By Heather White
Walking by the Red Barn last Thursday, students may have noticed things were a little quieter than usual. However, ask those who were inside the building that day and their story may be different; there was a lot of communication going on.It was the first annual Deaf Awareness Day at the University of Louisville, and the Louisville American Sign Language Association (LASLA), who sponsored the event, said they were excited to see the student turnout.
“I was worried at first that some students wouldn’t be interested in coming but I realized when they came in they were eager to learn,” said senior Max Williamson.
According to Maura Hencker, Instructional Support Coordinator, the Red Barn saw about 300 students on Thursday, asking questions and learning what the deaf community and American Sign Language (ASL) were all about.
“The people here seem to be very inquisitive,” said Hencker. “They were asking a lot of questions about the deaf community, what interpreters are for and examples of the interpreters’ roles, which are to provide access to communication and they [the students] didn’t realize that.”
However, the event was created for more then just awareness of deaf culture, as students curious about taking ASL courses quickly discovered. In 2009, the Interpreter Training Program (ITP) at U of L will be closing due to accreditation and budget issues.
The program, in which U of L serves as a satellite school, maintains a base of operations at Eastern Kentucky University. According to the event administrators, when obstacles began to arise due to accreditation problems, U of L made the decision to dismiss the program.
Now, organizations such as LASLA are reaching out to the students and faculty to bring to light the program is closing and what it will mean for both the deaf and hearing communities.
“I’m really disappointed they’re closing the program,” said Williamson, adding the change will make college life less accessible to deaf students.
Hencker shares the same sentiment:
“I remember around 1998, prior to the program opening, I took a class here at U of L and I asked for an interpreter and they didn’t have any available because there [were] a small number of them,” Hencker said. “When the ITP program started, we started to grow the pool of interpreters as graduate students came out of the program and we had a whole lot more active communication in the deaf community.”
Among these future interpreters is Monica Romney, a senior ITP major who said she almost didn’t have the chance to graduate under the program.
“The majority of deaf people in Kentucky live here in Louisville. This program is vital to the area,” she said.
Staff interpreter Charlee Matthis, who helped organize the event, said, “We’re really worried that once these classes are gone, they [students] will be further isolated from the deaf community.”
With the assistance of interpreters like Matthis and Romney, both Hencker and Williamson, who have been deaf since birth, have an easier time communicating with teachers and classmates.
“Without an interpreter, some communication is blocked and I miss out on some information,” said Williamson.
Although those involved deemed the event a success, it was not met without a few disappointments. According to Williamson, he was excited to see the influence the program had but wished more advertisement would have occurred to get the excitement going. Andree Mondor, Director of the Clothesline Project, also cited the lack of administrative presence as an added frustration.
“I would have loved to see more from administration here to see how vibrant the deaf community is,” said Mondor. “There’s a real excitement [and] people feel so connected.”
Romney agreed, “I wish more administration had shown up to support us or at least had shown some curiosity.”
However, she was encouraged by the student response. “That’s what it will take, students to rise up to protest and say that we need this to stay,” said Romney.
Despite feeling like they are in an uphill battle, LASLA said they refuse to give up.
“Our idea is to shine a light before it closes, so that no one can say ‘if only I had known, I would’ve done something,'” said Mondor, who questioned what things will be like this time next year once interpreters become harder to find.
“When this program closes to the deaf and Louisville communities, they are going to experience problems,” said Mondor. “This is an aspect of diversity that is so often ignored. It is a silent minority.”
