I arrived at Gallaudet University in the Fall of 1999. I was just impressed and taken aback by the sea of moving hands. I had never seen so many deaf people in one place.
That impression didn't last. I quickly came to see what Gallaudet University really was.
Basically, you can divide Gallaudet University into just a few groups and roughly classify everyone in these groups. You have:
That pretty much sums it up really. So back to where I was, I would say that my being impressed with Gallaudet University started to end when I stepped into the cafeteria.
This is a $2,000 meal plan that I was FORCED to take, since I was living on campus so I expected some pretty good food!
No. Instead you get mice running around, an asshole manager and a roommate shitting out a tapeworm. I entered Gallaudet University at 300 pounds and came out about 220 without even trying to lose weight. And I was smoking weed almost nonstop - so in theory, I should have ate more. That's how shitty the food was. I don't know if it still is but I wouldn't bet on 5 star restaurant quality anytime soon.
Then shortly before NSO ended, my body decided to get an ear infection for the first time in years (and haven't had one since, knock on wood). So rather than endure the extreme pain, I decided that it might be a good idea to visit the on-campus health center!
No. It wasn't. I was forced to sit in the waiting room WHEN THERE WERE NO OTHER PATIENTS for over 3 hours for them to give me an asprin and say that it will clear up in a few days.
Wow, real helpful there. You didn't even bother to put medicinal drops in my ears or anything. Thanks! Another thing about SHS (if it's still called that) - they asked my roommate to keep quiet about the tapeworm. Yeah, they care!
I'd rather get health care in Beruit.
Hey, let's not forget Alf across the hall - who partied in his room every single day of NSO and finally got thrown out of Gallaudet on his third alcohol offense before classes even started. Wow, I was in good company here.
Speaking of NSO, you can learn more by reading the lines on a roll of toilet paper. If you do actually go to Gallaudet, skip NSO. Don't waste your time - even if they threaten to lower your grade in FYS or whatever. Call their bluff, and even if they do - it was well worth the points you lost, trust me.
Hey, there's another thing. FYS! Here's a class that goes on museum field trips around Washington DC and assigns 'busywork' and this actually counts as college credit? Come on, we're not in third grade anymore. Seriously...
But wait, I was in Honors English and Honors Lit. That should be interesting at least! After all, the Honors program is meant to be more challenging right?
Well, I quickly found out that it WAS more challenging - but not in the way that I thought. They just BURY you in work and it's not really that thought-provoking.
The English prof was pretty cool (Pancost) but the papers he had us write were stuff that I did in Freshman English. I finished it off with a 6 page essay on marijuana. Pretty fitting.
OK, well - not all is lost. There's still Honors Literature. I don't know if this is still the case but I got some professor who was seemingly competely oblivious to the fact that us students had other classes in which we had to do work for.
She assigned a new (mostly boring) book practically every 5 or 6 days, I don't remember exactly. There was even a rumor that the head of the Honors department actually asked her to CUT DOWN her reading list before the semester started and it was still a hefty list of 8 or 9 thick books which she expected you to write essays for and the such.
Two students were actually thrown out of Gallaudet for buying their term papers online, which they did because the work was just too much.
At least I had Physics on my schedule. Actually, 'Physics for the Non Scientist' - which basically translates to 8th grade physical science - so I had something easy on my schedule, I suppose. Thanks for wasting my money and time on that one, GU!
Math wasn't as kind to me though. I got some 80 year old professor who I could BARELY understand and math happens to be my weakest subject so that didn't go very well at all.
Some time into the semester, I just resigned myself to skipping most classes and showing up on test dates. I learned more by wandering the streets of Washington DC in one night than I did in a month of schoolwork.
This is getting quite lengthy and I could go on for another 10 paragraphs but I'll stop now and sum it up with this:
Gallaudet University is the best place in the world if you are a deaf person looking for a social life. If you are a decently intelligent individual looking for a serious education and a degree which will get you taken seriously in the 'real world' - spare yourself and your family (and VR) the expense. Don't go to Gallaudet University.
At the very least, go to RIT but regular colleges with interpreters really work just fine and you get the satisfication of knowing that you got a degree that isn't plastered with "HEY I GOT THIS FROM A DEAF UNIVERSITY". Not necessarily bad but might cost you jobs in the real world. They'd never say that was the reason, of course.
At least you'll eat well and healthy, hopefully receive adequate medical services and a decent education that will serve you well. I realize there are probably many 'die-hard' Gallaudet'ers here and this thread is probably going to make me unpopular with that crowd but I wanted to post my experience.
Also note that this was my own personal experience. Some have described Gallaudet University as some sort of Utopia. That may be the case for you but be aware that it may not - and isn't for roughly 40% of the freshman class every single year.
I have met Gallaudet graduates who are on a 8th grade writing level. I know this is because of ASL but how in the hell do you graduate college with a 8th grade writing level? Oh yeah, Gallaudet University!
That impression didn't last. I quickly came to see what Gallaudet University really was.
Basically, you can divide Gallaudet University into just a few groups and roughly classify everyone in these groups. You have:
- Kids who have been sheltered all of their high school years in deaf institutes suddenly getting a taste of freedom. Most of them use this freedom to party their hearts out and sample every drug known to man. I would say a good 40% of every Freshman class falls into this category and a huge margin of them tend to flunk out. Like me (more on that later).
- The frats/sororities. There are some cool guys/girls here but mostly they are just a bunch of arrogant elitists who think they own the campus (read: Kappa Gamma).
- The outcasts. Mostly gays/lesbians who were too afraid to come out of the closet in high school. Also throw in a few nerds and stuff.
That pretty much sums it up really. So back to where I was, I would say that my being impressed with Gallaudet University started to end when I stepped into the cafeteria.
This is a $2,000 meal plan that I was FORCED to take, since I was living on campus so I expected some pretty good food!
No. Instead you get mice running around, an asshole manager and a roommate shitting out a tapeworm. I entered Gallaudet University at 300 pounds and came out about 220 without even trying to lose weight. And I was smoking weed almost nonstop - so in theory, I should have ate more. That's how shitty the food was. I don't know if it still is but I wouldn't bet on 5 star restaurant quality anytime soon.
Then shortly before NSO ended, my body decided to get an ear infection for the first time in years (and haven't had one since, knock on wood). So rather than endure the extreme pain, I decided that it might be a good idea to visit the on-campus health center!
No. It wasn't. I was forced to sit in the waiting room WHEN THERE WERE NO OTHER PATIENTS for over 3 hours for them to give me an asprin and say that it will clear up in a few days.
Wow, real helpful there. You didn't even bother to put medicinal drops in my ears or anything. Thanks! Another thing about SHS (if it's still called that) - they asked my roommate to keep quiet about the tapeworm. Yeah, they care!
I'd rather get health care in Beruit.
Hey, let's not forget Alf across the hall - who partied in his room every single day of NSO and finally got thrown out of Gallaudet on his third alcohol offense before classes even started. Wow, I was in good company here.
Speaking of NSO, you can learn more by reading the lines on a roll of toilet paper. If you do actually go to Gallaudet, skip NSO. Don't waste your time - even if they threaten to lower your grade in FYS or whatever. Call their bluff, and even if they do - it was well worth the points you lost, trust me.
Hey, there's another thing. FYS! Here's a class that goes on museum field trips around Washington DC and assigns 'busywork' and this actually counts as college credit? Come on, we're not in third grade anymore. Seriously...
But wait, I was in Honors English and Honors Lit. That should be interesting at least! After all, the Honors program is meant to be more challenging right?
Well, I quickly found out that it WAS more challenging - but not in the way that I thought. They just BURY you in work and it's not really that thought-provoking.
The English prof was pretty cool (Pancost) but the papers he had us write were stuff that I did in Freshman English. I finished it off with a 6 page essay on marijuana. Pretty fitting.
OK, well - not all is lost. There's still Honors Literature. I don't know if this is still the case but I got some professor who was seemingly competely oblivious to the fact that us students had other classes in which we had to do work for.
She assigned a new (mostly boring) book practically every 5 or 6 days, I don't remember exactly. There was even a rumor that the head of the Honors department actually asked her to CUT DOWN her reading list before the semester started and it was still a hefty list of 8 or 9 thick books which she expected you to write essays for and the such.
Two students were actually thrown out of Gallaudet for buying their term papers online, which they did because the work was just too much.
At least I had Physics on my schedule. Actually, 'Physics for the Non Scientist' - which basically translates to 8th grade physical science - so I had something easy on my schedule, I suppose. Thanks for wasting my money and time on that one, GU!
Math wasn't as kind to me though. I got some 80 year old professor who I could BARELY understand and math happens to be my weakest subject so that didn't go very well at all.
Some time into the semester, I just resigned myself to skipping most classes and showing up on test dates. I learned more by wandering the streets of Washington DC in one night than I did in a month of schoolwork.
This is getting quite lengthy and I could go on for another 10 paragraphs but I'll stop now and sum it up with this:
Gallaudet University is the best place in the world if you are a deaf person looking for a social life. If you are a decently intelligent individual looking for a serious education and a degree which will get you taken seriously in the 'real world' - spare yourself and your family (and VR) the expense. Don't go to Gallaudet University.
At the very least, go to RIT but regular colleges with interpreters really work just fine and you get the satisfication of knowing that you got a degree that isn't plastered with "HEY I GOT THIS FROM A DEAF UNIVERSITY". Not necessarily bad but might cost you jobs in the real world. They'd never say that was the reason, of course.
At least you'll eat well and healthy, hopefully receive adequate medical services and a decent education that will serve you well. I realize there are probably many 'die-hard' Gallaudet'ers here and this thread is probably going to make me unpopular with that crowd but I wanted to post my experience.
Also note that this was my own personal experience. Some have described Gallaudet University as some sort of Utopia. That may be the case for you but be aware that it may not - and isn't for roughly 40% of the freshman class every single year.
I have met Gallaudet graduates who are on a 8th grade writing level. I know this is because of ASL but how in the hell do you graduate college with a 8th grade writing level? Oh yeah, Gallaudet University!
