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By
Pamela Reponen
 "If
I don't obey the 'Belt On' light," Ken Osborne thought, "I
may go through
the roof!"
Osborne, a Deaf independent living specialist with the Center for Living and
Working in Worcester, was recounting an experience that happened to him several
years ago while flying from Boston to Baltimore. Seated in a semicircle around
him were students in the American Sign Language (ASL)/deaf studies program and
members of the Holy Cross and Greater Worcester communities who were participating
in workshops held at the College in September as part of National Deaf Awareness
Week. Osborne explained to the group in sign language that, as he fastened his
safety belt, the "Captain Speaking" light came on. He recalls sensing increased
tension among the passengers
and experiencing the effects of extreme turbulence-without understanding why.
Because the airline staff was communicating orally with the passengers, he was
unable to know the cause of the disturbance.
The Deaf Awareness Week program is but one of the many events sponsored by ASL/deaf
studies at Holy Cross. This fall, students and staff also had the opportunity
to listen to a lecture on Deaf culture by MJ Bienvenu, coordinator of the ASL
program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., attend a deaf services/technology
expo, and volunteer at skating lessons for deaf children offered at the Hart
Center. Judy Freedman Fask, coordinator and instructor of the ASL/deaf studies
program at Holy Cross, believes that immersion in the Deaf culture is a key component
to learning sign language and understanding the people in their particular community.
In this way, she says, students have an opportunity to interact with Deaf individuals
and practice their skills in a real-life setting.
Interest in ASL/deaf studies has grown steadily since the program's inception
in 1994. At that time, Holy Cross received a grant from the 3M Foundation's VISION
Program to support this effort. The curriculum consists of six courses-four in
American Sign Language instruction, one on Deaf culture and community, and an
internship seminar that enables students to work at a specific site where ASL
is the primary language; the ongoing workshops, lectures and community-based
volunteer activities supplement and enhance classroom instruction. According
to Fask, students may take ASL to fulfill their language requirement and will
receive recognition for completing the six-course ASL program.
Fask's enthusiasm and dedication to this program
are contagious. Noting that her interest in sign language
began shortly after her graduation from high school, she
says, "I was a teacher's aide in a public school summer program
and happened to be placed in a classroom with young deaf
children-I
fell in love with the kids and the language." This experience led her to seek
out courses in ASL at local colleges and to become involved with the
Deaf community. "My approach from the very beginning was 'hands-on,' with real
people," she says. "I think that influenced how I have developed the program
at Holy Cross-I believe that if students really want to learn and excel, they
need to spend time outside the four walls."
Kevin Fleese, who teaches intermediate ASL and the class in Deaf culture and
community, explains that these courses enable students to study the complex grammatical
structure of the language and also learn firsthand
about the Deaf people's way of living. "There are different rules and standards
that we teach," Fleese says. "For example, eye contact in the Deaf community
is very important-if there is no eye contact in the middle of a conversation,
it's considered rude."
Noting that the course also covers the history of the Deaf culture and language
in its struggle to assert its unique identity in a hearing world, he hopes that
participation in this program will lead to more open-mindedness
about deafness. "And," he says, " I would like to have more and more hearing
students learn to sign-to be available to work with the Deaf community to improve
communication, so that members of both groups may come to understand each other
better." In addition to broadening student, faculty and staff awareness about
sign language and the Deaf culture, he is interested in helping to expand the
program with the hope that, at some point, the College may offer a major in deaf
studies.
The Holy Cross program reflects the evolution that has taken place in this field
in recent years. "When I was taking courses, there really were no deaf studies
programs," Fask says. "There were ASL classes, but even these were not necessarily
American Sign Language because they were typically
taught by hearing people-and sometimes they were offered without academic
credit." At that time, too, she notes, ASL fell under the category of communication
disorders rather than languages. Fask is pleased that ASL/deaf studies has attained
recognition as a formal program of study, and that more deaf individuals have
become involved in this field. She points out that the intermediate and advanced
courses at Holy Cross are taught exclusively
by Deaf instructors.
The number of students interested in ASL/deaf
studies attests to the program's popularity. This fall, according
to Fask, over 100 students competed for the 40 available
openings in ASL 1. Students become involved in the program
for a variety of reasons. Paul Maxwell, a fourth-year premed
student majoring in music and completing the six-course ASL
program, indicates that he plans to become an ASL interpreter
before going to medical school. According
to Jennifer Courcy '02, she decided to take ASL to satisfy her language requirement,
but also has a personal interest in the subject because one of her family members
is experiencing a problem with hearing loss. As a sociology major, she feels
that taking a language with such a rich culture has been a very beneficial experience
for her and hopefully will deepen her appreciation of differences found in other
cultures.
For some students, participation in the ASL/deaf
studies program influenced their choice of career. Theresa
Amalfitano-Crean '97 is currently a graduate student at Gallaudet
University; one of only 10 students accepted into the program,
she is pursuing her master's degree in sign-language interpretation.
Amalfitano-Crean describes her experience in a very positive
way: "I learn
an enormous amount in the classroom," she says, "and probably even more just
living among the members of this community." Explaining that sign language is
the primary language used at Gallaudet, she notes that all of her classes are
taught in sign and that three-of-four of her teachers are Deaf; according to
Amalfitano-Crean, she and her husband are the only two hearing individuals living
in the residence hall. Immersed in the language and culture of the Deaf community,
she considers this to be "a true 'study-abroad' experience."
Karen Hadlock '00 began working at the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing a month after graduation. As the administrative assistant
to the deputy commissioner and general counsel, she has the opportunity to work
with every department in the agency and learn about the services
each provides. "Currently, I am setting up site visits to the 10 contracted Independent
Living Centers across the commonwealth of Massachusetts," she
says. "I am actually communicating quite frequently with contacts in Worcester,
which I made during my internship at the Center for Living and Working with Joan
Philip Meehan, through Holy Cross." According to Hadlock, she decided to work
at the commission because it most closely related to her future goals of becoming
a sign-language interpreter and a social worker
fluent in ASL.
Hadlock, like Amalfitano-Crean, has high praise for the College's ASL program
and its influence on her career. Recalling that she came to Holy Cross planning
to pursue an interest in the field of biology or genetics, she says she became
interested in this program as a first-year student. "After the first few classes,
I knew this was something I was going to love," Hadlock explains. "And I tried
to get involved in the Deaf community as
much as I could." As co-chair of the ASL Club, she helped organize many of the
activities sponsored by the ASL/deaf studies program; Hadlock notes that, under
the direction of Fask, she and fellow graduating ASL students interpreted the
hymns sung at the Baccalaureate Mass last May.
At the "It's a Deaf Deaf World" interactive workshop, participants stopped by
various tables-the bank, the travel agency and the hospital-to negotiate a transaction.
Students enrolled in the ASL program took advantage of the opportunity to use
their knowledge of sign language to communicate their needs while nonsigners
had to rely on facial expressions and gestures. The difficulties experienced
by the hearing individuals made real the day-to-day struggles deaf individuals
face living in a hearing-dominated world. This
activity reflects Fask's vision for the ASL/deaf studies program: "My goal is
to open up the students' minds," she says, "by having them come in contact with
many members of the Deaf community." She hopes, too, that as students enter the
professions, their knowledge of community resources will enable them to be responsive
to the needs of deaf individuals they encounter in the work environment. Through
their participation in the ASL/deaf studies program at Holy Cross, students,
in this way, may help to forge a lasting bond between members of the Deaf, hard
of hearing, and hearing communities.
Kevin Fleese, who teaches a course on Deaf
culture and community at Holy Cross, clarifies the meaning
of the words "deaf" and "Deaf": "deaf" refers to hearing
loss, while "Deaf" refers to the culture. The word, "deaf," is
used to describe individuals who are deaf by means of hearing
loss, but who have no other ties to the community or culture.
The word, "Deaf," refers to those individuals who have
hearing loss; have ties to the Deaf culture; and who
use ASL for their primary means of communication.
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