{"id":28745,"date":"2014-09-30T02:54:15","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T07:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=28745"},"modified":"2014-09-30T02:54:15","modified_gmt":"2014-09-30T07:54:15","slug":"student-group-advocates-for-deaf-community-louisiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/09\/30\/student-group-advocates-for-deaf-community-louisiana\/","title":{"rendered":"Student group advocates for deaf community – Louisiana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student group advocates for deaf community<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 22, 2014<\/p>\n

by<\/span> Rose Velazquez<\/p>\n

Among the academic hustle and bustle, tireless athletic atmosphere and dynamic social scene, it seems like there\u2019s a place for everyone on a campus. But the LSU Deaf and Hard of Hearing Club represents a community that often goes overlooked.<\/p>\n

Co-president and communication disorders senior Lauren Ortego<\/span>, who is not hearing impaired, said students are often hesitant about joining the organization because they are not deaf or hard of hearing.<\/p>\n

Ortego<\/span> said many students struggle with understanding what deaf culture is and how to act around deaf people. Many of these students are drawn to the organization because of the free, weekly American Sign Language classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do our best to advocate for the deaf culture, and just to spread awareness is basically our main goal because a lot of people don\u2019t know a lot about the deaf culture, if even at all,\u201d said Samantha Sherwood, co-president and communication studies senior.<\/p>\n

Sherwood is one of the few students in the organization who has hearing loss. She said the club is a resource available to all University students \u2014 not just those with hearing impairments.<\/p>\n

While the number of members with a hearing loss is limited, Ortego<\/span> said it is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want people who have hearing losses or who are deaf to feel more at home,\u201d Ortego<\/span> said. \u201cNot necessarily if you are deaf or hard of hearing, just a place for them to come and feel welcome whether they have any\u00a0disability or no disability at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherwood said the organization first appeared on campus under the leadership of Natalie Delgado, a former University student who wanted to create a club specifically for deaf students.<\/p>\n

Delgado began studying at the University in 2009 but transferred to Gallaudet University, a deaf college in Washington, D.C., after two years to complete her bachelor\u2019s degree. Sherwood said the University\u2019s deaf community was small and, without Delgado\u2019s leadership, the organization disappeared until psychology student Shaely Cheramie, now a University graduate, picked it up again.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Cheramie distributed an email to disability students inviting them to join the organization. Because of her hearing loss, Sherwood was one of the recipients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like \u2018What do I have to lose?\u2019\u201d Sherwood said. \u201cSo I just went ahead and went to the meeting, and it was five of us that showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, like, us five were the founder members of the club, and it just took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherwood said the club now includes more than 100 members and continues to grow.<\/p>\n

Delgado, now a Gallaudet University graduate, teaches the ASL classes every Thursday. Ortego<\/span> said each class builds off of previous material, and they offer intermediate classes for students who are just beginning or are not as advanced.<\/p>\n

When the organization reappeared, membership opened up, inviting students beyond the scope of the deaf community.<\/p>\n

Sherwood and Ortego<\/span> said many members are<\/span> communication disorders and psychology students who find participating in the organization helpful to their majors.<\/p>\n

Much of the organization\u2019s volunteer work is done at the Louisiana School for the Deaf. The organization participates in fundraisers like the Dash for Deaf Kids, which raises money for the school, and attends homecoming games and plays.<\/p>\n

Ortego<\/span> said the club now also tutors students from Louisiana School for the Deaf.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey like when college students go over there because they\u2019re not exposed to that, and especially for the people who are in high school, they don\u2019t know what to expect because that\u2019s where they live, and they know nothing else,\u201d Ortego<\/span> said.<\/p>\n

While the organization is dedicated to working with the deaf and hard of hearing community, Sherwood said they volunteer with various other disability groups.<\/p>\n

Ortego<\/span> said the club worked with the Special Olympics and donated baked goods to<\/span> an event called Angling for Autism, a fishing tournament raising money and awareness for autism.<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.lsureveille.com\/daily\/student-group-advocates-for-deaf-community\/article_0c7b77d8-42aa-11e4-817c-001a4bcf6878.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student group advocates for deaf community September 22, 2014 by Rose Velazquez Among the academic hustle and bustle, tireless athletic atmosphere and dynamic social scene, it seems like there\u2019s a place for everyone on a campus. But the LSU Deaf…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1629,22435,4621,23,24,898,22434,613,954,21212,8992,20625,22430,22432,22431,22433,14516,182],"class_list":["post-28745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-american-sign-language","tag-angling-for-autism","tag-article","tag-asl","tag-deaf","tag-gallaudet-university","tag-lauren-ortego","tag-louisiana","tag-louisiana-school-for-the-deaf","tag-louisiana-state-university","tag-lsd","tag-lsu","tag-lsu-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-club","tag-natalie-delgado","tag-rose-velazquez","tag-samantha-sherwood","tag-special-olympics","tag-students"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-7tD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25957,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/01\/21\/children-dealing-with-deafness-and-blindness-can-get-help-in-new-orleans\/","url_meta":{"origin":28745,"position":0},"title":"Children dealing with deafness and blindness can get help in New Orleans","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Children dealing with deafness and blindness can get help in New Orleans By NOLA Community\u00a0 January 07, 2014 The Louisiana Deafblind Project, a program at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Allied Health Professions Human Development Center, is seeking to identify children and youth with both deafness and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Louisiana State Outline Magnet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Louisiana-State-Outline-Magnet.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27010,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/04\/08\/louisiana-deaf-meet-over-coffee\/","url_meta":{"origin":28745,"position":1},"title":"Louisiana Deaf meet over coffee","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Louisiana Deaf meet over coffee April 7, 2014 Gerald Ducote Consider the saying, \u201cWhat\u2019s the one thing standing between Deaf people and being normal? 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