Harvard's Deaf Students Reject 'Culture of Deafness'

A common perception of the deaf community is that all deaf people sign. But the three deaf undergraduates at Harvard College do not.

These three students do not consider themselves "culturally deaf," meaning that they do not use sign language, nor do they define themselves primarily by their lack of hearing.

And it may be these differences that enable them to be among the lucky 1600 who matriculate each year.

With the help of interpretation services at the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), their ability to speak and read lips allows them to interact normally with hearing students and teachers.

Aside from these and a few other limitations, the students say being deaf at Harvard has little bearing on their level of academic or social success.

But these students all attended mainstream secondary schools, where they relied on their lip reading skills for many of their daily tasks. In part, the success of these students may be due to this experience in an integrated setting, as well as to a more academically rigorous secondary education.

In general, specialists in the field of deaf education acknowledge that mainstream schools may be more likely to provide the type of educational opportunities that a Harvard student may need. But, at the same time, they say, mainstream schools can be socially isolating, which can impede academic success.

Harvard, as a mainstream college, seems to attract very few deaf students overall, and particularly lacking are culturally deaf students. This scarcity has been self-perpetuating, as culturally deaf students, like any minority group, seem more likely to opt for schools with a strong deaf community, shying away from schools like Harvard where they would be forced to be part of the mainstream.

Deaf Resources at Harvard

According to Eunice J. Chang '00, Jessica H. Fong '99 and Munir Zilanawala '01, the inability to hear has not been a major obstacle to success at Harvard. All three praise the quality and accessibility of the College's interpretation services.

Through the SDRC, students with a range of disabilities can request services to aid them with all aspects of college life. In the case of students who are hard of hearing, the center is equipped to interpret classes, speeches, meetings and other events that are part of normal student life in a variety of ways, including American Sign Language (ASL), signed English, Computer Aided Real-Time (CART) reporters and cued speech transliteration.

In addition, the SDRC provides a variety of specific in room services--including a flashing fire alarm, and a vibrating alarm clock--to accommodate the needs of hearing impaired students.

According to Chang, the quality of the center's services was part of her decision to come to Harvard.

"I was pretty impressed by the level of interpreters that Harvard offered," she says.

When she arrived at Harvard, Chang says she first requested cued speech transliteration of her classes--a process in which interpreters use eight hand shapes and four facial positions to represent sounds.

This system did not work well for Chang, because of a lack of availability of cued-speech interpreters, and she switched to the CART system. With CART, a stenographer records what is said in lecture or section, providing a "real-time" record of the speech. The transcription then appears on a laptop provided by the center.

Chang says she liked the change, partly because she no longer had to miss parts of the lecture to jot down a note or look away from the interpreter in order to glance at the overhead.

Despite the advantages of the system, Chang says that relying on a stenographer for all classes can be inconvenient.

"There's a limited sense of flexibility," she says. "I have to pick classes earlier and make decisions earlier because CART [reporters] have to know in advance when and where they have to be. It's the same thing with review sessions, sections, etc."

However, Chang said that overall, the service worked well.

But Chang says she hesitated to ask interpreters to do too much interpreting outside of class as a matter of personal preference.

"I guess the problem could be that if I asked more out of them it would be like asking someone else to live my life out for me," she said. "So there's a balance, I guess."

Like Chang, Fong gives high marks to Harvard's interpretation services.

"I'm extremely satisfied," she says. "They always provide what I need."

Coming from a high school in Louisiana where she requested no special services, Fong says that in the beginning of her college career she did not even know what services to request.

However, she says that the change in difficulty level between high school and college necessitated the services.

"So much of the course material [at college] is based on lecture," she says.

Fong, who is not completely deaf and can hear certain sounds, says in her first semester she tried using an FM system--a process which facilitates lip-reading by amplifying sounds and eliminating background noise.

Fong says the system had its drawbacks.

"It was not that helpful," she says. "I found it hard to concentrate for that long."

However, after switching to the CART system for two courses in her second semester, she decided to switch completely to CART.

"I've actually been using it more and more every semester," she says.

While satisfied with the CART system, Fong says it does have certain limitations. But she says that her difficulty with following discussions and participating in debate is simply a fact of life.

"Those are things that I've gotten used to a long time ago," she says.

Unlike Chang and Fong, Zilanawala says he prefers signed English interpretation in his classes. Signed interpretation is provided on a full-time basis by Kellie M. Stewart, staff interpreter for the SDRC, who also coordinates all services for deaf and hard of hearing students at Harvard.

He says that Harvard's services were superior to those at the other universities which he was considering.

"I think that Harvard does a good job for me," he says.

Living With Deafness

While interpreters can help students better understand what goes on within the classroom, in social settings the students are on their own.

"I depend mostly on lip reading," Chang says, noting that when people are eating, or several people are talking at once, she has some difficulty following.

But overall, she says that people have been "pretty understanding and open in terms of giving me a chance."

However, Chang says that a more timid person might have difficulty fitting in.

"I'm a pretty social person but some hearing-impaired people are not social," she says. "Fortunately the majority of the people take the time to know me."

Fong says she tries not let the inability to hear what other people say affect her social life.

"I don't want to be remembered as being hearing impaired," she says. "It would be preferable to hear what other people say, but it's a relatively minor thing."

Chang agreed with this sentiment, saying that most students need to at least know how to be independent.

"I think that Harvard has this viewpoint that each person should be independent as mush as possible," Chang says. "I do like being independent. Doesn't everyone?"

Scarcity of Deaf Students

Despite what students agree are high-quality services, there remain an extremely low number of deaf students at Harvard.

This scarcity reflects a much deeper issue for deaf youth and their parents, an issue that stems from the state of deaf education and from cultural differences within the deaf population as a whole.

According to Stewart, the lack of deaf students at Harvard stems from difficulties educating deaf children, in addition to the university's already strict admissions requirements.

"Harvard is a difficult place to get into even when you can hear," Stewart said. "Given the hurdles that deaf children have to jump through to become educated in this country, it's even harder for them to qualify."

Robert J. Hoffmeister, director of programs in deaf studies at Boston University, says that the lack of deaf students at top-flight schools can be explained in part by an "attitude of low expectations" for deaf students in pre-college education.

"Instead of teaching up, [instructors] are teaching down," he says.

Hoffmeister says the schooling for deaf youth is far below average.

"The education of deaf students is abysmal," he says.

For students who are hearing-impaired, there are two main options for secondary education--attending a mainstream school, usually public, or attending a private school specifically for deaf students.

Deaf students and advocates say that there are trade-offs to both, but that generally neither provides the optimal setting conducive to getting into a top-flight school.

Mainstream schools are more likely to have an advanced curriculum than deaf schools. But schools for the deaf can provide a greater sense of community, which can facilitate academic performance.

Citing obstacles in both schools for the deaf and mainstream schools, Hoffmeister says that only the most talented deaf student can succeed. He likened the situation to that faced by minority children in inner-city schools.

"Only a few kids can climb through it," he says.

Deaf Schools: Socially Strong, AcademicallyWeak?

Audrey M. Garvin, a counselor at the AmericanSchool for the Deaf (ASD), which is the oldestU.S. school for deaf students, says that schoolsthat cater specifically to deaf students are ableto offer a sense of community and provide betterservices than public schools do on an individualbasis.

"It is the rare program in the public schoolsthat has the level of professional interpretingthat you can get here," she says. "You will notfind [such a high] degree of specialization in thepublic schools."

But she acknowledges that ASD may not be thebest place for strong students, as many of theschool's enrollees are placed there after failingto succeed in public schools. In such cases,Garvin says the goal of correcting those student's"phenomenal gaps" in education is the school'smost pressing concern.

Overall, she says that the school is verysuccessful, up to a certain point.

"We do have a good solid case of students whoare college material," she said. "They're notHarvard material. They're not Yale material."

Garvin says that ASD is sometimes unable toprovide all of the educational opportunities thata potential Harvard student might expect.

Garvin cites a deaf student at ASD (who isconsidering applying to Harvard) who decided totake an AP English course at a local high schoolbecause ASD does not offer AP courses.

"We couldn't provide all of the academicchallenge that he needed and deserved," Garvinsays. "When you have the ability to do that, youneed the opportunity."

Another major academic hurdle that studentsfrom schools for the deaf encounter is difficultywith the English language.

Because students who attend such schools areusually first schooled in American Sign Language,and only secondly in English, the student'sEnglish skills tend to be less developed than theymight be in a mainstream school.

According to Hoffmeister, this type ofeducation conflicts with what he sees as"colonial" guidelines that place emphasis onsuccess in English. He asserts that this might beone cause of Harvard's low enrollment of deafstudents.

He compares the struggle of culturally deafstudents to that of qualified foreign doctors whohave difficulty winning certification in the U.S.because of a language barrier. The inability tospeak English, in some cases, prevents otherwisetalented doctors from practicing.

"The judgement of how smart you are is how youdo in English," he says.

ASD Librarian Roselle Weiner agreed withHoffmeister. She says that a deaf person whoprimarily uses sign language often misses out onthe intricacies of the English language.

"There is an academic sacrifice [to beingschooled in ASL], in terms of exposure to levelsof abstraction [in English]," she says.

Mainstream Schools: Socially Limiting?

Despite what some see as academic limitationsof schools for the deaf, for the 90 percent ofdeaf children born to hearing parents, attending aschool specifically for deaf students is oftenattractive from a social standpoint.

Garvin emphasized that these social advantagesoften had positive academic effects as well,pointing out that leadership positions inextracurriculars were more attainable at schoolsfor the deaf.

Weiner, who considers herself culturally deaf,went through high school, college and graduateschool as a main-streamed deaf student.

In her graduate study of deaf culture atColumbia University, Weiner says she came torealize that while reading lips and beingmainstreamed had certain advantages, it had evengreater costs.

Academically, Weiner says reading lips while inpublic school meant missing out on a great deal ofinformation.

"You're more of an observer than aparticipator," she says. "I value the educationthat I got, but I got it because I struggled forit."

Brenda Schertz, an information specialist atthe Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hardof Hearing, says that being a deaf child in a classroom of hearing children is isolating.

Schertz herself switched from a school for thedeaf to public school because of the latter'sgreater educational opportunities. Still, she saysthe change was difficult socially.

"It was culture shock," she says, adding thatthe experience was "very alienating."

Weiner says studying in an environment devoidof other deaf students left her without a sense ofgroup membership.

"I was always the odd one out," she says.

Were she to do it all over, Weiner says shewould choose a university for deaf students, likeGalludet University, in Washington D.C., which hasa well-established deaf community.

Hoffmeister likened the situation of culturallydeaf students to that of other minority groups. Hesaid that if, for example, a black student wasconsidering applying to Harvard but saw that therewere few other black students at the University,he or she would be more likely to go instead to aschool that is more diverse.

There are currently no culturally deaf studentsat Harvard.

Hoffmeister says Harvard's lack of a culturallydeaf community and related programs of study mayturn otherwise qualified deaf students away from Harvard and in the direction of more accepting colleges.

"Harvard doesn't have what you would call afriendly face to deaf people who are the non-oralkind," he says. "Harvard is not conductive to deafpeople. Most culturally deaf students are going toGalludet."

Harvard does not offer ASL as a language, nordoes it accept previous work in ASL towardfulfillment of its foreign language requirement.

Phillips Brooks House Association sponsors agroup called The Committee on Deaf Awareness(CODA), which is led solely by hearing students.CODA offers several classes in ASL and organizesfrequent presentations surrounding deaf culture.

Arguments Against Deaf Culture

Despite these concerns, Chang, Fong, andZilanawala say that when they were selectingcolleges, Harvard's lack of an established deafcommunity did not affect their decisions. Allthree say they were very impressed that Stewart ofthe SDRC called them to see if they had anyconcerns surrounding interpretation services atthe school.

Overall, the three say that for them, beingpart of a culturally deaf community wasunnecessary.

Chang says that wanting to go to school withother deaf students is similar to seeking supportin any minority group.

"It's analogous to a cultural pride thing," shesaid. "You celebrate in your deafness, you areproud to be deaf, you have deaf pride."

But Chang says, "I believe hearing loss isnothing to be proud of or ashamed of. It is just apart of you that is there."

She says that having to rely only on ASL limitscommunication to only those people who canunderstand sign language.

"ASL is useful, yes, if people can understandyou all," she says. "I am much too integrated intothe hearing world--I don't see a separation of thetwo worlds," she says.

According to Zilanawala, the absence of astrong deaf community should not necessarilypreclude a deaf student from attending a placelike Harvard. He says that the Boston area is agood place to meet other culturally deaf students.

"There's bound to be other Deaf studentsaround," he says.

Though she finds deaf culture to be a "verylimiting perspective," Fong acknowledges thatstudents who have never gone to mainstream schoolsmight not want to come to a college with anenvironment like Harvard's.

"People are more likely to come here if they'vealways been mainstreamed," she says. "It would bemore automatic to come here," she says

Deaf Schools: Socially Strong, AcademicallyWeak?

Audrey M. Garvin, a counselor at the AmericanSchool for the Deaf (ASD), which is the oldestU.S. school for deaf students, says that schoolsthat cater specifically to deaf students are ableto offer a sense of community and provide betterservices than public schools do on an individualbasis.

"It is the rare program in the public schoolsthat has the level of professional interpretingthat you can get here," she says. "You will notfind [such a high] degree of specialization in thepublic schools."

But she acknowledges that ASD may not be thebest place for strong students, as many of theschool's enrollees are placed there after failingto succeed in public schools. In such cases,Garvin says the goal of correcting those student's"phenomenal gaps" in education is the school'smost pressing concern.

Overall, she says that the school is verysuccessful, up to a certain point.

"We do have a good solid case of students whoare college material," she said. "They're notHarvard material. They're not Yale material."

Garvin says that ASD is sometimes unable toprovide all of the educational opportunities thata potential Harvard student might expect.

Garvin cites a deaf student at ASD (who isconsidering applying to Harvard) who decided totake an AP English course at a local high schoolbecause ASD does not offer AP courses.

"We couldn't provide all of the academicchallenge that he needed and deserved," Garvinsays. "When you have the ability to do that, youneed the opportunity."

Another major academic hurdle that studentsfrom schools for the deaf encounter is difficultywith the English language.

Because students who attend such schools areusually first schooled in American Sign Language,and only secondly in English, the student'sEnglish skills tend to be less developed than theymight be in a mainstream school.

According to Hoffmeister, this type ofeducation conflicts with what he sees as"colonial" guidelines that place emphasis onsuccess in English. He asserts that this might beone cause of Harvard's low enrollment of deafstudents.

He compares the struggle of culturally deafstudents to that of qualified foreign doctors whohave difficulty winning certification in the U.S.because of a language barrier. The inability tospeak English, in some cases, prevents otherwisetalented doctors from practicing.

"The judgement of how smart you are is how youdo in English," he says.

ASD Librarian Roselle Weiner agreed withHoffmeister. She says that a deaf person whoprimarily uses sign language often misses out onthe intricacies of the English language.

"There is an academic sacrifice [to beingschooled in ASL], in terms of exposure to levelsof abstraction [in English]," she says.

Mainstream Schools: Socially Limiting?

Despite what some see as academic limitationsof schools for the deaf, for the 90 percent ofdeaf children born to hearing parents, attending aschool specifically for deaf students is oftenattractive from a social standpoint.

Garvin emphasized that these social advantagesoften had positive academic effects as well,pointing out that leadership positions inextracurriculars were more attainable at schoolsfor the deaf.

Weiner, who considers herself culturally deaf,went through high school, college and graduateschool as a main-streamed deaf student.

In her graduate study of deaf culture atColumbia University, Weiner says she came torealize that while reading lips and beingmainstreamed had certain advantages, it had evengreater costs.

Academically, Weiner says reading lips while inpublic school meant missing out on a great deal ofinformation.

"You're more of an observer than aparticipator," she says. "I value the educationthat I got, but I got it because I struggled forit."

Brenda Schertz, an information specialist atthe Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hardof Hearing, says that being a deaf child in a classroom of hearing children is isolating.

Schertz herself switched from a school for thedeaf to public school because of the latter'sgreater educational opportunities. Still, she saysthe change was difficult socially.

"It was culture shock," she says, adding thatthe experience was "very alienating."

Weiner says studying in an environment devoidof other deaf students left her without a sense ofgroup membership.

"I was always the odd one out," she says.

Were she to do it all over, Weiner says shewould choose a university for deaf students, likeGalludet University, in Washington D.C., which hasa well-established deaf community.

Hoffmeister likened the situation of culturallydeaf students to that of other minority groups. Hesaid that if, for example, a black student wasconsidering applying to Harvard but saw that therewere few other black students at the University,he or she would be more likely to go instead to aschool that is more diverse.

There are currently no culturally deaf studentsat Harvard.

Hoffmeister says Harvard's lack of a culturallydeaf community and related programs of study mayturn otherwise qualified deaf students away from Harvard and in the direction of more accepting colleges.

"Harvard doesn't have what you would call afriendly face to deaf people who are the non-oralkind," he says. "Harvard is not conductive to deafpeople. Most culturally deaf students are going toGalludet."

Harvard does not offer ASL as a language, nordoes it accept previous work in ASL towardfulfillment of its foreign language requirement.

Phillips Brooks House Association sponsors agroup called The Committee on Deaf Awareness(CODA), which is led solely by hearing students.CODA offers several classes in ASL and organizesfrequent presentations surrounding deaf culture.

Arguments Against Deaf Culture

Despite these concerns, Chang, Fong, andZilanawala say that when they were selectingcolleges, Harvard's lack of an established deafcommunity did not affect their decisions. Allthree say they were very impressed that Stewart ofthe SDRC called them to see if they had anyconcerns surrounding interpretation services atthe school.

Overall, the three say that for them, beingpart of a culturally deaf community wasunnecessary.

Chang says that wanting to go to school withother deaf students is similar to seeking supportin any minority group.

"It's analogous to a cultural pride thing," shesaid. "You celebrate in your deafness, you areproud to be deaf, you have deaf pride."

But Chang says, "I believe hearing loss isnothing to be proud of or ashamed of. It is just apart of you that is there."

She says that having to rely only on ASL limitscommunication to only those people who canunderstand sign language.

"ASL is useful, yes, if people can understandyou all," she says. "I am much too integrated intothe hearing world--I don't see a separation of thetwo worlds," she says.

According to Zilanawala, the absence of astrong deaf community should not necessarilypreclude a deaf student from attending a placelike Harvard. He says that the Boston area is agood place to meet other culturally deaf students.

"There's bound to be other Deaf studentsaround," he says.

Though she finds deaf culture to be a "verylimiting perspective," Fong acknowledges thatstudents who have never gone to mainstream schoolsmight not want to come to a college with anenvironment like Harvard's.

"People are more likely to come here if they'vealways been mainstreamed," she says. "It would bemore automatic to come here," she says