Deaf-Blind Fiasco at Gallaudet University

I'm calling this a fiasco because the DB students have had to put up with Gallaudet University's shortcomings (and some of the deaf people in the Deaf community) on not helping them succeed and graduate in the subject they want to major in, and be a part of the dynamic campus community, inside and out. The DB at Gallaudet University have always been at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to services on addressing their needs on the same equitable level as their sighted counterparts.  The deaf community in general, especially at Gallaudet University, failed in their Community Accountability toward the DB community. Ryan Odland (see below) explains why.

Ryan Odland brought up the issue of how Gallaudet isn't helping the Deafblind to the MSCHE board a few days ago. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education [MSCHE] is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that is dedicated to quality assurance and improvement through accreditation via peer evaluation. Middle States accreditation instills public confidence in institutional mission, goals, performance, and resources through its rigorous accreditation standards and their enforcement. That is their mission statement.

Below is a video of Ryan Odland addressing the problem the DB face everyday at Gallaudet University. Included is a transcript of Ryan addressing to the MSCHE board





Transcript:

Many students feel frustrated and will withdraw from Gallaudet. From my personal experience having been a Graduate student for five years, I can really understand based upon their approach to students with disabilities. We have a disability service here which is understaffed and unable to catch up with today's technology. Students have varying needs not only here but in the United States of America as well as on a global scale. They all have been frustrated with inappropriate accommodations such as transportation for internships when the student is Deafblind and unable to drive. Another example is students who have ADHD and do not have success reading without accommodations. It's been frustrating, stressful, and procreates the climate for a student to drop out. The inaccessibility also has an impact on the Deafblind student's major and are oftentimes told to change their majors. I don't mean to give Gallaudet a bad time or be looked down at, but I do want to recognize Gallaudet's potential within its disability services. The DB and other students with special needs who do not have the proper accessibility via services, it stifles our growth rate. I am also an adjunct professor who has seen this from a first hand experience with my students. I often times find myself having to directly accommodate the students because I know OSWD lacks the ability to do so. The direct accommodations are provided because I want to see a success rate in my classroom. Why is it my responsibility to provide as such when OSWD should be doing this instead? Gallaudet needs to be providing the support, not the professors. I think it is a big issue on campus. I have a paper file with the past two years where I have been presenting on how the Gallaudet Mission and Vision statement has failed the Deafblind and students with special needs. The lecture is how we can increase the retention rate and self esteem of the students. This is not achievable when OSWD is understaffed and it causes a problem for the students who need the accommodations and accessibility. Thank you.

Another failure on Community Accountability front by capable culturally deaf people with strong English skills and signing ability are those who refuse to include transcripts or subtitles to their own signing vlogs leaving much of the DB out.  One DB said it best on the failure of the sighted culturally deaf community on making them feel they're a part of the deaf community:

I think it’s time that the Deaf community learned about accountability – towards its very members – grassroots, women, men, the educated, around the world, the blind, the DeafPlus, et cetera – and truly learned how to INTEGRATE that into their livelihoods.

Because you might as well get used to me butting into your lives with my lovely hands tactiling yours in FORM OF COMMUNICATION using the very COMMON method: SIGN LANGUAGE. Any sign language around thw world. That can be said for others, however, this opinion article is based on my experiences and views being an international lecturer meeting hundreds if not thousands of Deafblind people around the world who say that they grew up Deaf, but now that they’re Deafblind, they don’t feel part of the Deaf community anymore.

My answer to that?

It takes two sides to come HALF WAY to communicate. The Deafblind people have to come halfway and educate the others how to communicate with them; The Deaf people have to come halfway to learn how to support them, how to integrate them within the Deaf community, to ensure that rejection is not a verb in anyone’s language.

Gallaudet University and the some of the people in the culturally deaf community, please get your act together and support the D-B community's needs. Stop with the lame excuses and move forward. Walk the walk for once.


Hat Tip - Candy.

KVP takes a pill and the D/B Fiasco?

KVP. You know her blog. But, alas, the blog is no longer there.

Blog has been removed.  

Sorry, the blog at karenvonpills.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.

Not that the blog was important or anything (see the old archived piece here), it was an odd ranting blog that sort of spiraled out of control in various places in her blog. Not all of them, mind you. KVP's blog appeared as a blip on the internet horizon and then disappeared.  The last blog was on March 25, 2013. Four days ago. The last post showed a picture of a man holding up a business card that says, "When people starts (sic) talking against you....Means you are growing!" And then her blog disappears. How ironic. But you can still read it via Google Reader by subscribing by typing in the internet address to her blogsite. And read what you may have missed. It's all there. Defamation and all. The good, bad and the ugly.

Next.

BTW, I heard about the latest so called "rift," if you call it that or true at all, about what's going on at Gallaudet University.   I believe it had to do with two Deaf-blind candidates who were not chosen as a speaker for an upcoming event but a person of color was chosen instead. If there's any truth to that we'll have to wait. Some believe this may be due to the McCaskill brouhaha last semester and so an "appeasement" was perhaps made towards people of color by picking a different speaker.  Again, I'm hearing this through the grapevine.  Regardless, the deaf/blind have it hard when it comes to communication access even at Gallaudet University. I did several blogs about deaf/blind over the years including this fascinating deaf/blind pianist since I'm a ragtime pianist myself, of course. In one of the blogs I discussed adding captions to signed videos such as "No subtitles for Patty" and "The advantages of subtitles on vlogs. It was surprising how so many deaf vloggers groused at the idea of adding captions/subtitles to their blogs.  One deaf/blind commenter said something profound about being deaf/blind in a community full of sighted people like at Gallaudet University.

Please keep in mind, the Deaf-Blind community is really at the bottom of the totem pole, struggling to be seen, heard and recognized. It does not really help that our peers, the Deaf community, responds in this manner whether they realize it or not.

Bottom of the totem pole is an understatement. They continue to be marginalized in all aspects of life, including at colleges. If you want "Community Accountability" then this should be one of them according to the Tactile Mind blogger who is Deaf/blind herself.

I think it’s time that the Deaf community learned about accountability – towards its very members – grassroots, women, men, the educated, around the world, the blind, the DeafPlus, et cetera – and truly learned how to INTEGRATE that into their livelihoods.  

Because you might as well get used to me butting into your lives with my lovely hands tactiling yours in FORM OF COMMUNICATION using the very COMMON method: SIGN LANGUAGE. Any sign language around thw world. That can be said for others, however, this opinion article is based on my experiences and views being an international lecturer meeting hundreds if not thousands of Deafblind people around the world who say that they grew up Deaf, but now that they’re Deafblind, they don’t feel part of the Deaf community anymore.  

My answer to that?  

It takes two sides to come HALF WAY to communicate. The Deafblind people have to come halfway and educate the others how to communicate with them; The Deaf people have to come halfway to learn how to support them, how to integrate them within the Deaf community, to ensure that rejection is not a verb in anyone’s language.

Indeed.

Community accountability does not mean challenging a deaf person to prove that she's a deaf-blind person. Only the most crudely obnoxious and uncaring people would even do that. Community Accountability means that you take the effort to include them in your "Deaf world" such as providing subtitles to your signing videos.

As a Deaf-Blind person, I truly appreciate subtitling in vlogs because I am legally blind now. It does help a lot to be still involved in the v/blogosphere with the subtitles. If there wasn't any, I wouldn't complain because I visit a lot of blogs.

Patty's not alone on wanting to feel welcomed and involved in these signing vlogs if only they included subtitles so the d/b can understand what's was being said for those with limited vision and are still able to read.

I'm going to respond generally here.   

When a vlog isn't subtitled, I admit I do feel I miss out a lot of what the person is signing. ASL is my language. I do rely on my DH to tactile to me what the vlogger signs.   

A suggestion if I may offer to any vlogger that wishes to help the Deaf-Blind community with subtitling. Yellow fonts with the black background is actually much better to read than the standard white fonts.   

The white fonts is just too strong and some words can be missed out. Yellow is softer and words are easier to read.   

Please keep in mind, the Deaf-Blind community is really at the bottom of the totem pole, struggling to be seen, heard and recognized. It does not really help that our peers, the Deaf community, responds in this manner whether they realize it or not.   

Tactile smile with hugs, Patty

That's the crux of it. Easy to understand and quite a reasonable request for deaf people who like to do their signing vlogs but not include subtitles/captions. Spare me the inane excuses for not doing it. Just admit that you're lazy and don't care for doing it and I'll accept that honest appraisal of yourself for those who are completely capable of doing so versus those who are not as tech-savvy or English-savvy.  The least they can do is own up to their demands of others this "Community Accountability" but yet they become one of the biggest violators of the lot when it comes to their signing vlogs by shoving the deaf/blind out of the loop.  It just drips with hypocrisy. Kind of like signing a public pact to not cyberbully but in the end becomes one of the biggest cyberbullies around. Do yourselves a favor with this "Community Accountability," include the Deaf-blind into your world and stop being an ass for once with stupid excuses to match with your behaviors.