‘The last straw’
Twelve hearing-impaired students have filed a notice of intent to sue the university, claiming there is a lack of sign-language interpreters at USU – a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to reports, Utah State University has 15 hearing-impaired students, but only five interpreters and six note takers. USU needs three more certified full-time interpreters and at least five part-time interpreters. If these needs aren’t met within 60 days, the 12 students say they’re prepared to follow through with a lawsuit.
“In the past, we’ve worked with the university and we were very tolerant,” said Jonathan Roberts, a junior majoring in business and information systems, and one of the plaintiffs in the case. “This is it – the last straw. The line has been crossed. We want some action and we want it now.”
“The students aren’t asking for anything more than the ability to access their education; to have the opportunity to succeed or fail on their own merit,” said Dale Boam, a Sandy attorney with Armknecht & Cowdell P.C., the firm representing the students.
Calls to the university’s Disability Resource Center were not returned Tuesday. But earlier this week, the center’s director, Diane Baum, told the Associated Press, “We’re doing the best we can.”
Boam said USU officials have cited financial limitations and a a lack of certified interpreters in Utah as reasons for its limited number of interpreters, but Boam said he disagrees.
“There are interpreters out there,” he said. “The school is not doing what is necessary to secure interpreters for its students.”
Roberts said he would like to see USU “develop a program that would attract certified interpreters to come here and work.”
“Right now, they treat them as student staff, rather than a faculty member,” he said.
Increasing the number of interpreters and note takers at USU might not be the university’s only option, Boam said, citing schools in California that use video distance education programs and other technology to meet the needs of hearing-impaired students.
“In our demand letter, we’re not specifically asking for any one course of action,” he said. “We want the school to open it up and find a resolution … It could take some thinking outside the box, but when it comes down to it, the school has a responsibility to these students.”
While the plaintiffs first approached Boam with the issue about three months ago, Roberts said difficulties meeting the needs of deaf and hearing-impaired students is nothing new for the university.
Boam said students protested to then-President Kermit L. Hall in 1999. But Roberts said the problem has reached an unbearable level this year.
“The problem was not as bad as it is now,” he said.
Boam said the university has traditionally steered deaf and hearing-impaired students toward a “very limited choice of classes” due to the lack of interpreters and note takers. This has resulted in postponing graduation and accumulation of student loans, he said.
“This is a huge problem that has impacts beyond their time at school,” Boam said.
Roberts said some semesters he has been forced to drop classes or try to get by without an interpreter.
“It’s frustrating because we would like to get [school] over with and move on,” he said.
While there are 12 plaintiffs currently on board for the case, both Roberts and Boam said they expect that number to grow if a lawsuit is filed.
“There will be more; there are students who have transferred from USU because of this problem,” Roberts said. “We’ve given the university notice of claim. We want to work with them.
“They have 60 days to respond. If there’s no response, then fine.”
-acf@cc.usu.edu