Amy Signs: A Mother, Her Daughter, and their Stories

47. Gallaudet, New Horizons

287 47 Gallaudet, New Horizons Amy After I graduated from high school, I went to Gallaudet as a freshman. My five years of being a Gallaudet student were some of my best times, and I am grateful that NSD teachers and staff told me to go there. Later in life I met deaf people who attended public school. They had never heard of Gallaudet, and thus missed their opportunity to attend a Deaf college. When I enrolled at Gallaudet, I didn’t know what major I wanted, as I was not sure what I want to do in the future. I decided that I should major in studio arts as I love to do house decorations and painting. Then I realized there might not be any jobs for me in that field, so I added elementary education to my major. During my freshman year at Gallaudet, 1987 to 1988, there were big changes on the campus. First, Gallaudet changed from a college to a university at that time, so those of us who were freshman became the first university students. I was so proud to be a Gallaudet University student. The biggest change that happened in my freshman year was the Deaf President Now movement in March of 1988.What caused this? A new president, Dr. Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing person who knew little about Deaf culture and was not familiar with American Sign Language, was selected to be the new president of Gallaudet. The Gallaudet students protested, because we wanted a Deaf president to Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 287 6/27/2012 10:37:49 AM 288 Amy Signs run the university, someone who understood our needs and culture. Even though the Board of Trustees had selected the hearing person, we students protested and were on the national news. When Mother saw the news, she was worried I might be arrested, because she remembered what happened to the Vietnam War protesters years ago, but that did not happen to us. The newsmen were on our side. It was a quite an experience for me when I marched to the U.S. Capitol. I was thrilled it happened during my first year. What a good start for my years at Gallaudet. I strongly agreed with the protest and supporting it was worthwhile . Since Gallaudet University is the only Deaf university, I believe it needs to have a Deaf president that understands Deafness and our needs and culture. Gallaudet was established in 1864, and in 1988 Dr. I. King Jordan became our first Deaf president. He did an excellent job improving and serving Gallaudet during his years as president. He retired in 2006 and then Gallaudet had their second Deaf president , Dr. Robert Davila for several years. Now, Gallaudet has their third Deaf president, Dr. Alan Hurwitz. At the Nebraska School for the Deaf, I was involved in many activities. When I entered Gallaudet, I was so glad I had learned so many basic skills from NSD. Naturally, I learned more at Gallaudet because it has bigger organizations and more people to manage at the meetings. There I enjoyed being an officer or chairperson of a committee.Today, I still do this when the opportunities are just right for me. I grab at the chance to serve Deaf community organizations. At Gallaudet, I became a member of Phi Kappa Zeta in the fall of 1989, a social sorority. It is the oldest sorority on Gallaudet campus, founded 1892. Phi Kappa Zeta is only a local Greek organization; no other universities or colleges have this sorority. It was a really awesome experience to have sorority sisters. I loved being involved in rush parties, pledge programs, community events, and other activities where my sisters and I worked together. Some of the volunteer work I did with my sisters was similar to what I did for other organizations on campus. What did I do during my five years at Gallaudet? I was very busy all the time. In my freshman year, basically, I was just a freshman, but I was on the Rock Festival committee in spring time. I signed up Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 288 6/27/2012 10:37:49 AM Gallaudet, New Horizons 289 for the party cleaning committee. So, my duty was to clean the dock when Rock Festival ends. Picking up plastic cups and other garbage was not fun as my...