CSUN, NTID, Gally?

[RaeRae]

I studied Information Technology as a student at RIT-------the campus is in a nice surrounding, since it's out in rural area with forest behind Grace Watson cafeteria, and not far from nearby Niagara Falls. Ellingston Hall (12-story dorm at RIT which houses many deaf students as well as hearing) occassionally has those prank fire alarms while students are sleeping. There are deaf activities on campus, and different deaf organizations like theatre and student government, and a strong Greek system (hearing included) in place if you're interested in joining a sorority. Below Ellingston Hall is a tunnel maze with murals on the walls and an arcade room plus convenience store en route, the tunnel is connected to several other buildings and also leads to Grace Watson cafeteria. Deaf students get credit sometimes for trying out for plays like West Side Story even if they're not a theater major.

When I went to RIT in 1999, I made some really good deaf friends... they were mostly computer science or information technology students like myself... but since I knew very little ASL at the time, I had a hard time feeling accepted by most of the deaf students because they would ignore me outright, even in advanced English classes... kind of like they were shunning me for not being Deaf enough (even though I'm profound deaf in both ears).. so it felt like a popularity contest there, kind of like high school with those cliques. But there are more than 1,000 deaf students at RIT/NTID so plenty of new faces to meet everyday.

But anyway, the fact is, I live in California now and want to finish up my education in electrical engineering at CSUN. Additionally, I've been told good things about CSUN; for example, most deaf there are friendly and accepting to deaf regardless of background, and I've found this to be true of several deaf I've met here in California so far. Last week I drove through Northridge and saw the CSUN campus and it's beautiful, kind of quiet since it's summer but there are hills, mountains, and valleys near CSUN. So there's a lot to see. Hollywood. Los Angeles. The beach. Most of which are only 30 minutes or less from CSUN. As for the education, the others here can help you with that since I'm not sure when it comes to journalism and teaching. Good luck and do follow-ups on things that others may not be sure of by contacting the colleges themselves.

I am definitely considering CSUN, I have a hard time making deaf friends since I have good speech, I'm always called "not deaf enough" even though I was born deaf and my parents are deaf.

I also live in Minnesota, and I'm getting sick of the long winters and short summers! I prefer to go to a college that has many deaf, I've been in mainstream for most of my life and I need a change, so I'm not sticking around home.

It does bother me that CSUN's accesibility is not up to par according to others, is this true?

 

[sillycat]

I went to CSUN and lived in the dorms for years. I lived in the privately owned dorms, Northridge Campus Residence (NCR) and its kinda old but livable--it got several different floor plans such as one with kitchen with stove and one plan without kitchen, etc. There is a security guard at nites but you can go in and out at will.

I have visited friends at the college-owned dorms many times and it got more security due to gang shootings in the area some years back--there are gangs around but its not that bad as the area around Gally. I hardly saw gangs around during my time there--graduated 1997. There is a dorm building there that is popular for deaf freshmen to live in--Building #6. Its a much newer dorms and its looks nice. All the school dorms got badly damaged during 1994 earthquake but its fixed up good--I wouldn't worry too much about the earthquakes there tho cuz most of them are small ones on the richter scale of 1.0 to 3.0 (Im a Calif. native ).

There are always students who become big time party animals who dont do homework and get kicked out every year--doesn't matter if they are hearies or deafies. There are plenty of more serious students and those who do party but keep up with hw and not mess around with hard drugs. Many students drink and/or smoke pot so its sorta of "normal" college life.

 

[VamPyroX]

I've lived in the dorms during my 7 years at RIT. The only time I didn't live in the dorms was during the summers.

 

[Dennis S.]

I am definitely considering CSUN, I have a hard time making deaf friends since I have good speech, I'm always called "not deaf enough" even though I was born deaf and my parents are deaf.

I also live in Minnesota, and I'm getting sick of the long winters and short summers! I prefer to go to a college that has many deaf, I've been in mainstream for most of my life and I need a change, so I'm not sticking around home.

It does bother me that CSUN's accesibility is not up to par according to others, is this true?

I would say that's absolutely not true. Everywhere there are interpreter shortages for schools and colleges, and CSUN/RIT face this challenge equally. My experience with CSUN as a 2003 graduate with a BS in Business Administration was that every class had some kind of support, whether it was interpreting, notetaking, CART, or other form of real-time captioning such as Typewell or C-Print.

There was plenty of people to be around -- 30,000 students can't all be wrong, and there was a diverse body of students, deaf and hearing, involved in all parts of student life. Deaf CSUNians was a strong organization with many creative outlets, and there was at least one of each deaf Greek social fraternity and sorority. Then of course, you have all the hearing groups with deaf members, specializing in majors or interests. I joined the accounting and information systems association as the only deaf person involved. I got the support I needed when I requested it for extra-curricular activities.

The deaf dorms were okay -- I greatly enjoyed it for my first 3 semesters, then by the time I was ending my 2nd year I was full of dorm life and wanted to move on into an apartment. Great social life, I tell you, many open minded people and friendly groups mixed with the usual restrictions, overbearing RA's, hassles of dealing with roommates, etc. Would do it again and learn how to deal with people in the real world. Dealing with deaf people and hearing people was definitely the real world.

 

[signer16]

I really don't know that much about CSUN.

Can you guys tell me what you liked and didn't like about the dorms, campus and social scene?

I am a current CSUN student, heading into my second year at CSUN.
----The dorms are very nice (for dorms)-- they are apartment style, with a bathroom (including separate doors for the toilet and shower/bath) a kitchen (you can request a dorm without a kitchen, though not in the "deaf" building) a livingroom, and 2 bedrooms- 2 people live in each room. I'd love to give you a link to the layout, but it seems CSUN's housing website is down right now, (not a surprise, technology is not a strength of CSUN). You can later go to housing.csun.edu and find your way to the room layout if you want to see it. As has been mentioned before, there is one building that is recommended to deaf students, building 6, in which all its rooms are accessible to deaf people (flashing lights for emergencies, doorbells, etc.)...there are not enough deaf students to fill the dorm, so there are some hearing deaf studies majors and hearing people living there as well. There were some serious issues with that last year, but that's another story, and something that seems to be resolved this year.
----The campus is nice, big, as it hosts over 35,000 students a semester, and that number seems to be growing. It is located in "the valley" meaning it can get pretty hot here during the summers, but really it's not too bad. Compared to the beach maybe it is, but compared to the rest of the country it's fine. The campus has the NCOD (National Center on Deafness) which provides services to deaf students as well as a hangout place. It is true CSUN's services are not the best, and interpreters are paid better at community colleges than at CSUN. In general the quality of intepreters isn't the problem, it's the quantity. The NCOD tried to arrange it so that if 2 or more deaf people are taking the same course they are in the same class-- money saving technique. There will be occasional days when the terp or captionist or whoever else does not show up, due to scheduling errors or a lower supply than demand, but it's generally not too bad.
The social scene at CSUN--- there are about 200 deaf/hoh students at CSUN, most of them from mainstream schools, as well as a number of hearing deaf studies majors involved in the deaf college student community here. There is a "deaf sorority" and "deaf (as well as primarily gay) fraternity" that you can get involved with if that's your type of thing. There are also plenty of other deaf community events and various types of deaf people here. I am not involved with the frat or sorority, but have plenty of good deaf friends. If you want to party hard you can, if you don't want to, there is still a place for you.
The education here is a university education, it depends on your major when it comes to exact quality. For me, a deaf studies major, there is no better place on the west coast to be. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Nesmuth]

There's a large deaf community around CSUN and many businesses around CSUN are already accessible to the deaf. Even the deaf society around CSUN is very tolerant to those not deaf enough.

Richard

 

[deafdyke]

I have a hard time making deaf friends since I have good speech, I'm always called "not deaf enough" even though I was born deaf and my parents are deaf.

I prefer to go to a college that has many deaf, I've been in mainstream for most of my life and I need a change, so I'm not sticking around home.

That sucks......but maybe too, it's the fact that you've been mostly mainstreamed that adds to the problem. I really wish I'd been able to go to Gally for undergrad, myself. I was mainstreamed for college, and while my social life was semi-decent, the disabilty services SUCKED big time. I'd also love the experiance of finally not being the only dhh kid on campus!

 

[robbielyn]

That sucks......but maybe too, it's the fact that you've been mostly mainstreamed that adds to the problem. I really wish I'd been able to go to Gally for undergrad, myself. I was mainstreamed for college, and while my social life was semi-decent, the disabilty services SUCKED big time. I'd also love the experiance of finally not being the only dhh kid on campus!

Well obviously you want to be your self and I am sure you are really glad at speaking well. That makes you bilingual, not hearing. Maybe when you go to college and you are really in the deaf culture there, you can act deaf not use speech much. When you're with your hearing family and friends, speak. I don't know. It seems people should accept you the way you are. I wonder if kids with one parent who speaks mostly spanish with an english speaking dad is told she/he not spanish enough or american enough. True biz awful. I know in the black culture vs white culture that happens. Blacks will tell milatos you're not black enough or white's will tell milatos you're not white enough. People need to accept people for who they are. They are people just different no two people are alike accept them anyways. Dah!! How hard is that really? Black, white, deaf, hearing, dr, lawyer, plumber, janitor who cares people are people. We need to stop judging one another and love one another instead.

 

[ayala920]

I'd also love the experiance of finally not being the only dhh kid on campus!

I have a friend who says that was one of the biggest reasons why he chose Gallaudet. He could have gone to really good schools, but chose Gallaudet because he wanted to, for once, be known for who he is alone, and not just "the deaf kid."

 

[Dennis S.]

There is a "deaf sorority" and "deaf (as well as primarily gay) fraternity" that you can get involved with if that's your type of thing.

Hey, aw, come on, LSP is so not "primarily gay." These are my brothers you're insulting!

There have been lots of rumors of LSP being the gay, deaf, frat, but that's absolutely not true. There are a few gay members in there, absolutely yes, but I think that shows that LSP is very diverse and open to anyone who fits. All organizations should have a variety of members, even the Deaf CSUNians and AEO sorority have many gay members and presidents.

Anyway, proud to be a CSUN alumnus.

 

[sillycat]

There is no deaf gay frat or sorority on CSUN. There a few gays in both and usually are tolerated well by others.

Best to visit all 3 campuses if you can before deciding on which school you want to attend. Good luck

 

[Nesmuth]

U shoulda seen the surprise the deaf protesters got from the gally leadership yesterday!

http://www.ridorlive.com/?p=1833#comments

The storm has begun!

Richard

 

[SxyPorkie]

I studied Information Technology as a student at RIT-------the campus is in a nice surrounding, since it's out in rural area with forest behind Grace Watson cafeteria, and not far from nearby Niagara Falls. Ellingston Hall (12-story dorm at RIT which houses many deaf students as well as hearing) occassionally has those prank fire alarms while students are sleeping. There are deaf activities on campus, and different deaf organizations like theatre and student government, and a strong Greek system (hearing included) in place if you're interested in joining a sorority. Below Ellingston Hall is a tunnel maze with murals on the walls and an arcade room plus convenience store en route, the tunnel is connected to several other buildings and also leads to Grace Watson cafeteria. Deaf students get credit sometimes for trying out for plays like West Side Story even if they're not a theater major.

When I went to RIT in 1999, I made some really good deaf friends... they were mostly computer science or information technology students like myself... but since I knew very little ASL at the time, I had a hard time feeling accepted by most of the deaf students because they would ignore me outright, even in advanced English classes... kind of like they were shunning me for not being Deaf enough (even though I'm profound deaf in both ears).. so it felt like a popularity contest there, kind of like high school with those cliques. But there are more than 1,000 deaf students at RIT/NTID so plenty of new faces to meet everyday.

But anyway, the fact is, I live in California now and want to finish up my education in electrical engineering at CSUN. Additionally, I've been told good things about CSUN; for example, most deaf there are friendly and accepting to deaf regardless of background, and I've found this to be true of several deaf I've met here in California so far. Last week I drove through Northridge and saw the CSUN campus and it's beautiful, kind of quiet since it's summer but there are hills, mountains, and valleys near CSUN. So there's a lot to see. Hollywood. Los Angeles. The beach. Most of which are only 30 minutes or less from CSUN. As for the education, the others here can help you with that since I'm not sure when it comes to journalism and teaching. Good luck and do follow-ups on things that others may not be sure of by contacting the colleges themselves.

I did not know you are hearing... I thought you were deaf... my mistake...
SxyPOrkie

 

[Theseus]

I am definitely considering CSUN, I have a hard time making deaf friends since I have good speech, I'm always called "not deaf enough" even though I was born deaf and my parents are deaf.

You will have more choices of deaf friends in college than you did in high school, and you will be able to make some friends. Just hang in there. It's important to realize that not everyone shares the same background so when you are called "not deaf enough", that is discrimination--not everyone has the opportunity to grow up in an environment full of sign language, deaf events, deaf culture, and last but not least, acceptance. Many deaf kids get to experiment with communication in sign language in deaf institutes, but others who are mainstreamed do not get to experiment fully until they've grown up and are already way behind and expected to already be caught up. It does not seem fair, because it creates misunderstandings. Spontaneous communication becomes a thing which others take for granted, and the common result is that making deaf friends becomes more difficult than it has to be.

I grew up in an exclusively hearing world without any deaf friends, my high school had 2,800 hearing students and I was the only deaf one. I had a good reputation and was very well-liked at my high school because I was a swim captain and popular kids invited me to eat at their table (which I stopped doing eventually because all they did was make fun of people), but my social life outside school and the swim team never really existed. I studied hard and tried to get good grades, but that also reinforced my isolation. Learning to interact naturally with any person was very limited for me, and I forgot how to maintain a conversation, and developed some kind of 'senility' in which the things I say would make sense but when one would look at the context of the conversation, it didn't really fit in. This stopped after a while. When I first encountered deaf people, they thought I was 'slow' at communicating, therefore I must not be smart, but another friend who knew me well told them that wasn't true at all. I was handicapped by lack of social interaction. The reasoning behind this is that not everyone acquires needed communication skills early on.

I also live in Minnesota, and I'm getting sick of the long winters and short summers! I prefer to go to a college that has many deaf, I've been in mainstream for most of my life and I need a change, so I'm not sticking around home.

Yeah, maybe you should really think about trying CSUN. You'll love the weather there and make friends with deaf people who like to go to the beach and camping and gambling in Las Vegas (if that's your thing)

It does bother me that CSUN's accesibility is not up to par according to others, is this true?

I have not yet gone inside CSUN to ask questions about their services, so I am not sure how to answer this. It's better to ask a current CSUN student about this question. Signer16 is right about how NCOD tries to set up deaf students in the same class at the same time to save money, and this is common at other schools as well. The NCOD website states this about interpreters: "Today, more than 100 professional interpreters are available to meet students’ communication needs in academic classes and related activities, university events, Associated Students activities and other on-campus events." That's a 1:2 ratio of interpreter to students. If you looked up the ratio of interpreters to students at RIT, that's one way of measuring how readily available the interpreters are. But if NCOD has it balanced out like signer16 says, then it shouldn't be a serious issue. Dennis is an alumnus of CSUN and he obviously is proud of it.

I did not know you are hearing... I thought you were deaf... my mistake...
SxyPOrkie

I am not hearing...lol... read post#13 again