- Catherine attentively watches her interpretor relay the class lecture to her. (Photo by/ Lisa Streeb)
The interpreter serves as the voice for a deaf citizen. When a person addresses Catherine Worrall directly, she refers him to her interpreter, saying, "She will voice for me."
One Friday afternoon, two interpreters from Resources for Disabled Students accompanied Worrall to astronomy class.
DeDe Kliewer, Coordinator of Interpretive Services at RDS, and Amy Kroll were on hand to translate the astronomy instructor's words into American Sign Language.
"Every class we do two interpreters," Kliewer said. "That way if somebody's sick, somebody else already knows the vocabulary or if Amy doesn't hear something I can ask the teacher."
If you're interpreting four to five hours a day, you have to continually pay attention and listen every second. There's a lot of mental fatigue, so if you just do half of the class and half of the next class it's a lot easier."
Kliewer said it's challenging for students to watch the interpreter and take notes at the same time, so RDS finds volunteer note takers in the first week of class.
"I look around and see who really pays attention, who's here every day, and who takes thorough notes, and then I recruit them for the office," she said.
James Pell, freshman political science major, is a volunteer note taker for Worrall. Though he is taking his own astronomy notes, he makes some adjustments, since he is taking notes for Worrall as well.
"I usually try and take my time, make sure that the notes are legible for someone else, and that the pictures are detailed enough," Pell said.
Worrall gives CSU high marks for services that meet her special needs as a deaf citizen.
"The area for CSU is very friendly and a good environment for me," she said. "I am pretty much comfortable in CSU."
Though Worrall enjoys meeting new people, and studying in the library, the communication barrier does present challenges when it comes to participation in campus activities, she said. As a result she prefers activities at home, such as sewing and caring for foster dogs.
"(It) is very challenging for me to get involved in activities because sometimes I do not want an interpreter and sometimes I want (an) interpreter there," Worrall said. "As for right now, I am not that kind of person to participate in activities."
This story is an excerpt from a College Avenue article. Visit College Avenue to read more about how city funding cuts have affected accessibility for the disabled.