Deaf Bingo

Student Disability Services kicked off its Disability Awareness Week with Deaf Bingo at Wall/Gates Residence Hall.

James Whitfield, assistant director and interpreter coordinator for Student Disability Services, said the main goals of the event were to raise awareness of what deaf students on campus experience and awareness of the entire week’s events.

“This kind of brings the idea of silence for those individuals who use words and sound to kind of get around and communicate,” Whitfield said. “Here it’s quiet, they have to really stay attuned to figure out something that’s all done by sign.”

With the help of three people signing at the front of the room, the roughly 30 students in the hall participating had not only to learn how to interpret sign letters and numbers but then had to learn how to sign bingo as well in order to announce their win.

Samantha Morales, wife of Alex Morales, an interpreter at the event, has a special connection to the deaf community, a deaf uncle. She comes out to the events to support and raise awareness of the existing deaf community, she said.

Whitfield said there are about 20 deaf students at Texas Tech and more than 100 that have some level of hearing impairment. However, not all students with hearing impairments register with the Student Disability Services office. Therefore, Whitfield believes there may be more on campus.

There will be events through Friday to raise awareness of disabilities on campus. For more information click here.

About Claudia Tristán

News Director    —    Journalism and Marketing double major, Class of 2013
Claudia works to cover current events and political issues that effect the Tech campus. She plans to return overseas as a foreign correspondent.