College Blog: Deaf in Rochester

The
College Blog is a partnership between City Newspaper and Rochester Institute of
Technology Assistant Professor Dr. Hinda Mandell. Each
week City will post blog posts from several of Mandell’s journalism students, who will write about what
concerns Rochester-area college students, both on and off campus.

“When
my hearing friends want to go out somewhere that I haven’t heard of, I get wary
about going,” said Bonnie Greenberg, a 25-year-old communications student at RIT.
“I’m not sure how I’ll be accepted in places where hearing is [expected].”

Like
many students at RIT, Greenberg is a member of the deaf community. As of 2012,
there are a total of 1,529 RIT students enrolled in the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf. For these
students, leaving RIT’s campus and entering the world of
downtown Rochester can be a very difficult transition. But to Greenberg’s
surprise, some Rochesterians are quite receptive.

Greenberg
said she visits downtown Rochester about once a week.

“In
my opinion, most places in Rochester do accommodate the deaf community in more
ways than, say, the places at home,” said Greenberg, who is originally from New
Jersey. “And they’re less likely to look at you like you have an extra head if
you tell them you can’t hear.”

Greenberg
named Tilt Nightclub and Pearl Nightclub as two venues where employees used
sign language to communicate with her. She added that employees at IHOP on Jefferson
Road in Henrietta always give her paper so she can write down her food order.
And then there’s a shoe store in Marketplace Mall where a particular employee regularly
signs to Greenberg and volunteers to help her when she walks in.

“Apparently,
I shop there a lot,” Greenberg said. 

While
this student has her favorite places to socialize, shop and eat, Greenberg said
she rarely tries new clubs and restaurants in Rochester, since she’s scared of
being looked at “like a crazy person.”

Greenberg
recalled a recent night out with her friends at a club near East and Alexander.

The
club “made me feel awkward. One of the bouncers looked at me like I was crazy
for wanting to go to a nightclub when I can’t actually hear the music,” she
said.

Greenberg
said she’d spend more time downtown if she felt that more places could
accommodate her needs. Though she is quite satisfied with the few places she
frequents.

This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2013.