#nyt article

[stevefightmerogerss]

never going to recover from this video i fear

x

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

That ASL Protest I was a part of, in '91...

That I wrote about here:

May, 1991: I was one of a couple dozen students at my university protesting to keep ASL as an accepted fulfillment of foreign language study (I remember we were trying to meet with higher-ups in the Languages Department, but they kept changing their meeting location; we were basically chasing them around campus. It was a bit theater of the absurd, actually)

Actually made it into the following Sunday's New York Times. I found it online when I took a stab at an Internet Search to double-check my memory. NYT requires you to set up an account and choose a password to read anything... And they've had a transphobic bias in some of their editorials.

So I copied out the whole thing, so you can read it here without supporting them (besides, I was there). Enjoy this story of my reckless (?) youth:

Campus Life: SUNY, Stony Brook; Sign Language: Foreign Or Merely an Easy A?

(Unnamed Staff Writer, New York Times. Sunday, May 26, 1991, Section 1. Page 45)

Students at the State University of New York at Stony Brook do not have to speak to fulfill their undergraduate foreign language requirement.

Stony Brook currently accepts a one-year series of American Sign Language courses to satisfy its foreign language requirement, but some faculty members are questioning both the policy and the quality of the sign-language courses.

Thomas Kerth, chairman of the Germanic and Slavic languages department, provoked student protests this month when he recommended, on behalf of several foreign language department chairmen, that American Sign Language be removed as a course that fulfilled the undergraduate requirement.

In a memorandum earlier this month to the Foreign Language Proficiency Committee, a university advisory committee on student requirements, Professor Kerth wrote that American Sign Language did not "fulfill the purpose" of the foreign language requirement because it was not foreign. He also said the course was an "easy A," which had caused its enrollment to "grow out of all proportion" while enrollment had dropped sharply in other foreign language courses. 60% Receive A's, Critic Says

Professor Kerth said more than 60 percent of American Sign Language students received an A. "This has led some of us to believe that the popularity of sign language has but little to do with the commitment to the hearing-impaired," he wrote, "and a great deal to do with the grading pattern."

In response to the memo, more than 30 students held a protest earlier this month in front of the administration building and gathered more than 1,000 student signatures urging the university to continue accepting American Sign Language for the foreign language requirement.

[Jumping in here with an aside: If I recall correctly, us chasing the Language Dept.'s higher-ups was in an attempt to deliver that petition]

"The professor is afraid of losing his job," Dane Spirio, a junior English major from Old Bethpage, L.I., and organizer of the protest, said of Professor Kerth. "He's afraid fewer people will take his class because of sign language's popularity."

Prof. Roman de la Campa, chairman of the department of comparative literature, called for "controls" on the American Sign Language courses. He said he thought sign language should be allowed to fulfill the foreign language requirement, but not in its present form.

"When you have hundreds of people taking a course, and over 50 percent get A's, there is a question," Professor de la Campa said. He added that sign language courses "should have full-time faculty who have a scholarly investment." The courses are currently taught by adjunct professors who are hired course by course.

Lou Deutsch, chairwoman of the Hispanic language department, said American Sign Language was not a foreign language and condemned the frequency of high grades in the class.

But Mark Aronoff, chairman of the linguistics department, said, "The internal structure of the words is similar to Latin, Sanskrit, Navajo or Eskimo."

Lawrence Forestal, a sign language instructor, said Mr. Kerth's information on the number of students who received A's was "exaggerated."

Mr. Forestal, who is deaf, urged the the University Senate's Curriculum Committee, which determines student requirements, to allow sign language students and deaf people to address the committee before a decision was made. "How can the committee set such policies without real knowledge of sign language?" he asked.

Charles Franco, chairman of the Foreign Language Proficiency Committee, said: "I can see both sides of the argument." He said the committee would have a recommendation for the University Senate by the beginning of the fall semester.

###

For the record: I remember a lot of people in my ASL class (Taught by the same Mr. Lawrence Forestal quoted here) admitted to signing up for it because they thought it was going to be an "Easy A." I also remember them complaining: "This is hard!" and "I don't get it." So... Y'know....

Also, Mr. Forestal was not only Deaf, but his parents were Deaf, and all his siblings. So ASL was his native language. That complaint about needing to be a full-time faculty, in order to have a true "scholarly investment" is just classist B.S.

[musical-shit-show]

Alex Brightman Lays ‘Beetlejuice’ to Rest

A concussion nearly derailed the actor’s fan-favorite turn as the madcap, black-and-white striped ghoul. But he recovered in time for the cl

A few things of note in the article:

1. We now know that it was a run-in with Sandy that caused Alex’s concussion. So glad that he says that he didn’t feel obligated to come back, but only came back when he felt well enough and got the all-clear from doctors.

2. I love that after all this time, he still isn’t tired of the show and always found ways to mix it up and try new things with the character.

3. While there are no plans for a West End run (yet), he has the right of first refusal for the role and would consider going overseas for a U.K. run.

4. It sounds like he’s taking a break from performing and focusing on writing ventures, at least for a while. I personally think this is a great thing. Like he says in the article, he’s been working nonstop for a decade and a half, so I understand being “Broadway-ed out”.

With that being said, I certainly hope last night was not the last time we see Alex Brightman on Broadway. One, because he is one of the most talented and hard-working performers of his generation, but also because he still deserves his damn Tony.

Anyways, everyone in this cast deserves a break after the craziness of this year (and the past few years if we’re being honest), but I’m just so happy we got a little feature for our favorite demon before closing night. 💚💜

[gayloringinplainsight]

Great article on the recent controversy:

Newsflash: talking about a celebrity dating someone of the opposite sex is discussing a public person’s sexuality. It is unfortunate, I think, that Wright’s criticism accidentally plays into homophobic ideas that only queer people have sexualities while heterosexual love lives are just the default. And quite a lot of the outrage over the Times piece, I should note, does seem to be tinged with homophobia.

[busstop-on-cornelia]

Ok, theory. So, in the past month, we’ve gotten a MAJOR Gaylor article, a leaked email, and several articles about that Big One in varying degrees of walking back or justifying. The CNN one lists her “associates” (business partners, management, etc?) as appalled by those gay rumors, specifically the gay article. But we also got that email that seemed to indicate some business shadiness on the part of Scott. So, is the CNN article perhaps meant to reference him? Or people like him? Could this be not a denial, but a non-denial using the fandom’s new knowledge of the sins of the father to craft a narrative explaining reluctance to acknowledge queer rumors? Could this be an attempt to turn vinegar into wine by subtly pointing toward Scott and other business managers/partners as culling any instance of queerness in favor of preserving a more marketable brand?

At this point in the Gaylor side of the fandom, we’ve been speculating about the possibility of homophobia from a paternal angle for a while—especially after Tolerate It. Given the new emails, and the new CNN non-denial denial, this could be trying to make the best of a situation to garner some sympathy (always a good way to soften a blow) by giving up someone to blame. This way, Taylor is the hero of the story—someone coerced into lying to please her father and business partners—and not someone who made or upheld a complex decision willingly. Even the more reluctant fans can be swayed with a little need for sympathy.

Idk just a theory. Throw your bricks, or whatever.

[rhislean]

[schwizzle-schwartz]

[rebelwheelssoapbox]

Try Riding In A Wheelchair : A Response To The NYT Article “Tired Of The NYC Subways? Blame Andrew Cuomo”

by Michele Sommerstein This morning as I checked social media, I noticed there was a trending NYT article entitled “Tired Of The Subways? Blame Andrew Cuomo.” It talked all about how the MTA was failing the NYC customer, how the system was outdated and how Governor Cuomo has dropped the ball.

[image description: photo of Gov. Cuomo. He is dressed in a dark blue suit, white button down shirt, with a navy tie with white diaganol stripes on it. There is a golden pin on his jacket and he is looking at the camera, with a big smile on his face]

For the record, I agree with everything that the article talked about. Especially considering that the fares keep going up, we all deserve a better and safer subway system. However, there was one thing missing from the article: the experience of the disabled customer in a wheelchair. As a customer of this nature, when it comes to the MTA subways, the struggle is real. If you are a customer who has no problem taking the stairs, then you have full access to the entire system (unless there is construction going on, but while annoying, it's always temporary.) It’s a very different story when you're a customer in a motorized wheelchair. According to a recent NY Times article, “people who use wheelchairs, mobility devices or are unable to use stairs” lack access to “more than 75% of the city's 472 subway stations...” 

But that's just the tip of the iceberg, as just because a station is wheelchair accessible, doesn't guarantee that a customer in a wheelchair, will have access to it. After all, in order to have access to the station, more than not, I need to have access to the elevators, which break down so frequently, that they MTA is  being sued by several disability rights groups

It’s particularly a problem when the broken down elevator is the one on the platform. I was once heading home from Manhattan to Gravesend (Brooklyn). I got off at a wheelchair accessible platform, only to see a police officer guarding a broken elevator. “You can't use this elevator” he said stating the obvious. The problem was, the only other thing he knew to tell customers was to use the stairs – which is not an option for a customer in a wheelchair. Why didn't the MTA - which has an accessibility department – educate this man on what to tell customers in wheelchairs? When I asked him what I should do, he fumbled a bit and then told me to take the train a couple stops uptown, where I could then transfer to where I had to go. “This station is wheelchair accessible?” “Yes.” he said. It was not.

The elevators are so bad that as a disabled customer in a wheelchair, before I leave, I always check the MTA website, to see which elevators are in service. You can also sign up for text notifications to your phone, that will alert you every time an elevator breaks down. And I do, but even this doesn't guarantee that by the time I get to the station, nor by the time I return, all the elevators that I need will still be working. Because of this, it is vital to jot down 1-2 alternative routes, that include back up buses, just in case any of the many elevators are suddenly out of service.

[photo of an NYC subway elevator that is out of service]

But let's just say that all the elevators are working. Another thing you quickly learn as a customer in a wheelchair is that not all platforms in a wheelchair accessible station, are wheelchair accessible. And even when you find a wheelchair accessible platform in a wheelchair accessible station, it doesn’t guarantee that you can board a subway car from any part of the platform. Disabled customers in wheelchairs are told to wait for the trains in the designated boarding area, because according the MTA website, “This boarding area is specifically modified to accommodate the transfer of wheelchairs between train and platform.“ This is also boarding by the conductor who will keep the doors open till you are in the subway car. But okay, the elevators work, you found the boarding area on the wheelchair accessible platform, in the wheelchair accessible station. You're in the clear, right? Nope. Sometimes, the gap between the subway car and platform is either too wide, which can result in the smaller wheels of the motorized wheelchair going into the gap (which is just scary and dangerous as it sounds) or if the gap is too high, then half of your wheelchair is stuck on the platform, while the other is in the subway car. Now to be clear, the wheelchair has not split in half. It is still in tact. However, at this point in time you are stuck. You can not move the chair in either direction.

And while the MTA tells the customer in a wheelchair to board where the conductor can see you, what they don't tell you is that if your wheelchair gets stuck, the conductor is not allowed to leave their station to assist you. This is for security reasons as it would then leave the control room unattended. Fair enough. However, the MTA also fails to have any kind of assistant to the conductor (nor trained MTA employees) that can help you in these situations. So, what happens? Total strangers spring up from their subway seats and work together to lift up your motorized wheelchair (with you in it) so you are fully in the subway car. On one hand, this just goes to show that sometimes New Yorkers really come together to help each other out. On the other hand, considering said strangers have received zero training on how to safely lift a customer in a motorized wheelchair, all involved could get seriously injured. To give you an idea as to the weight of my motorized wheelchair, it once took 4 incredibly buff and muscular NYC firemen to lift my wheelchair from a broken down bus to the street – and even they struggled.

[photo of me & motorized wheelchair, Lulabelle. I am in the streets at a parade, wearing a long colorful summer dress, slightly spastic in my left arm and holding my camera with my right arm. I am grinning at the camera. There is another person in a motorized wheelchair to the right of my chair ]

And yes, you can file a complaint with the MTA when this happens, but all they do is send you a “thank you for bringing this to our attention, we will forward this to the appropriate departments”... and then nothing changes. It’s true. Sometimes my subway ride goes smoothly, but sometimes it doesn’t, and you never know what you’re gonna get.

[graphic with a white background featuring a photo of a bearded Clint Eastwood wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar. To the right is the text (in black) “Do you feel lucky... punk? Well... do ya?”]

I am writing this article, not to negate the struggles of other customers. I am writing this article, so that when we fight for a better subway system, we can fight for a better subway system for all.