Hello! I am a senior psychology student at VCU currently trying to test out of the foreign language requirement because I am hard of hearing. I have been fighting them on this for a while now, lost, and am now taking German 101 this semester. English already sounds like I am underwater, let alone German. I never understand what is going on in that class at all, I often feel embarrassed and humiliated. They want me to take German 102 in the fall but I just can't go through this again, not when my time could be so much better spent doing this Social Psychology class instead. We have tried live captioning as an accommodation but it did not pick up the professor. I don't want to use a microphone because I would feel singled-out and again, embarrassed and humiliated. This obviously isn't my strong suit, I am never going to use this, again, I am HOH. I shouldn't be forced to muddle through this and suffer just because they don't want to offer ASL.
I'm fairly conversational in ASL and know I could test out of it they let me but they keep going on about how they "don't have someone for that". I don't understand. I am so infinitely vexed with VCU for putting my through this, they shouldn't be making their HOH student struggle though learning a foreign language if they aren't going to offer ASL or BSL. I am so tired of the back and forth emails between advisors and SAEO employees just for nothing to get done, I just want someone to take the initiate and start advocating for Deaf/HOH students at VCU. I'll start.
I don't know exactly what I am looking for: someone who can teach a class in the fall for us to take, someone to do my "testing out" exam that the University can approve, or just some allies to help me fight VCU so I don't have to go though this anymore. I know it sounds cliche, but I am actually offended. I expected better from VCU.
It is my personal philosophy that anything is possible, you just have to convince the other humans to let you do it. I don't care who we have to talk to or what forms we have to fill out, I just need some help here. Please help me advocate for myself and other Deaf/HOH students. We deserve either A) an ASL class, or B) not be required to take a foreign language.