I'm a hearing student attending the only deaf university in the world. Ask me anything! 😃

Do the students there accept you? Have you been confronted in a, "you don't belong" kind of way?

It's... Been tough. My signing is not as good as a native Deaf person's, and other students can tell. I wouldn't say that they "reject" me necessarily, but they tend to talk with people who are more like them. That is, other Deaf students.

How's the drama?

From my personal experience, there's a lot of drama. From what I hear, this is normal in the Deaf community, so I just keep to myself mostly. I can't really speak for the Deaf community when it comes to this topic, so take that with a grain of salt.

Is it strangely quiet there or the same volume of ambient noise you would find anywhere?

In classes it's pretty quiet, but everywhere else it can be quite loud. Students tend to play their music loudly so they can use any residual hearing to hear it. I've never been to a hearing university, but I would say it can be just as loud in the dorms. The cafeteria is pretty quiet.

I was once on the Metro with a group of about twenty drunk Gallaudet students - they were loud as hell! Lots of vocalizing, lots of laughter, lots of attempts at getting their friends’ attention so the could sign. It was really interesting

I believe it 100%! Lol

Do ASL speakers “talk with their mouth full”? Like use one hand to sign while they are eating? or is signing with one hand is kinda ugly (lack of better word) and is a faux pas like speaking while you are eating?

Yep! It's a great advantage over spoken languages! 😃

On average, how many huge farts do you hear per hour in class?

Students seem to generally be aware that farts make noise, so I've never heard anyone fart in class. But my roommate is Deaf and I fart ALL. THE. TIME. Thankfully, he can't hear them. Smelling them is a different story.

Does he have a good sense of humor about this?

For the most part, they don't smell much if at all. So if he has noticed, I haven't been about to tell, and he has never brought it up. Maybe he knows this whole time and he thinks I'm the most disgusting person. Hahaha!

Why did you chose that school?

It's one of the only places you can go to completely immerse yourself in an ASL environment. Since I want to be an ASL interpreter, it seemed like the most logical choice.

Makes total sense, best of luck to you!

Thank you!

When you ask a question in class, does everyone turn and look at you?

Yes, absolutely. We sit in special arrangements so that everyone can see each other very easily.

what's the largest class that works with that?

I've never had a class with more than 15/16 students.

wow. less than one student per class. must be expensive.

LMAO!

Any jokes that work in sign that would make little/no sense if spoken?

Yes. I'll tell you one.

There was a Deaf man that drove up to a railroad crossing. There was construction work on the rails, and the crossing guard sticks were down.

After waiting for a long time, the deaf man got some paper and wrote a note to one of the construction workers.

The note said:

PLEASE BUT!

Is that joke something you can explain?

The sign for BUT looks like two horizonal sticks moving up. As in "please move the guards up so I can drive past."

I don't get it.

Correct. It doesn't make sense in English. Haha

How does deaf-culture differ from hearing-culture? Perhaps particularly in universities.

Hmmm... That's a very good question. Let me think of a good way to answer that and get back to you!

Do you guys have parties there? And are you friends with any other hearing students at the school or is that not very common? I took asl all through high school and my teacher went to Gallaudet!

While I don't attend the parties, I can definitely hear them. I'll be honest, I don't have a whole lot of friends here, hearing or Deaf. I tend to be more introverted. Maybe I'll make some more friends here soon.

What is it like taking notes in class? I imagine it would be difficult having to watch the teacher sign and then write down what they said, potentially missing something while you’re looking down at your notebook.

You're absolutely correct. The best thing you can do is bring your laptop and type without looking at the keyboard. However, all my teachers post the notes online, so I never have to take any. I just try focus on everything going on in class.

In addition to that question, is there like a camera zoomed in on the professor’s hands for students in the back of the class? Or are the class sizes pretty small so everyone can see?

They're all pretty small.

How did you learn ASL?

I took classes at a nearby community college, then took higher level classes at a university that offered them. I also did a LOT of self study.

This Is exactly what I’m doing! Headed to a 4 year university next semester and going to continue my studies :) glad to see you expanding your horizons and learning more from Gallaudet!

Thank you! And good luck to you!

That's awesome, good for you. All the best to you at Gallaudet.

Thank you!

Do you make it known that you're capable of hearing beforehand, or only if people ask?

If other students realize you can hear, how do they react?

There are a lot of students at Gallaudet that do have some residual hearing, so it is common to see “deaf” students wearing headphones at Gallaudet. There’s also many foreign students that are coming from another sign language. Not being incredibly fluent isn’t a dead giveaway at gallaudet and most people don’t ask you. It only comes if they ask about your major or just plainly ask if you’re deaf.

I have a bunch of friends at gally and ive stayed on campus several times with them. Everyone just thought I’m deaf until the topic of my major was brought up. (interpreter)

Great answer! Thanks for the help!

Have the fire alarms ever gone off? If so, are they any different than the regular ones?

Yes, fire alarms going off is a problem in some of the dorms. These are different only by the fact that there's a lot more flashing lights. Still loud as hell, though.

Are there any exchange programs? Like people from other countries that come to take classes in ASL or vice versa? Do you guys have foreign language classes like Mexican sign language for instance?

That is an excellent question! We do get a lot of international students, and it's a very cool experience! There's lots of studies and analysis on different signed languages and their similarities/differences. They do have study abroad programs where you can go to Italy and learn Italian Sign Language. Unfortunately, from my knowledge there are no classes for other signed languages. I believe this is because of something called "International Sign," which is what Deaf people tend to use to communicate when interacting with Deaf people from other countries. International Sign is not a language though, iirc.

If you have to look at the professor all the time to see what they sign, how do you take notes?

Most students tend to type on computers and watch the teacher at the same time. Others, like me, don't take notes at all because they're available online.

So, is the aim to be an ASL interpreter?

Correct!

Were you familiar with Deaf culture before attending this school?

As an "outsider", are you liked by your classmates?

Yes, part of the application process is that you have to be at least somewhat competent with Deaf culture, especially for hearing applicants.

Students don't tend to talk to me very much. So I guess I'm not liked a whole lot. I can be a bit reserved at well, so that doesn't help.

Does it feel good to burp, fart, yell profanities and vent anytime you want?

Not everyone is 100% "stone deaf," so there's a good chance that people will hear you to varying degrees. Unfortunately, you wouldn't really be able to get away with that. Haha

Except with your roommate. >:)

He can hear me if I'm loud enough.

My farts aren't THAT loud! 😛😜

Wow, that's fascinating. Does using sign language frequently affected your normal "hearing" conversations?

Sometimes I find myself thinking, "This would make much more sense if you knew sign and I could show you." Lol

What's your favorite breakfast food?

They don't have a lot of different options at the school. But recently, I've been eating plain corn flakes with sliced banana. It's so good. Lol

I love that cereal to deaf

You know... I'm surprised I've never heard that pun before. Haha

Are you sure that Gallaudet is only deaf university in the world? What about NTID and SWICD in USA? I know that there are few deaf universities in other countries too.

I think those fall under "colleges". I always wondered about the exact terminology. Gallaudet makes that claim, I'm not sure what criteria they use.

I heard deaf kids party insanely hard. Is this true, and any speculation on reasons why?

Not OP, but often they play their music VERY loudly, because most have some sort of residual hearing. Also, loud music makes the vibrations easier to feel.

Thank you!

Galluadet is seriously my dream school. Hopefully I get accepted! Any pointers?

They expect you to already be very fluent in ASL when you get there. You're going to hit the ground running, so be ready.

What's the hardest class for you?

At the moment, it's one of my linguistics classes. It's very difficult because I'm still learning ASL everyday, however, the class basically requires you to be very fluent, so i have to work extra hard just to keep up. Great question!

Is it true that deaf people have sex really loudly? Wondered if that was a problem in your dorm

I've never heard people having sex in the dorms before. And I've never had sex with a Deaf person, so I can't say. Lol

I assume your sign language is on a native level? (deaf parents?)

How to people react when they learn you're not deaf? Is it ever negative?

I'm one of the few students who don't actually have Deaf family. Deaf students tend to notice pretty quickly that I'm not native. It can be annoying sometimes, I'll be honest. They'll ask me something and I'll say, "Sorry, I missed that. Say that one more time." And they'll realize I'm hearing and say, "Oh, never mind." And then they'll ask another Deaf student instead.

So you can't really do anything else while talking to someone can you?

You can eat and talk at the same time. 😛😜

What's your major?

Technically, I don't have a major right now. But the goal is ASL interpreting.

How do you look down to take notes? Like, do you lose info because you’re busy writing and not watching?

Yes, so I had to basically stop taking notes and just focus on the discussions.

Do the teachers prefer writing on the board or is it about the same as in normal universities?

There's not a whole lot of writing on the board in my experience. The problem with writing in the board is that you can't write and talk at the same time.

But there are a lot of pictures in the power points! Haha

Is there anything that is completely normal there that would be considered very weird in the hearing communities?

Talking through glass. 😁

Are most of the professors deaf as well or are there a lot of hearing professors?

My first semester I had one hearing professor, this semester I have two. I'm not 100% sure about the distribution, but there seems to be a lot more Deaf teachers than hearing. As expected.

Do you find it hard to make friends due to having hearing? Or does that not even factor in?

It makes it more difficult for sure. And I'm a lot older than many of the students. That doesn't help either.

How are the parties?

I'm a bit older than the students here, and I'm not much of a partier, so I can't really say. Haha

What?!

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Do you just rock a Spotify playlist all day? I mean, it isn't like you need to listen.

Many students do this. I tried it, but it's hard. Listening to one language, and seeing another at the same time is a bit too much for me.

Do they have magnetic loops in every classroom with microphones for hearing aids?

No. Mainly because all the classes are in ASL, so there's no need for microphones.

Is it safe to fart loudly in class?

No. There tends to be at least one other hearing student. And some of the Deaf students can have residual hearing, too. Lol

Do you ever crack any jokes and forget they can't hear them?

Well, you're not supposed to use your voice, so I'm always signing. But they're are a lot of instances where I find myself thinking, "This is a lot funnier in English than it is when I try to sign it." Lol

I live literally right next to this University and know a bunch of people there haha. How do you like living in NoMa (for the lack of a better question lol) ?

Well, I don't need a car, so that's nice! Public transportation for the win. Haha

Feel free to ask any questions you have about deafness, sign language, deaf culture

Here's one: why are you posing as an authority on deafness as a hearing person? You yourself pointed out that you learned ASL late in life, didn't grow up in a Deaf family, and aren't Deaf. Going to Gallaudet, I feel like you should be very aware that you should not be speaking on behalf of a population you are not a member of.

I can't speak for the Deaf community. Only from my personal experience and what I've seen/learned. Questions will be filtered accordingly. 🙂

So in theory you could blast music in class all by yourself and not get in trouble?

There's usually other hearing students, and many Deaf students still have "some" hearing. They'll notice.

How is this proof? Honest question. I could duplicate these is PS

You're right. It's not the best proof. But the Deaf world is really small, and I want to try to stay anonymous. My apologies!

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There's no "Deaf country" to immerse yourself in the language like you would have with Spanish or French, etc. This is the closest it gets. 🙂