The historic protest in 1988 at Gallaudet University is still a source of inspiration for the deaf community. On March 6, 1988, the deaf community surrounded Gallaudet University when Elisabeth A. Zinser was announced as the seventh president in the election. She was the solo hearing candidate among the primary three, and two other candidates were deaf. The deaf community, as well as members of the University, had advocated for many years for a deaf president leading up to the 1988 appointment. All believed the university would name a deaf as president. However, it does not happen and leads to protest.
DPN Movement
When the university named the lone hearing candidate as the seventh president, the outcry and protest sparked the popularly known (DPN) Deaf President Now Movement. As the university announced the new president, many faculty, students, alumni and staff started protesting, leading to shut of the campus. There were four demands of the Board of Trustees.
1. Selection of deaf person with immediate resignation of Elizabeth Zinser;
2. Jane Spilman to leave the chairperson position at the Board of Trustees
3. The board should include 51% deaf community
4. Not impose any repercussions towards any employee or student involved in the protest
After a week of protest, the board met all demands, and Gallaudet University got its first deaf president that was Dr. I. King Jordan.
What is the present scenario?
The protest of 1988 encouraged the deaf community to fight for their rights and challenge anyone who believes deaf people are less than hearing people. In the year 1880, the National Association of the Deaf came into existence to advocate for deaf people’s rights. NAD set priorities to make sure that the deaf community is represented at a national level. Some of these priorities include the use of ASL, education, employment, interpreting, and early intervention.
American Sign Language uses body movements, signs, and facial expressions to communicate. ASL is the primary language used by the hard of hearing and deaf people in the United States. It is the core value of NAD and encourages the usage, acquisition, and preservation of the language.
ASL Interpreters-Role and Challenges
ASL and English are not the same. It is a unique language. ASl interpreters have to work in many environments, including educational, medical, legal, and many others. These interpreters perform the same task as that a language interpreter. The only difference is ASL interpreters make use of facial expressions and gestures rather than sounds. The key to ASL interpreting is to understand the subject matter, and regional dialects, stay on current terminology, and ability to interpret tone and emotion. However, neither a spoken language nor an ASL can be translated word for word so it is challenging for an interpreter to facilitate mutual understanding and communication. Apart from this ASL interpreters encounter higher physical fatigue than language interpreter does. The signing act is tedious, especially for speeches, classes, and conferences where there are few pauses.
ASL Interpreting- Scope in Future
In the world of globalization, companies are growing rapidly leading to the growth of interpreter employment rate. As per (the BLS) Bureau of Labor Statistics, the interpreter employment rate grows by 46.1%. This is because of the increasing need for interpreting services around the globe. This will further rise due to the expansion of businesses and companies in other parts of the world.
