having to go  out and find  information and interact with only hearing people.

Other forms of technology, which I actually address several, several posts ago include being able to connect with roommates and classmates beforehand, which would be helpful in preparing them for interaction with her and having honest conversation.  Something that I never thought about before was the protection that these virtual communities can provide to Lindsay.  She would never have to reveal to anyone that she is deaf.  She would in fact only be judged on what she thought and had to say, which protects her from any negative stereotypes that might exist about DHH students.  It also gives her the ability to interact, communicate with, and learn from a wide variety of people she may not have had the chance to do so before.  It could also be the “connector” that helps her invite other people in, or let her into others community to help her assimilate more with mainstream, instead of feeling relegated to only the Deaf community, if that’s not what she wants.

One of Bowling Green’s own counselors has researched and published an article regarding d/Deaf internet usage in order to build community.  She refers to DeafBlogLand, a network of blogs that share news, opinions, and media.  There is also DeafRead and alldeaf.com, more blog related or discussion forum websites.  These websites really allow Deaf communities to span across actual distance and time.   Even if Lindsay chose to not become involved in Columbus’ Deaf community because of time constraint or lack of transportation, she could still feel connected via blog and internet.  The blogs help to promote qualities of Deaf culture, while also providing a sense of empowerment.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/casp.1081/full

Deaf Culture in Columbus

As I’ve mentioned before, the Deaf community is large and active in Columbus.  Ohio State has a fairly good community partnership with this community by advertising their events on the ODS website.  Many OSU students, especially those in the American Sign Language club attend their many events, including Silent Weekends, which are very large events.

In a previous post, I had mentioned that Lindsay would likely get involved with the Deaf Women of Ohio organization.  It just seems like a good place for her to meet other DHH women in the area.  As I touched on last week, I really feel that the location of Ohio State is ideal because it offers her a chance to bond with predominantly hearing students, but really gives Lindsay the opportunity to interact with DHH individuals, which is not something she has really gotten to do before.  She has the opportunity to really interact in a different culture, particularly one that is a defining identity, though she may not have been as impacted by it before coming to Ohio State.

As Lindsay becomes more immersed in this community, I wonder if she will feel the pressure to adopt many of the Deaf community’s hallmark beliefs of Deaf as not a disability, hearing as a negative experience, or if she will become more negative about hearing culture in general, and how that would play out with her family.  I am unsure if she does not adopt these mentalities, how truly accepted she would be in the community.  However, even if she does not fully immerse in this particular community, she is still likely to meet other DHH people or students that are not as extreme and can still provide that support and help with development.  There are also interpreters or other hearing people connected to the Deaf community because of family or interest, and so they could also help her transition and stay balanced in her ideas and beliefs, as she figures out “who she really is”.

Living in the Residence Hall

I keep coming back to the human aggregate, as it applies to such a crucial environment in the first year, the residence hall.  Some institutions have deaf living-learning communities, both BG and OSU do not offer that condition.  In my previous post, I’d talked about how technology can help to bridge and begin communication between Lindsay and her roommates or floor-mates.  I think this would be essential so that they can have that honest conversation about maybe what Lindsay needs, in terms of communication or studying, etc.  I would hope that whoever is Lindsay’s roommate would be open to making these adjustments and being open to that.

I was very frustrated looking through Ohio State’s website for both Office of Disability Services and Housing because there was nothing about housing accommodations.  As a deaf student going to a very, very, large institution, I would be nervous not knowing any accommodations could be made for my disability, etc.  I’m sure that if Lindsay emailed the office, or had her family call to discuss her options, they would be personable and helpful, but for someone as text-based as Lindsay, I’m sure the hope would have been to be able to find these things online.

So, it looks like, Lindsay will be in a residence hall, with a random assignment, and probably a hearing student, with a floor and community of hearing students.  She may feel out of place, if all the other students connect with each other and form and automatic community without her.  Though Lindsay has been with hearing populations her whole life, she may now find that she will be pushed to the Deaf Community, which is interesting.  While she may feel sad about it at first, I think that this is actually good for because it will really force her to acknowledge and develop her identity as a deaf (and now potentially Deaf) woman.  And in the end, of all the places, Ohio State is located in an urban area that has a significant Deaf Community.  This is the place for her to explore.

Hearing Privilege on College Campuses- ACPA

I attended a session at the ACPA conference this year that was lead by a Deaf man and two student affairs professionals who were fluent in ASL or who had significant research interests in students who identify as Deaf .  Two of these professionals (including the Deaf man) work at Rochester Technical Institute, where they gave background into working at an institution where the mainstream culture is the Deaf culture.  The presentation covered many concepts, such as what it means to be Culturally Deaf, terminology, as well as what kind of environments keep oppression alive.

While the theoretical frameworks were definitely interesting, the most impactful piece of their presentation is the examples and activities incorporated.  At one point, the put up a slide that said “EMERGENCY” and all the presenters began signing, while passing out a deck of cards.  All the presentation attendees got that something urgent was happening, and there was a sense of anxiety in the room, as we all blindly grabbed cards.  We then all had to partake in an activity where we visited different services on campus (or rather each presenter represented a different functional area), and we were students at first year orientation, trying to get specific information.  The presenters only signed, and occasionally would write back and forth with us, though they were very annoyed, constantly hurried us, etc.  In that situation, we all felt offended, uncomfortable, and confused.  We later found out that the EMERGENCY-card scenario was to demonstrate how many times, emergency alerts and other important announcements are all hearing-based.  While obviously, this is something that we all know, we all forget sometimes.

Even though I felt terrible partaking in these activities (because nobody likes to actually be a part of the developmental activity, we just like to facilitate haha), I’m really glad that I did and that I did engage with them.  I really got first-hand experience, even if only for fifteen minutes for one day, the frustration that someone who is deaf or Deaf encounter on a predominantly hearing campus.  The piece that surprised me the most was how rude people are, as though it is their fault.  The presenters also talked about other things that are difficult and prohibit students from fully engaging in their environments, such as the inability to get interpreters for last minute events, social outings, etc.  It is also very common for hearing people to forget about body language and turn away from students in the middle of a conversation, which prohibits the students from reading our lips or interpreting facial expressions.

The statistics show that at hearing institutions the retention of deaf students is only 25% and that there are tons of little things that make life difficult for them, but the first step is really to be aware of these issues, such as getting closed captioning capabilities for lounge televisions.  It really makes me wonder what kind of things are available for students at large, public, predominantly hearing institutions such as Ohio State or BGSU.

College & Career Programs for Deaf Students

This isn’t so much an article but rather a book, intended for high school, DHH students, that lists special programs and services offered in higher education institutions to DHH students across the nation.  Each institution includes a general description of the program and what career areas of study and special services are offered at that institution.  Rochester Institute of Technology and Gallaudet are listed first because they are national programs, meaning they must serve all DHH students.  Most other institutions accept on a state level, though they will accept out of state students as well.  The first thing I noticed was that neither Ohio State nor Bowling Green are listed.  They do include Columbus State Community College (located very near Ohio State), which is known for its sign language program and accreditation.  The second thing I noticed was that this was last updated in 2001.  I know that Ohio State began implementing ASL courses and a disability minor in 2003, so perhaps now, Ohio State would be on the list.  This is a very hand resource for DHH high school students to utilize, especially with its online, searchable database.

I wonder how prevalent this resource in DHH student communities, whether Lindsay would have found this website.  If she had used this website and realized that Ohio State was not listed, why would she still choose to go?  Perhaps it was the prestige, or her family had always gone there, or everyone in her town is a Buckeye fan.  Regardless, though Ohio State does not show up on this database, after continuing to search Ohio State’s website for signs of valuing DHH students, I have found that I do believe OSU provides many reasonable resources and services, so that Lindsay could still feel valued, learn, and be happy with her decision.  In 2006, OSU received recognition for its inclusive approach and resources offered by the Office of Disability Services.  There also appear to be many events and programs sponsored by the ASL club, as well as much support from DHH faculty and staff.

http://research.gallaudet.edu/ccg/index.html

http://oncampus.osu.edu/article.php?id=759

Cultural Forms

When I look back at my experiences at Ohio State, I think of the many cultural forms that could negatively affect Lindsay.  There were many rituals and ceremonial procedures that Ohio State partakes in, such as first year commencement.  Since there are so many people in the incoming classes, Lindsay would most likely find herself sitting in the upper balcony of the basketball stadium (where commencement takes place).  Being all the way up there myself, I remember how it was almost impossible to see the speakers, much less get a good look at their mouths.  Though they were also being filmed on large monitors, the camera angle was still not conducive for Lindsay to lip read.  Though an interpreter was present at the event, she was so far away; Lindsay probably could barely see the interpreter.  This may be something that with good enough communication with Disability Services, Lindsay might have been saved a section near the front near an interpreter, but if Lindsay, being overwhelmed by a large school and the stress of transition failed to get in touch with Disability Services, she would not have that luxury.

Much of the ceremony included musical cues as well.  We were taught the alma mater and then instructed to proceed out of the building, when the music started playing again.  While Lindsay is slightly accustomed to not having good accommodations, having grown up in a predominantly hearing hometown, she probably feels pretty uncomfortable being in a new environment, relying entirely on the physical cues of her unfamiliar peers to let her know when to move or stand, or when  the words of the alma mater were on the screen.  Being amidst so many people, it was probably difficult for Lindsay to start up any conversations with other students or administrative staff where she could see all their mouths, or stay focused.

I also think of the football games.  While I was at the institution, Ohio State actually was sued for not having captions on the screens during football games. Though many of my peers thought “it was strange” that someone hard of hearing would want to go to the games, I’m glad that they have added closed captioning to all the games now.  Football is such an integral part of the Ohio State experience (whether you love it or hate it), that to not be able to go and know what was going on would probably have been pretty disheartening for her.  Now, she can partake in this large social/ cultural form with her peers.

There are other cultural forms that probably help to make Lindsay feel included.  An example is the annual campus involvement fair.  During this fair, Lindsay, though still slightly overwhelmed by the amount of people, gets to walk through and read many of the posters and pamphlets of student organizations.  Since much of this experience is much more personable, many of the students working the booth were also very willing to have focused, in-depth conversations with her about their organizations.  The way the involvement fair is set up with personable interactions and many visual aids were helpful and inclusive to Lindsay.  She also found a very active and popular American Sign Language Club, which automatically makes her feel more appreciated (a nonverbal message of sorts).  Another cultural form that is particularly endearing to Lindsay is the gesture.  Since Lindsay is at Ohio State, where the classic gesture of “O-H-I-O” is prevalent all over campus, this is a cultural form she can always readily identify from across the Oval, or at a football game, etc.  Every time she sees this cultural cue, she is reminded of and filled with a sense of pride of being a Buckeye.

The Human Aggregate

Something we talked about a lot in class a couple of weeks ago is how a person not of the majority, dominant group, has a hard time feeling included and involved.  We focused a lot on personality differences and social presses (such as nonconformist), but this definitely also applies to other differences, including what we stereotypically think of as “diversity” (race, ability, etc.).  Lindsay has been living in a predominantly hearing community all her life.  Where she grew up did not have a strong Deaf community, and since she had grown up her entire life in that city/ town, everyone was accustomed to interacting with her in ways that were helpful to her (not turning around while speaking to her, learning a little bit of sign language, etc.).  Lindsay had of course interacted with Deaf people before, but she and her family did not immerse themselves in it.

However, now that she’s in a completely new environment with people, who are not familiar with her and how to interact with her, I can see her having difficulty to connect and communicate with others.  The accent that affects “deaf speech” can be difficult to understand when one is unfamiliar with it.  At first, Lindsay may struggle, if she is in a residence hall with all hearing students, to find people that she can readily connect with.  I think this is where technology and the Office of Disabilities Services come into play.  She can meet other deaf and hard of hearing students at events on campus, in the ASL student organization, or in the community.  She can also use Facebook to connect with these students, or even hearing students, such as her roommates or floormates, ahead of time to give her that beginning basis before she gets to the University.  By finding the subcommunity of deaf and hard of hearing students, Lindsay will likely feel more comfortable in her environment.  Also, by using technology, Lindsay may be able to lay down the foundations to start a subcommunity on her floor.  It was interesting because in the text, on page 169, it clearly states that feeling a cohesive subcommunity is essential, especially for larger institutions.  Though, overall, the community suffers, it provides more satisfaction for individuals.