Greetings friends! Normally my blog describes my travels going west in the United States but this time I had to make an exception. My latest trip took me south to our nation’s capital Washington, D.C. There sits Gallaudet University the nation’s oldest and only university for the Deaf. At first glance the student body here is like that of any other college in North America. There were skate boarders, punks, jocks, nerds and the beautifully vain swirling all around; each trying to find their place in this world. So goes the stereotypes, but at Gallaudet University these personalities always play second string to being Deaf. This is your first identity, an identity you had better learn to be comfortable with because at GU being apart of deaf culture is a strength not a weakness. There are no inferiority complexes being embraced here only pride. The young people here are in a positive environment that unifies them all in being deaf. ASL is not inferior to speech, in fact those whom can speak rarely use it. Since GU is a deaf school it is embraced as such but not on hearing terms. The students were so energetic and full of emotion as I recall. Perched on a bench at Fowler Hall near a bust of founding father Clerc, I carefully watched as a group of grad students chatted away; their hands and fingers moved about in a frenzy. Their facial expressions going up, drooping down, smiling, frowning and eyes rolling in the back of their heads, perhaps describing an obnoxious professor. I surely wanted to know what they were discussing but I could not understand them. It was then that I felt the first pangs of doubt and anxiety. I wanted to understand but I just couldn’t get inside their world. I felt slightly inferior mainly because I realized that no matter how intelligent and articulate I was with words it had no place here. It was useless. I began to question my own taught language. I felt ashamed I could not express myself the way I wanted. Shortly after this I met up with Peggy, a bubbly (hearing) tour coordinator at GU. For about an hour and a half a group of 10 students and I strolled the sprawling green and gothic campus. One deaf student and I attempted for a moment to communicate but to no avail. The student and I empathized with each other (both exhausted and frustrated) and at that moment we shared a common bond. Fortunately GU erases that tense and frustrating feeling of not being understood and that’s what makes it so special. A student here can throw off the pressures of having to conform to the hearing world. The only language accepted here is ASL. At GU, ASL is not compared to spoken English because to do so undermines ASL itself. It sends the message that ASL is inferior to speech because it is not “audible” but it is audible to those whom use it. ASL is as dignified and effective as let’s say Chinese or Hungarian (or any foreign language) if not more so. Speech and ASL just simply cannot be compared in my mind. The GU community seems to feel the exact same way. This is a community that looks after one another, encourages one another and most importantly educates one another. They feel it is their duty to keep GU a deaf institution and not assimilate to hearing standards. Most hearing individuals cannot understand this because sadly we feel we are the gold standard for communication. As hearing people, we talk so much and use speech so abusively that our words have begun to lose their meaning. Our words have become empty to a degree. To the deaf every sign means something and was created using sincere thought and effort. It seems to carry more emotion and responsibility within the deaf community. The students at GU were such an inspiration to me that I feel ASL is arguably superior to speech. Ironically, I now understand that I can speak eloquently and yet still be misunderstood. Others may be able to hear me but not really feel what I’m expressing. That is the great equalizer. We are just as much a victim of our hearing as some feel the deaf are a victim of their silence. How wonderful it was to be in a place where these young ones can say to each other, “Here I am, I am listening…I understand you!”
May8
obsessedwiththewest 