by Mary Reed
My name is Mary Reed, and I work for Andersen Consulting at Atlanta, Ga. I am a 1997 graduate of Emory University. I have profound hearing loss in both ears.
For seven semesters of college, I used note takers. My note takers were helpful students who tried hard to take good notes. Below I will include two examples among many to demonstrate the reasons note takers was a less-than-satisfactory experience.
During my sophomore year, I took a Classics class. The midterm oral exam involved reciting the first passage of the The Iliad in Greek. Between the midterm and the final exam, we tackled The Odyssey. Again, we were told to learn the first passage of The Odyssey in Greek. As the end of the semester approached, the professor informed the class that the final exam would include reciting the first passage of The Iliad AND the first passage of The Odyssey in Greek. My note taker made a mistake. She wrote down, "For final exam, learn the first passage of The Odyssey in Greek." She neglected to mention that the first passage of The Iliad was required for the final exam as well. The final oral exam took place at the professor's office. I recited the first passage of The Odyssey beautifully. He gave me an A plus on The Odyssey. Thinking that my oral exam was over, I happily walked out of his office. The professor came after me and informed me that I was to recite the first passage of The Iliad too. I was flustered and caught off guard. I protested that my note taker wrote down that the first passage of The Odyssey was required. I defended myself and mentioned that my note taker did not say anything about The Iliad for the final exam. The dismayed professor was put in a difficult position. He asked me to recite The Iliad the best I could. Since it had been six weeks since my midterm oral exam, I recited only the parts I could remember. The professor gave me a C plus on The Iliad.
I am not blaming the note taker. She made a mistake while trying to take notes rapidly while the professor talked. If I had the benefits of CART in that Classics class, I would have been able to get EVERYTHING the professor said. Not just "bits and pieces."
During my junior year, I took a Statistics Class. The professor was greatly renowned on campus for his jovial personality. He was immensely popular because he would start off each class by telling a funny story relating to Statistics one way or the other. Some of the stories made the class erupt in laughter. Students talked about his stories long after class. The stories were said to enhance students' concept of Statistics. I had a good note taker, however she could not transcribe the stories by hand. It was impossible for the note taker to write down the story as fast as the professor talked. I missed out on the professor's stories. My heart hurt every time I saw my class roar in laughter because I knew I was missing out.
If I had the benefits of CART, I would have been able to laugh and learn with my classmates.
In the last semester of my senior year, a miracle happened. Emory University agreed to offer CART for my classes. Emory, as with ALL schools in the United States, was required to do so under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990 under President George Bush. I was absolutely elated. I walked to class with a huge smile on my face. CART enabled me to participate in class discussion for the first time in my entire life. CART enabled me to debate other students' opinions. CART enabled me to learn from other students' questions and comments. CART enabled me to never miss a beat in class. CART enabled me to be independent. CART made all the difference in my life! For that one semester, I was the happiest student at Emory.
I beg you not to deprive students of Miami-Dade Community College the opportunity to get the most out of their education. I understand your administration is debating the benefits of CART. Note takers rob deaf/hearing-impaired students of the opportunity to benefit from professors' lectures. Note takers deprive deaf/hearing-impaired students of the opportunity to voice their opinions and views in class discussions. I have many deaf friends who have CART in their respective colleges. Below, I will list the colleges my friends attend. These colleges willingly supply CART to my deaf/hearing-impaired friends. I know there are hundreds of other colleges which offer CART to thousands of deaf/hearing-impaired students:
University of Georgia
University of Tampa
Emory University
Iona College in New York
University of Iowa
University of Arizona
Princeton University
If you have had an experience with captioning or CART that you would like to share, please e-mail it to Peter Wacht, pwacht@ncrahq.org, or mail it to his attention at NCRA, 8224 Old Courthouse Road, Vienna, VA 22312.