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Second annual Deaf Day spreads awareness, hope about hearing-impaired - Focus
According to the AllDeaf Web site, one in 20 Americans are currently deaf or hard of hearing. Yesterday during common hour, around 200 people were present for a presentation for Deaf Awareness Day.
March 19 marked the second annual Deaf Awareness Day celebrated by the SRU community to support the many Americans who live in silence every day.
The event, hosted and organized by the SRU American Sign Language Club, included a speech given by a deaf ASL specialist from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Valentine Wojton. Also, members of the club SignShine presented a skit and closed the event with a performance alongside the SRU ASL Club.
SignShine, made up of students from WPSD, made a skit to show the increasing acceptance of deaf Americans, African Americans and women in recent years. The skit focused on ideas of change, expression, improving and success. They held signs representing the achievements of members in these three groups in politics, entertainment and society.
The speaker, Wojton, spoke about his achievements in life despite being deaf. A translator signed Wojton's message to members of the audience.
Wojton, who attended SRU while on the soccer team for one year, grew up in Ford City and started attending WPSD at the age of three. Growing up as the oldest of five children in a house of two hearing parents, Wojton said he was accustomed to being around mostly-hearing people and learned how to communicate with them.
"There are times people would ask me for directions, but once they find out I'm deaf, they politely say never mind," Wojton said. "I wish they would give me the opportunity to help them. I could help them by explaining the directions through writing. There are other ways to communicate."
Working as the athletic director and soccer coach at WPSD, Wojton said one of the most difficult professions within the deaf community is being a translator, and WPSD has high respect for them.
"They have to sit and wait to see the signs and take them in before speaking," Wojton said. "It's very difficult. They have to express speech when it's going in and out. We do appreciate our interpreters."
There was a question and answer portion during the speech, and Wojton was asked how he felt about hearing impaired people who use the help of Cochlear Implants, a small electronic device to help provide a sense of sound.
Wojton's response was that the situation is a sensitive one.
"Why try to fix me when I'm not broken?" Wojton asked. "I'm just as normal as you are, I can do anything. I can drive, I went to college and I coach, why do I need to be fixed?"
Wojton had a member of SignShine explain why she used a Cochlear Implant. The student said that her whole family is able to hear, and being able to communicate with them was important to her.
However, she added she would not ever change the fact that she was deaf.
Also addressing the issue was a teacher at WPSD, Amy Dent, who is not hearing impaired but was born to two deaf parents. Dent said that she is newly married and often discusses the possibility of having a deaf child, whether the child would receive Cochlear Implants.
"My parents say no, no, no; they want to keep the Deaf pride," Dent said.
Dent said whether the child was born deaf or with hearing, they would be happy.
"I would, of course, love raising a deaf child," Dent said.
Another question asked was if it was difficult for the hearing impaired to learn how to read since they can't hear the sounds and syllables that form words.
Wojton explained that while the average reading level of an American with hearing is ninth grade, the average reading level of the hearing impaired is third or fourth grade.
"This is a huge gap," Wojton said. "At WPSD, we graduate our students with a 7.7th grade level."
Dr. Myra Balok, a professor in the English department and advisor of the SRU ASL Club, encouraged the audience to learn more about the Deaf community and attend an SRU ASL meeting on Tuesday's during common hour in Spotts 318.
The event concluded with SRU ASL Club and SignShine members performing a signed interpretation of Mariah Carey's song "Hero."
According to the AllDeaf Web site, one in 20 Americans are currently deaf or hard of hearing. Yesterday during common hour, around 200 people were present for a presentation for Deaf Awareness Day.
March 19 marked the second annual Deaf Awareness Day celebrated by the SRU community to support the many Americans who live in silence every day.
The event, hosted and organized by the SRU American Sign Language Club, included a speech given by a deaf ASL specialist from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Valentine Wojton. Also, members of the club SignShine presented a skit and closed the event with a performance alongside the SRU ASL Club.
SignShine, made up of students from WPSD, made a skit to show the increasing acceptance of deaf Americans, African Americans and women in recent years. The skit focused on ideas of change, expression, improving and success. They held signs representing the achievements of members in these three groups in politics, entertainment and society.
The speaker, Wojton, spoke about his achievements in life despite being deaf. A translator signed Wojton's message to members of the audience.
Wojton, who attended SRU while on the soccer team for one year, grew up in Ford City and started attending WPSD at the age of three. Growing up as the oldest of five children in a house of two hearing parents, Wojton said he was accustomed to being around mostly-hearing people and learned how to communicate with them.
"There are times people would ask me for directions, but once they find out I'm deaf, they politely say never mind," Wojton said. "I wish they would give me the opportunity to help them. I could help them by explaining the directions through writing. There are other ways to communicate."
Working as the athletic director and soccer coach at WPSD, Wojton said one of the most difficult professions within the deaf community is being a translator, and WPSD has high respect for them.
"They have to sit and wait to see the signs and take them in before speaking," Wojton said. "It's very difficult. They have to express speech when it's going in and out. We do appreciate our interpreters."
There was a question and answer portion during the speech, and Wojton was asked how he felt about hearing impaired people who use the help of Cochlear Implants, a small electronic device to help provide a sense of sound.
Wojton's response was that the situation is a sensitive one.
"Why try to fix me when I'm not broken?" Wojton asked. "I'm just as normal as you are, I can do anything. I can drive, I went to college and I coach, why do I need to be fixed?"
Wojton had a member of SignShine explain why she used a Cochlear Implant. The student said that her whole family is able to hear, and being able to communicate with them was important to her.
However, she added she would not ever change the fact that she was deaf.
Also addressing the issue was a teacher at WPSD, Amy Dent, who is not hearing impaired but was born to two deaf parents. Dent said that she is newly married and often discusses the possibility of having a deaf child, whether the child would receive Cochlear Implants.
"My parents say no, no, no; they want to keep the Deaf pride," Dent said.
Dent said whether the child was born deaf or with hearing, they would be happy.
"I would, of course, love raising a deaf child," Dent said.
Another question asked was if it was difficult for the hearing impaired to learn how to read since they can't hear the sounds and syllables that form words.
Wojton explained that while the average reading level of an American with hearing is ninth grade, the average reading level of the hearing impaired is third or fourth grade.
"This is a huge gap," Wojton said. "At WPSD, we graduate our students with a 7.7th grade level."
Dr. Myra Balok, a professor in the English department and advisor of the SRU ASL Club, encouraged the audience to learn more about the Deaf community and attend an SRU ASL meeting on Tuesday's during common hour in Spotts 318.
The event concluded with SRU ASL Club and SignShine members performing a signed interpretation of Mariah Carey's song "Hero."