My very first convention experience. Please Reblog!
Anyone at the Supernatural Convention this weekend probably saw me at some point or another interpreting for a girl who is hard of hearing.
If you didn’t know, my friend was a gold pass member and I had purchased a silver pass. Before I start this, I wanted to make that clear, because I think that many people without knowing the whole story would tell me not to complain because I basically got a free upgrade to Gold Events… I don’t see it that way, and I hope by the end of this post, you won’t either.
First, let me state that it is required by the Americans with Disablities Act of 1990 (ADA) that communication needs of hearing impaired persons must be met, this frequently demands the use of an American Sign Language interpreter.
Before the convention, and after my hard of hearing friend bought her gold pass, she sent several emails to Creation asking for them to provide an interpreter. She was told no (a reminder that this is against the law), but told that she could bring her own if she wanted and they would have a chair available for the interpreter. They did mention at some point that the interpreter would not be allowed to go into the special gold events, the cocktail party and the breakfast panel.
Now let’s think about this for a second. My friend need an ASL interpreter to hear. She shelled out $569 for a ticket. And is now being told that she doesn’t have the right to enjoy the convention as much as everyone else.
My friend, did look for an interpreter. The only person that she was able to find was me, a fan already planning on attending the convention in the silver section.
So who was this unfair to?
My hard of hearing friend:
Upon request, Creation should have hired an interpreter to be there for all three days and interpret in every event that she paid for. By law, they should have. But unfortunately due to time, she wasn’t able to get through to them before she had to scramble and find someone herself so that she could enjoy the convention like everyone else.
This was my first convention. And although I was happy that I could help her, I wasn’t able to enjoy the convention myself to it’s full because I was also working. I missed out on many opportunities to take pictures. I wasn’t able to be with friends that I went to the convention with, and I spent a lot of time turned toward a wall so that she could see me interpreting, and therefore didn’t even get to fully watch the panels that I paid for. (Understand please, that I do not at all blame my friend. I blame creation.) Also, I paid $379 myself to work. An interpreter wouldn’t have paid anything to get in, but would have been paid to do a service. I didn’t make any money. But still paid for my ticket…
Do you really think it was fair that I got into things that a person who paid $200 more for? I don’t. And I’m not saying this for any other reason, than really, it wasn’t fair. That’s why Creation didn’t want an interpreter there in the first place. However, had they hired an interpreter in the first place, full access should have been given anywhere they that she was. That is the job of an interpreter.
So if you are still reading this, you might be thinking. So why did you do it? The answer is, because my friend deserved, like all of us deserved, to have the full experience of the convention that she rightfully paid for.
I would like to ask you if you could please send an email or call creation, like I am doing now, and tell them how unfair this was to not only my friend and myself, but yourself as well… And to solve the problem in the future. If they could just follow the fucking law and hire an interpreter.
Creation Entertainment
217 S. Kenwood Street
Glendale, CA 91205
Phone: (818) 409-0960
[email protected]
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