I am writing in response to Monitor’s article on Oct. 15, 2009. There is a featured article on Page 5, titled “A spotlight on Disability Awareness Week.” The writer is to be commended for bringing attention
to Ohlone’s Disabled Students Program & Services. The more information we provide about serving different populations on the campus, the better understanding and empathy Ohlone students, faculty, and staff can display toward them. There is a particular use of a term I would like to bring attention to. The writer was focusing on “Auditory Discrimination” and wanted to raise awareness about the challenges some people face. The writer also mentioned “hearing impaired people.” The writer’s intention was good as she tried her best to educate the community about the challenges. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize using the term “hearing impaired” to describe deaf and hard-of-hearing people is derogatory. The phrase “hearing impaired” is being phased out in favor of “deaf/hard-of-hearing” in today’s world. Deaf people are seen as members of a linguistic and cultural minority group rather than a disabled group. The Ohlone College Center for Deaf Studies has a long and rich history that began in 1972. As a matter of fact, Ohlone has been recognized as a pioneer and also remains as one of the leading post-secondary institutions in the USA on Deaf-related programs. Today we have approximately 200 Deaf students studying at Ohlone with a good number of the faculty who are Deaf themselves. For the Deaf Studies and Deaf Services at Ohlone, proper attention to labeling is of paramount importance.
Should you wish to learn more about our division, I welcome you to stop by.
Sincerely,
Genie Gertz, Ph.D.
Dean, Deaf Studies Division
Genie:
We are sorry that we used the wrong term in the Oct. 15 article. The aim was to try to tell Ohlone students and the greater community what is going on, and we did not mean to offend any in those groups and beyond. Sometimes usage of terms changes quickly, and as such we have to hustle to keep up with the changes. We will get it right next time. Thanks for the update.
– Manika Casterline
Opinions Editor
Popularity: 25% [?]
