La Voz

Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: On Campus

Media Credit: Katie O'Hara Deaf Services Supervisor Donna Bradshaw catches a talker at Deaf Town where no one is allowed to talk.

Media Credit: Katie O'Hara Melissa Lee shows off her light saber skills at the Silent Movie Theater.

Media Credit: Katie O'Hara Tom Nguyen and Hannah Davis run the CODA Cafe

Students were silent at De Anza College's first event to promote Deaf Awareness month. Held in the Sunken Gardens at De Anza College on Oct. 10, "Deaf Town" was, like many campus events, an occasion with booths and activities. The catch was participants weren't allowed to talk.

The purpose of not being allowed to talk was to "show hearing people what it's like for the deaf to interact with those who don't speak their language," said Kathy Gordan, an interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing students, who came up with the idea of Deaf Town.

Participants in Deaf Town were allowed to sign, gesture and write to communicate, but talking would result in the "talking police" assigning the talkers a "T" to wear around their necks.

Deaf Town hosted six different booths. The first booth was the Deaf Bank, where "tellers" gave participants fake money to get stamped at all the other booths. At the Post Office, participants created bookmarks stamped with their names in sign language.

Deaf Tech was a booth set up like an electronics store, with information about alarm clocks, baby monitors and doorbells for the deaf. One item was a computer with a news report in sign language and sign language with closed-captioning.

Nearby was the "Silent Movies Theater," where participants acted out the movie on their tickets, in a game much like charades. Some of the movies included "Spiderman," "The Titanic" and "Star Wars."

After participants guessed the movie, they were given popcorn before moving on to the next booth: Death Valley Medical Center. At the medical center, an ailment was given to participants who had 30 seconds to act out what they were suffering. Among the ailments participants had to portray were allergies, appendicitis, a broken toe, a desire for cosmetic surgery and chicken pox. If the "doctors" made a diagnosis within 30 seconds, the participant was given a complete recovery and a lollipop. If not, they were given a "toe-tag" and an "untimely death."

The last booth was the Children Of Deaf Adults Café. At the CODA Cafe, students exchanged their fake money for snacks and drinks.

Participants found the event to be a fun way to learn more about deaf awareness.

"I learned about the different devices used to aid deaf people, for example the alarm clock and doorbell. It was fun. I didn't know what to expect. I'm glad I came," said student Melissa Lee.

Deaf Town volunteer George Tsai said he thought the event might have been noticed by more people if the location was easier to find. But for the most part, there appeared to be a good turnout. Some participants were students from outside colleges sent by their sign language or deaf-culture instructors.

Sign Language Interpreter and CODA member, Hannah Davis said, "We hope to put this on every year. If we don't do Deaf Town, we will still hold some type of event for Deaf Awareness Month every October."

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