What is it like at Gallaudet University?

This thread is really interesting in terms of politics. Several comments were made about speaking Deaf acting superior to signing Deaf. Well, I am profoundly deaf, got my hearing aids at age 4 and was immediately put into intensive speech therapy (that was unrelenting - at least 2 hours of speech therapy a day but usually more for about 10 years. HATED IT!) and went to hearing schools and never knew any Deaf kids. All this time, I was being told from everyone from my mother to my speech therapist to my audiologist how lucky I was not to be "one of those deaf kids who get sent away to school and can't talk." Its pretty easy to start believing that when it's something that's been fed to you since your earliest memories. You believe the hype after a while. Then one day, when you're much older and wiser, you realize that they were wrong. Yes, certainly, it's nice to be able to speak well that most people wouldn't know I'm deaf but it also works against me in that people forget I'm Deaf. I don't do well in group settings, and I'm still left out at the dinner table which is not much fun when it's a big family event like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
For those of you who view 18, 19, 20 something year old speaking Deaf as snobby - they probably are because they were raised by the Hearing to believe they were lucky enough to be spared from those substandard boarding schools for the Deaf (yeah, that's what I was always told growing up) but if you befriend them they will realize immediately how much they've been missing out in their lives and they would be very happy to make new friends. Keep in mind they grew up in a hearing world, it's a very lonely place for them unlike Deafs who went to Deaf schools and have Deaf friends. Trust me, I would know.
It's sad that people's egos create such divisive politics when what we need from each other is support and solidarity.
 
Hell yes, Caroline!!!!!! I have noticed that attitude....it's born of fucking ablelism........HEARING people insisting that orally skilled deafies are better then signing deafies......but unfortunatly that is a HUGE HUGE myth. It's very rare for a deaf kid not to have speech skills.......Even kids who attend most schools for the Deaf get a very hefty dose of speech therapy. Did you know that the NY State School for the Deaf at Rome has a very strong speech therapy program? This is a STATE SCHOOL?!?!
It's also beyond rare for a kid to be exclusively deaf schooled............sigh....stupid hearies and stupid AG Bellers who have it stuck in their heads that solotaire mainstreaming is some glorious utopia!
 
Chair said:
Gallaudet is cliquey. Gallaudet is harsh on sign. Gallaudet will throw your identity, your perception of your deafness, and your philosophy on communication through a wringer, shredder, tornado, and a firestorm.

The level of English at Gallaudet is subpar. The level of ASL at Gallaudet is... pretty good. I say "pretty good" because there is a large portion of students who sign very very very well, another portion who grew up signing English-like but still very ASL, and then we have new signers / oral (or Hard of Hearing as they tend to be labelled regardless of their actual hearing status)

Gallaudet's level of education in regards to "regular" education are atrocious. The GSR program devalues your general education to the point of literally learning nothing but doing the work of a heavy-duty course. Despite this, I firmly believe that major-related courses are on par with hearing universities.

I agree that too many tenured professors couldn't sign "YOU NAME WHAT" correctly if their lives depended on it. Fortunately most of them are old and maybe we will replace them as they retire or die off...

Are you oral? Do you like it? Do you have friends who you can easily communicate with? Gallaudet might not be for you... while I could be considered an "Oral Success", I quite literally could not hold a two-way conversation. Even the littlest bit of sign was heaven for me... I do not know if that would be the same for you.

Will you talk on campus? Will you hang out with other students who talk? Be prepared for dirty looks, exclusion, and (probably) difficulty understanding your teachers.

Are you hearing? God be with you, because we sure won't be.

There are a lot more new signers these days... and they seem to be more accepted, as well. I am happy to see that, however, their level of ASL has seemed to decrease as a group.... we shall we see how that pans out over the decade.
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Wow, guess I better be prepared when I get there!
 
I got into a summer deaf computer camp there, from july 17 to 23rd. Just ordered the flight tickets.
 
Frisky Feline said:
Thats cool. On gallaudet campus? will they provide you an interpreter?
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I doubt it, its an all-deaf camp only which will be completely new to me since I never been in classes only for the deaf.

I dont even know what to expect when its deaf camp. Hopefully (for my benefit) they will know oral, if not, crap, and will get an interpreter lol
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
I doubt it, its an all-deaf camp only which will be completely new to me since I never been in classes only for the deaf.

I dont even know what to expect when its deaf camp. Hopefully (for my benefit) they will know oral, if not, crap, and will get an interpreter lol
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LOl I hope you will see the whole deaf people there in a positive vibes and you will enjoy it there. During the summer time, it is a perfect time for you to see everything at take one step from there. You will love the metro (subway) along with the union station and rest of this DC area.
 
Frisky Feline said:
LOl I hope you will see the whole deaf people there in a positive vibes and you will enjoy it there. During the summer time, it is a perfect time for you to see everything at take one step from there. You will love the metro (subway) along with the union station and rest of this DC area.
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Yeah I'm pretty excited to make one or 2 good deaf friends as I only have 1 good deaf friend.

after camp I will be staying for 2-3 more days to roam around wash dc with my dad.
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
Yeah I'm pretty excited to make one or 2 good deaf friends as I only have 1 good deaf friend.

after camp I will be staying for 2-3 more days to roam around wash dc with my dad.
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Awesome. I bet you that you will pick up a few signs. Just wait and see until summer then we all will know. lol. Enjoy your visiting in DC and with Dad too.
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
Yeah I'm pretty excited to make one or 2 good deaf friends as I only have 1 good deaf friend.

after camp I will be staying for 2-3 more days to roam around wash dc with my dad.
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You'll have a great time! I worked for EYF at RIT one summer and it's similar. We had a bunch of oralies and we worked with them just fine. They learned ASL pretty quickly and started to interact with ASLies. They loved the experience.

So open your mind and try to learn more ASL while you're there! :wave:
 
got into a summer deaf computer camp there, from july 17 to 23rd.
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YAY!!!!!!! Do the people running the camp know you're hoh? Are you a bit too young for the EYF at NTID? A lot of Deaf people understand that it wasn't your fault that you didn't get exposed to Sign...It's very common to have been oralized and mainstreamed.
There was a beginning ASL camp for dhh teens...surprised you didn't opt for that. But I am very excited for you. Keep an open mind......carry the attitude " I wish I'd been able to learn ASL and been exposed to Deaf culture early on."
Deaf camps rock....and I am GREEN with envy for you! You know, you might also look into Iso Bella in Conneticut, which is a more tradtional summer camp.
 
deafdyke said:
YAY!!!!!!! Do the people running the camp know you're hoh? Are you a bit too young for the EYF at NTID? A lot of Deaf people understand that it wasn't your fault that you didn't get exposed to Sign...It's very common to have been oralized and mainstreamed.
There was a beginning ASL camp for dhh teens...surprised you didn't opt for that. But I am very excited for you. Keep an open mind......carry the attitude " I wish I'd been able to learn ASL and been exposed to Deaf culture early on."
Deaf camps rock....and I am GREEN with envy for you! You know, you might also look into Iso Bella in Conneticut, which is a more tradtional summer camp.
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They know I'm profoundly deaf with implants, and that I only have oral tool.
 
DeafCaroline said:
This thread is really interesting in terms of politics. Several comments were made about speaking Deaf acting superior to signing Deaf. Well, I am profoundly deaf, got my hearing aids at age 4 and was immediately put into intensive speech therapy (that was unrelenting - at least 2 hours of speech therapy a day but usually more for about 10 years. HATED IT!) and went to hearing schools and never knew any Deaf kids. All this time, I was being told from everyone from my mother to my speech therapist to my audiologist how lucky I was not to be "one of those deaf kids who get sent away to school and can't talk." Its pretty easy to start believing that when it's something that's been fed to you since your earliest memories. You believe the hype after a while. Then one day, when you're much older and wiser, you realize that they were wrong. Yes, certainly, it's nice to be able to speak well that most people wouldn't know I'm deaf but it also works against me in that people forget I'm Deaf. I don't do well in group settings, and I'm still left out at the dinner table which is not much fun when it's a big family event like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
For those of you who view 18, 19, 20 something year old speaking Deaf as snobby - they probably are because they were raised by the Hearing to believe they were lucky enough to be spared from those substandard boarding schools for the Deaf (yeah, that's what I was always told growing up) but if you befriend them they will realize immediately how much they've been missing out in their lives and they would be very happy to make new friends. Keep in mind they grew up in a hearing world, it's a very lonely place for them unlike Deafs who went to Deaf schools and have Deaf friends. Trust me, I would know.
It's sad that people's egos create such divisive politics when what we need from each other is support and solidarity.
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Yep. Nicely put.
 
Gallaudet University is...interesting.
I am not a Gally student myself but I visited there a couple of months ago for the Academic Bowl competition. I also have a lot of friends who go there. So, from an outsider's point of view, it's an okay college. There's nothing AMAZING about it except for its graduate program. There's not anything bad, though. Some people LOVE it, some don't. Basically, college is what you make out of it.
 
By what i read i don't know if i should transfer schools or what, but i got conditionally accepted into Gallaudet for their Sign Language Interpreting program for September (I have the ACT left) and i'm a hearing person. It's been my dream to go there since i took ASL in high school (albet that was back in 2003).

Do any of you have advice on what i should do or anything to help me fit in?
 
deafdyke said:
Kinda OT, but Daredevil, do you think it would be a good idea for Dhh middle/ high school mainstream (or even good Deaf School) programs to actively seek out oral deaf students?
I really think that many middle and high school dhh kids who are oral, and who may not be too behind academicly would really thrive in an academic setting where teachers are somewhat familiar with dhh kids, and where they'd have the support of other dhh peers. I honestly think many AG Bell teachers and experts are still very clueless as to the fact that while many oral sucesses may not need a Sign using program in elementary, they still hit the fourth grade glass ceiling AND social issues are just SO bad for most dhh kids.
You do know that Deaf Ed has never been some sort of voice off paradise? Even most kids who attend Schools for the Deaf get a very heavy dose of speech, and can orally talk. I have NO freaking clue why that portrayal of Schools for the Deaf even exist!!! Yes, there are some students and people who are voice off Deafies.....but even kids who went to the big name oral schools have gone there!
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I'm surprised, to be honest, because I thought that school would have strictly mute/voice off students at the very least and thought I wouldn't "fit" in as I grew up, orally. It's a DEAF school! But then again, don't judge the book by its cover.

Do you guys know anyone that went to NTID or Gallaudet and got a stable job/career choice? I'd go to the their website, but they would only include the very successful people attending there and got a fantastic job, at least from what I think.
 
KarissaMann05 said:
Yeah... same with a few oral deaf friends from DeviantART. I remember she told me that she's not sure about going to there because she didn't learn ASL yet (EDIT: Oh and she just started to learn some, time to time.). But she's kinda of afraid to go to there because of discrimination.

I think it is only better if they just should welcome them as long as hearing or oral deaf people don't oppress anybody or ASL users don't bash them.
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You nailed it. I was always thinking about that when it comes to these schools. I want to learn a lot while over there with the great accommodations (I bet!) and have a great start in the workforce. I thought about CSUN because it's a mainstream school and has a deaf community over there. Perhaps I would have my major picked by then and hang out/socialize with the deaf! Double win situation as opposed to NTID and Gally (only if they don't have a good academic record or something. Lack of words here, but I hope you know what I mean!)
 
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