The following is an open letter sent to BGSU President Rodney Rogers by Rebecca Sidders, the full-time professor of ASL.
President Rogers,
The ASL program does far more than “teach a language” which, I gather by this administration’s reactions, seems like a dime a dozen. As the faculty member over this program, I have reasoned that perhaps you do not know the wide-reaching effect our courses have on BGSU students. The education about deaf culture, language development, and human connection is carefully integrated in all our courses. Please understand that in a social climate obsessed with privilege, you are telling the deaf community that BGSU is one more place we should just accept hearing privilege, while simultaneously claiming to be a public university for the public good. It is contradictory, and saying it enough times will not change that your actions speak louder than your words. Not only does the ASL program house several deaf/hard of hearing faculty members, it is educating YOUR students in diversity, inclusion, disability rights, and how to be a part of the collective, educated solution needed in their daily lives. The ASL program is teaching students to recognize audist behavior (discrimination based on hearing status), and educate their communities on inclusive practices that benefit everyone. My background is Special Education, and I can personally attest that these courses, along with the ASL minor, have been developed with Universal Design principles at their core. What is good for one marginalized group, is often good for all.
Mr. President, do you know what it feels like to go to the doctor, especially in a pandemic, to try to receive treatment from professionals who have their faces covered making it impossible to speech-read… trying your best to half-understand questions that can negatively impact your own wellness? I do. It’s terrifying. With educated students championing for communication access through the availability of interpreters, or at the very least, clear masks for use with deaf patients, I could someday have the same medical access you do. Principles of communication access, ADA, and the use of technology in the Deaf World are explored at length in ASL 1 and 2.
Have you ever been denied a driver’s license upon moving to a new state because you have a hearing loss? The DMV worker thinks, despite being a licensed driver in 3 other states for over 10 years, a full driving test to certify your ability is reasonable because you cannot hear? I have. Do you know where I learned how to fight this blatant discrimination? An ASL class. I have fought audist behavior in my personal life, and have been incredibly blessed to share these stories with our students for the past 6 years at BGSU. In ASL 1, our students learn that deaf people can, in fact, drive…and do anything else hearing people can do.
Do you know about the mental health crisis affecting deaf teenagers and young adults due to isolation and communication deprivation? I do. Before coming to BGSU full time, I was a teacher of the deaf. Embedded in ASL 1-4 are the pillars of culture, connection, and advocacy because language is precious, and as humans, we crave a community to share our ideas with. No one should be alone. The educational options for students who are deaf is explored at length in ASL 3. Students learn how to be an advocate and friend to people who are different from them.
Do you get to drive through your favorite fast food restaurant as a convenience when you just need a quick bite to eat? Are you able to ask employees where to locate an item in your local Target? Without visual cues, or a signing employee, this is made incredibly difficult for someone who is deaf. The ability to authentically take food orders, assist at a retail store, and help with personal needs are explored in depth in ASL 2-4. I am educating students to bridge the gap between the hearing and deaf worlds…helping them STAND OUT and GO FAR in their daily lives as representatives of their education at BGSU.
More importantly, do you have the ability to attend work meetings and have clear access to communication? I am a faculty member at YOUR university who does not have this same privilege. That is on you, sir. I have educated thousands of students in how to recognize and correct audist behavior in their daily lives while your campus continues to be inaccessible to your own faculty. I created a program with great support (from faculty, administrators, and students), developing a cross-curricular bridge between the hearing and deaf worlds—arming students with the ability to be great professionals, and someday leaders who have the ability to affect change at an administrative level like yours.
I have put BGSU on the map as the first university in the entire state to have all four ASL classes TAG approved—I wrote them all from scratch, then rewrote them all (including sections I don’t even teach) from the ground up to provide quality virtual instruction during the pandemic. I designed those four classes, along with the majority of the minor classes, with my professional expertise in Deaf Education, the deaf community, and personal and professional knowledge of communication access. This is precisely the type of program you have been asking for. I’ve seen you tell our students, the community, and fellow colleagues that you want programs for the public good. I wrote you a program that connects students in the arts, in business, in education, in technology, in the medical field… you are sitting on one of the most unique offerings you have ever had. I wrote a field experience opportunity (and earned a faculty exploratory grant from International Partnerships in 2019) for our students to participate in a service learning study abroad course working with Jamaican Deaf Schools. I have carefully constructed a pedagogically sound program that you have determined must be eliminated. At a time in our history where information is so critical, I remind you there are real people, and an entire marginalized population, who lose because of your decisions.
You have three K-12 magnet programs for deaf education within 30 miles of the university, yet you do not have any deaf students. Ask yourself WHY. I was one such deaf student who began my education at BGSU, largely unsupported and unable to navigate or fully advocate for the needs associated with my hearing loss. I left BGSU during my undergrad to seek a university that offered support and community. When I came to BGSU as a faculty member 15 years later, it was with the purpose of finally bringing access to the university. I was armed with a personal testimony of perseverance, and I was proud to share my journey with our BGSU students. I am a successful professional with a unique perspective, and I have a disability. I have given my heart to educating students about deafness and the personal, professional, and societal impacts needed to affect change in our world. The work I do is important. Our students leave these ASL classes changed…ready to champion for public good.
In an age where technology has taken over, do you understand that the message sent to people who can’t hear the gobs of daily input is that they are “less than”. We don’t deserve to keep up with daily news. We don’t deserve accessible entertainment. We don’t deserve to order food or find items in a store. We don’t deserve to advocate for ourselves…and not only are talented educators who require language access not accommodated on your campus, our positive message of inclusion and accessibility isn’t welcome either. Regardless of what happens to the ASL program, this, sir, is problematic.
This is why nearly 25,000 students, faculty, and community members have shown their support for what we do by way of a signed petition. You do not need additional “partnerships”…you need to utilize the faculty you currently have educating your students in what is “good”. It is good to bridge the hearing and deaf worlds. It is good to give students the tools needed to be an everyday hero in whatever profession they choose. Many of our students do go on to be advocates for the deaf community. Some have gone on to become interpreters and teachers of the deaf because, while at BGSU, they uncovered a passion for ASL and Deaf culture that they didn’t previously know existed. I get the feeling the administration thinks this is where our influence stops. However, I have former students who have become visual and performing artists writing accessible children’s theatre incorporating sign language and language equity principles. I have speech language pathologists thanking me for teaching them how to provide therapy to deaf students when all other professionals at their jobs couldn’t because of the language barrier. I have ASL students who have become leaders, politicians, teachers, audiologists, scientists, missionaries, occupational therapists, artists, performers, and on and on. I know WHO they became because I was invested in who they were when they were in front of me. I model the care, compassion, and connection I teach. As they leave my classroom, I challenge each student to become an everyday hero by understanding those around them, then providing ACCESS in any way personally available. You have thousands of students who have received this valuable education in language, equity and access over the past several decades. They are telling you about it in the only way you have allowed. I urge you to consider their plea.
Respectfully,
Rebecca Sidders
Assistant Teaching Professor
American Sign Language
