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.