issue 2 version 2 - foundinblank · kind of impact by giving us your thoughts, in writing, and help...
TRANSCRIPT
the viewissue 2 17 April 2002
Editorialbobby cox
I recently went to Gallaudet University for RIT/Gally weekend. I want to tell you one thing about the trip that bothered me.
The trek there took eight hours. We--approximately 60 of us--were all split on three coach buses. When we arrived there at one o’clock in the morning we were greeted by Gallaudet committee members. Gathered outside the entrance to their gymnasium, the first thing they said to us went something like this:
“We aren’t responsible for rape, abuse, and theft. You’ll need to sign a liability waiver before you can go in and sleep.
I was shocked – not because they wanted a liability waiver, but because it was the first thing they said to us. No “Welcome RIT!!!” no spirit, no…friendliness. Two others and I left that gathering and found other accommodations.
I hope that when Gallaudet comes to RIT, we give them a better reception than that. If you went to Gallaudet that weekend, I wonder what kind of experiences you had. Write about them, and send it to [email protected]. Who knows, you might win a prize!
The View is your voice. This year we have had a slow start. Our staff is small, and we are looking for more enthusiastic and committed people to help The View grow. We have a great relationship with the Student Communications Center. The SCC is where our office is – at 1070 Dining Commons, straight ahead from the main entrance.
The community will not change and improve if nobody speaks out. In this issue, we have a few interesting topics. Donald Slate gives the perspective of a disqualified
University, California State University at Northridge, and Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf attended the retreat. The four NTID students that attended were Josh Berman, Alim Chandani, Tommy Parker, and Matt Sickon. Bryan Lloyd, the advisor, also joined the delegation.
At the conference, an underage student from one of the participating schools (name & university affiliation withheld) consumed alcohol. In the same week, other students (21 and over) became visibly intoxicated while drinking. This fact wasn’t discovered until after the retreat, when Sickon brought this concern to NTID’s attention. Due to RIT’s alcohol policy, the administration decided to withdraw from the organization until CNAD’s code of conduct could fit with their policy. Liability and protective concerns also contributed to NTID’s decision.
Chandani and Parker have requested a CNAD Executive Board meeting which will occur in the near future. At the meeting, ideas will be discussed regarding additions to CNAD’s bylaws and guidelines related to alcohol use. Once CNAD has drafted rules and a code of conduct regulating alcohol use, NTID is likely to re-join CNAD. In the meantime, CNAD members, regardless of their university affiliation, are expected to present at this summer’s NAD conference in Washington, D.C.
contestant in DeafStock 2002. Becca Berman explains why NTID withdrew support from Collegiate NAD. Adam Stone gives us some history why some have complained that Tower C is called Alexander Graham Bell Hall.
There is nothing like the written word, and a lot of words together can have an incredible impact on a group of people. You can have that kind of impact by giving us your thoughts, in
writing, and help us shake off the cobwebs hanging in our community.
eic • editor-in-chiefBobby Cox
managing editorAdam Stone
contributing writersBecca Berman, Donald Slate
artistsKara Dowling, A.J. Morton
advisorsMark Sullivan, Eileen Biser
Office
1070 Hettie Shumway Dining CommonsStudent Communication Center
National Technical Institute for the DeafRochester NY, 14623
we need writers and artists, come in our office at SCC in dining commons 4-6 MW
APRILDate Time What Where15,16,17,18 online sg elections online20 6p ebony club banquet rick’s prime rib house20 n/a kappa phi theta banquet tba25 5-7:00p dslag dining commons27 n/a sigma sigma sigma banquet tba27 n/a asian deaf club banquet tba28 7:00p sg banquet rit inn 29 n/a last day to withdraw n/a
MAY Date Time What Where2 7:30p 3rd annual ethnic fest epb quad3,4,5 7:30p peter pan panara theater4 n/a alpha sigma theta banquet tba6 n/a svp/soar reunion tba10 n/a delta sigma phi banquet tba10,11,12 7:30p peter pan panara theater10,11,12 varies spring fest 2002 rit campus17 6-11:30p senior night sau18-22 n/a finals week rit campus24 n/a convocation 2002 rit campus25 n/a commencement 2002 rit campus
He then concluded that marriage was one way to arrive at those goals, even if “the offspring may not be desirable.”
Dr. Bell had a deaf wife, and he did forbid sign language as a communication mode between themselves. However, he was known to be a beautiful signer, and his last words to his dying wife were fingerspelled, “I love you.” It is not unreasonable to imagine that had Dr. Bell been born 50 years later, past when Darwinism had been refined into an scientific theory of genetics, that he would have never said this, although he might have continued his oralist stance.
After examining Dr. Bell’s history, we turn now to the circumstances surrounding the construction and dedication of the new NTID campus in 1974. Bill Castle was the vice-president of NTID at that time, and he was known for being a strong advocate of oralism.
While he never translated that into actual NTID policy, that and his active membership in the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf might have influenced the decision to name Tower C
after Dr. Bell. A far stronger factor than Dr. Castle,
however, was the spirit surrounding the founding of NTID. The Institute was created with the concept of eclectic communication—an environment in which all modes of communication, ranging from ASL to spoken English, would be accepted inside and outside the classroom. It was necessary to create an environment that showed acceptance of eclectic communication, and that factored into the dedication of the NTID campus.
While no official record exists from the
committee that named the buildings, it is generally assumed that Dr. Bell was chosen because he was oralism’s strongest icon. Having a building named after Dr. Bell would give a message that NTID welcomed students with oral backgrounds. Peterson Hall (Tower B) was named after Peter Peterson, an ASL speaker himself. Most likely, the committee did not intend to support Dr. Bell’s claim against deaf intermarriage, choosing instead to focus on his work in educating deaf students.
Today, over 80% of NTID students wear hearing aids, and every year, more students that don’t know sign and/or have cochlear implants enter NTID. These students were raised along the same principles that Dr. Bell outlined over a century ago, and the naming of Tower C after Alexander Graham Bell only serves to recognize his contribution to the field of deaf education. Indeed, NTID does emulate the principles that Dr. Bell worked towards—the full and complete education of deaf people.
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NTID Withdraws Support from CNADbecca berman
A recent discussion has arisen due to NTID’s decision to withdraw from the Collegiate National Association for the Deaf (CNAD). This decision
was prompted by an underage drinking incident that occurred at the January CNAD retreat.
CNAD was conceived at the 1998 National Association of the
Deaf (NAD) conference in order to provide a “college” link between Junior
NAD and NAD. The retreat, in Los Angeles, California, was the second of its kind and its purpose was to develop CNAD’s bylaws, guidelines, and rules. Another primary goal was to start up the organization and present at the 2002 NAD conference. Four representatives each from NTID, Gallaudet
Disclaimer: Mr. Slate’s article does not reflect the opinions of this publication or of the Institute.
With all the rumors swirling around campus, it’s time to get the facts straight: Ernie Roszkowski, Sean Forbes and myself have not been suspended, arrested, carried away to an asylum, or hired to perform at a future Blink-182 concert, as a result of our performance at DeafStock. With that being said, we now want to give you our account of events on that fateful day of March 15th.
We all had no idea what we were going to do once we got on stage. We had only begun rehearsing for the two songs the day before and it was in the cramped confines of Sean’s lovely bedroom. All we knew was that we were going to be crazy, spontaneous, and try to give the audience a good show.
Before I continue, I want to mention that those who have seen Blink-182 music videos know that they are insanely fun and open-minded. It’s nothing like the pretty boys of N’Sync or Backstreet Boys. Blink-182 is a liberal, radical band with millions of worshipping fans.
At DeafStock (also known as Star Search), we performed “Dammit” while jumping around and having fun, Blink-182 style. Much to the delight of the women in the audience, we began to slowly take off our shirts and dance topless. This was the non-controversial part. As we began to perform “All the Small Things”, we became unaware of our surroundings
and literally got into the song. As the music continued, we brought out rolls of toilet paper and tossed it into the audience; we even left the stage to dance in the audience as we sang. I think the administration should be thankful we did not attempt to establish a mosh pit.
To top it off, at the end of “All the Small Things” as I sang, “Keep your head still, I’ll be your thrill…” Sean and Ernie took it literally and thrilled the audience with a view of their baby-smooth butts. While it was not in the master plan to moon the audience, we thought it was harmless. After all, DeafStock is a college event held in a college environment.
If you look at college campuses throughout the country, mooning is nothing compared to what happens elsewhere. For example, University of Michigan has an annual naked mile run. At the University of Minnesota, they
have an annual polar bear run, in which naked students run into a river (in the winter). Even on this campus, The Reporter ran an article on nudity at parties, with pictures of naked students celebrating.
However, this was not how the Student Life Team responded. Debbye Byrne, Student
Life Team’s Coordinator of Educational Development, approached us and lectured us on how we embarrassed the Institute, how administrators were ashamed, that children were in the audience and their parents were outraged, and how other
performances celebrated their cultures and, through our performance, we “lessened” their presentations.
This was not our intention at all, and if we offended anyone, then we offer our most profound apologies. The funny part about this is that I have personally spoken with administrators and parents who were at DeafStock, and they all enjoyed the show and
wondered out loud why we were disqualified. Other performers who were celebrating their cultures approached us in the days following the show and cheered at us.
While our primary goal was not to win DeafStock, and only to provide the audience with an enjoyable performance, we are annoyed at the fact we were disqualified for an absurd claim that we were flailing drunk and out of control. The closest thing we came to drinking before the show was a can of beer—root beer. We were sent to Campus Safety for further evaluation as to whether or not we were drinking. While the officer said that several staff members at DeafStock smelled alcohol on us, the officer seemed to disagree with the observation of unqualified individuals.
Ernie Roszkowski, Sean Forbes and myself were not under the influence of alcohol or any illegal substances in the hours preceding and at the performance. While our objective was achieved, that of providing the audience with a delightful atmosphere, we are hurt that no one informed us of the reason for us being disqualified. Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought it was “innocent until proven guilty” not the other way around.
We are all in college, and while I can understand the concern RIT/NTID has with alcohol related issues, that is no excuse for eliminating us from the competition. Yes, we were crazy onstage. The people who disqualified us apparently do not know us as individuals and viewed our behavior onstage as out-of-control drunkenness. If we were under the influence of anything, it was a natural high: one that comes with performing onstage in front of our adoring fans.
Let me ask you, our readers, this: Are you going to continue and allow RIT/NTID to restrict our lives to the point where our lives are inhibited in what we can or cannot do? College is a period in our lives when we do the craziest things, when we learn about others and ourselves. All I ask is an opportunity to achieve these objectives—within legal means of course.
“...disqualified for an absurd claim that we were flailing
drunk and out of control...”
“...[we] were not under the
influence of alcohol or any illegal
substances...”
A.G. Bell Halladam stone
Look at the most overlooked building in the NTID campus – Tower C. Its first floor is fully occupied by the child-care facility, Margaret’s House, and the second floor is mostly an extension of Tower B, plus a few spacious apartments. However, Tower C is probably the most controversially named of any of the NTID buildings due to its namesake: Alexander Graham Bell.
In the entrance to Peterson Hall (Tower B), a plaque with an image of Bell hangs on the west wall. Below the image is an inscription:
“Only six years before his death, Alexander Graham Bell looked back over his amazing life and wrote, ‘Recognition of my work for and interest in the education of the deaf has always been more pleasing to me than even recognition of my work with the telephone.’ A brilliant and innovative teacher of the deaf, Bell dedicated a great portion of his life to help deaf children develop their potential for listening, speaking, and lip-reading. Today, NTID emulates the ideals of which Alexander Graham worked.”
About every three years, on average, these two last sentences seem to rise objections from the NTID student community. While Dr. Bell’s most renowned achievement was developing the telephone, he also advocated the oral education method for deaf children to the exclusion of sign language. Most importantly, however, he was thought to have engaged in eugenic practices by promoting legislation to prevent intermarriage within the deaf community in order to prevent the birth of more deaf children.
In essence, if NTID truly was to support Dr. Bell’s ideals, our philosophy of diverse methods in education including the usage of ASL, SEE, PSE, and spoken English would not exist. So why was Tower C named after this man? Two things must be examined:
the view 9 april 2002
one, Dr. Bell himself, and two, the factors surrounding the dedication of the NTID complex buildings in 1974.
Dr. Harry Lang, a faculty member at the NTID Research Department, offers some historical insights into Dr. Bell. “He was a man of his time—the late 19th century. Darwinism was influencing every corner of science, including Dr. Bell’s field.” Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection proposed the axiom, “survival of the fittest.” The mentality of the 1880s was that deafness was a defect, a disability to be avoided. This stands in contrast to the current Deaf empowerment movement which celebrates the Deaf condition and culture.
Combining Darwinism and the idea of deafness as a defect leads to the natural conclusion that deaf adults shouldn’t marry; that was exactly what Dr. Bell proposed in his Memoir upon the Formation of a
Deaf Variety of the Human Race. In it, he discouraged deaf people from marrying one another, believing this would reduce hereditary deafness. He also said that the gathering of deaf
people via state institutes promoted marriage among them. So he urged schools for deaf pupils be kept small and that instruction in speech and lip-reading should replace sign language.
Dr. Bell’s Memoir caught the attention of the Deaf community, and they responded with statistics showing that only 9% of the children born to deaf parents were deaf. Realizing his mistake, Bell never formally proposed legislation barring deaf intermarriage, and he even wrote an article warning against legislation of that type. In The National Geographic Report (Dr. Bell served as president of the National Geographic Society for a period), he discussed each person’s unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“...why was Tower C named after this man?”
Amanda Montgomery
Amanda Montgomery
Donald Slate, Sean Forbes, and Ernie Roszkowski, all sans-shirts, hype it up as Blink-182’s “Dammit” blasts through the Panara Theater. Toilet paper was used as an accessory in the performance.
deafstock 2002
Making a Big Deal Out of a Full Moondonald slate