More on Public Access...

This morning, on the train, I was thinking about my blogs, and I was thinking how a community doesn't have to be in a "physical" state, and I automatically apply that to the Deaf Community, since there isn't a geographical area where a large number of deaf people reside. But then, I realized that I never really looked that up, so when I got to work this morning, I did a little research on that. I realized that I was wrong! It may not be entire town, but rather portion of the region.

In this case, this would be the Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University, the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students, was founded in 1864 by an Act of Congress, and its charter was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Gallaudet University is a bilingual community in which American Sign Language (ASL) and English exist side-by-side. While there are no specific ASL requirements for undergraduates, many graduate programs have sign language proficiency requirements. Gallaudet University is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students. The University enjoys an international reputation for the outstanding graduate programs it provides deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, as well as for the quality of the research it conducts on the history, language, culture, and other topics related to deaf people.


So many deaf people attend Gallaudet, and from there, they develop their own physical community comprised of the Deaf and those who speak ASL. Out of this, they created their own shows all about Gallaudet community, what is happening there such as:

2007 Graduation :
Undergraduate Speaker Class of 2007
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

learning about ASL:
Celebrating ASL! http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

Or community contribution:
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

Or even about their career and how they deal with it especially with being deaf:
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

The list is endless, and it is marvelous how they overcame all obstacles to make public access accessible to all, especially to the deaf. I have been enjoying those videos and makes me want to move to Gallaudet, so I never have to worry about missing out anything!