For many students and staff on the campus of Gallaudet University the politics of being Deaf means that ASL should be the only means of communication on the campus of Gallaudet University for all students. That's what Ruiz is favoring in the Buff and Blue newspaper. But here's where it gets sticky with president Hurwitz. He recently celebrated the new ICED resolution on the global call to "accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication." Which is good or is it? But then it gets compounded with Federal laws covering communication accessibility.
According to Section 504, and since Gallaudet University is a recipient of federal financial assistance as a post secondary institution which has an obligation to ensure accessibility to students with disabilities, including those with hearing loss and the need for communication accessibility.
An important responsibility of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability against students with disabilities. OCR receives numerous complaints and inquiries in the area of elementary and secondary education involving Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (Section 504). Most of these concern identification of students who are protected by Section 504 and the means to obtain an appropriate education for such students.
Section 504 is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Section 504 provides: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance . . . ."
OCR enforces Section 504 in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from ED. Recipients of this Federal financial assistance include public school districts, institutions of higher education, and other state and local education agencies. The regulations implementing Section 504 in the context of educational institutions appear at 34 C.F.R. Part 104.Services you should be able to request at Gallaudet University:
* American Sign Language Interpreter
* Signed English Interpreter (SEE-Signing Exact English or PSE-Pidgin Sign English)
* FM Systems and Conference Microphones
* Voice interpreter
* CART
* Remote Captioning
* Cued Speech Transiliterator
* I-Communicator
* Typewell/C-Print
* Professional or Volunteer Notetakers
Even though Gallaudet University obviously supports ASL many are calling for the exclusive use of ASL for all or ASL at all times. That'd be if only the educational institution in question was a private educational institution that receive no federal funding then it wouldn't fall under the rules of Section 504. But since Gallaudet University receive annual federal funding for as long as it has been opened it must abide by Section 504 laws. Section 504 gives the power over to students who may request communication accessibility other than ASL.
That's a stark but humbling reality there.
Since president Hurwitz supports the new ICED resolution which does call for pluralism and to "accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication," and that Gallaudet University must follow the laws under Section 504, it would be interesting to see how president Hurwitz can reconcile these things in the midst of a call for "ASL at all times" along with changing campus demographics seeing more hearing students while competing with other universities and colleges on recruiting and retaining deaf and hard of hearing students.
Maybe Gallaudet University is slowly losing it's recognition as a Deaf Mecca?
Anybody want a HUG? (click on it!)
7 comments:
Perhaps we should stop calling Gallaudet as Deaf Mecca? I don't see trillion of Deaf people coming to Gallaudet every year in white robes, chanting in sign languages, and walk around Tower Clock in a circle.
;)
LOL
Agreed with Rob.
;)
Interesting post, Mike. I agree that "students who go to Gallaudet are not necessarily fluent in signing or even ASL". Which brings us to the next point.. yes I wanted a "HUG" and I clicked it!
The program requirements and interview is quite interesting for the HUG program. Are other student applicants scrutinized as such?
If president Hurwitz recently celebrated the new ICED resolution on the global call to accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication." Should it or not included the HUG program? Or is the concept of the HUG program to "immerse them?" Yes it will interesting how president Hurwitz maintains with competing, recruiting and retaining students with other universities and colleges.
There seems some anomaly in law of equal rights, that allows minorities, ANY Minorities to circumvent it on the grounds of language or culture. Thin end of the wedge when minorities manipulate it to exclude which is actually discrimination. If hearing cannot exclude the deaf or their language, then deaf cannot by default operate any closed shop either. Then we find cultural deaf actually playing the reverse discrimination, and even disability card against others to get its own way. The only real effective way to blast your way through the ASL only systems is via race and gender equality law, time the law was effectively extended to language as well, so we prevent militant deaf areas using ASL as a deliberate barrier to access for others.
Margarita..
I am going to drop in my opinion, the students in HUG program are expected to learn ASL for classroom purposes. I think that is one of the requirement to be in that program. So, this: respect all language and all forms of communication does not necessarilly mean HUG can opt out of ASL for class purposes. If that is what you're questioning? I think that like in the past, anyone is allowed to talk on campus without using signs. I've seen it and it should not be a problem. Legally, I do not think Gallaudet can do that, mandate ASL only on campus, anyway.
When I was out there back in the summer 2007, I decided to stay at Kellogg Hotel instead of the one in MD to attend a conference. I met many hearing students on campus more than I did deaf students. Many were learning ASL. Interestingly enough, I spotted Tom Humphries but didn't talk to him cuz I didn't know him. I saw Gallaudet as I always had, a place where not only ASL and other forms of sign lanugage was common but also voice can be used with or without sign language.
I really think this latest ado about ASL only is the work of a few militants on campus. They are wasting their time, Gallaudet cannot mandate that, nor can they mandate "hearing space."
@Candy...You stated,"the students in HUG program are expected to learn ASL for classroom purposes. I think that is one of the requirement to be in that program."
When I read about the HUGS program, the interview consists of... Selected applicants will be asked to come to Gallaudet for an interview with the selection committee. Interviews are usually scheduled for January through February. Applicants are also required to schedule an American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI), a video recorded evaluation which will determine the applicant’s overall ASL proficiency. Ratings are awarded on a scale from 0-5. The ASLPI can be taken “in person” at Gallaudet or via videophone from an approved location. The ASLPI evaluation system is housed in ASL Diagnostic and Evaluation Services (ASL-DES) at Gallaudet University. Sooo... are other applicants scrutinized as such?
@Candy.. even if other applicants are not scrutinized as such, does Gallaudet "mandate" ASL for educational purposes? If Gallaudet mandates ASL for educational purposes, does it support president Hurwitz's recently celebrated ICED resolution on the global call to accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication?"
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