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Last issue's most-read story: MARLEE MATLIN: WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS / ACLU
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Chicago, IL
DEAF CHICAGO MAN RETURNS TO COURT ON NEW RAPE CHARGE
A deaf Chicago man who sparked outrage when his rape case was dismissed in September due to a technicality appeared in Cook County Criminal Court last Wednesday. This time he was charged with sexual assault and attempted murder in connection with an attack which left a 15-year-old student fighting for her life. Luis "Silent" Pantoja reportedly left his victim to die in the back yard of a home on December 17 after allegedly beating her with a blunt object and then raping her. She was discovered by the property owner. / Medill Reports
Brownsville, TX
TWO JAILED FOR ROBBING DEAF MAN WALKING TO WORK
Two men are behind bars after they allegedly beat up and robbed a deaf-mute man walking to work in Brownsville. Brownsville police arrested 27-year-old Johnny Joe Rojano and 19-year-old Eduardo Felipe Olmos on Wednesday. Rojano and Olmos allegedly approached a deaf-mute man walking to work, beat him up and took $50 dollars from his wallet. / ValleyCentral.com
Des Moines, IA
REGENTS HIRE SUPERINTENDENT FOR SCHOOLS FOR DEAF, BLIND
The Iowa state Board of Regents hired Steve Gettel as the new Superintendent of the Iowa School for the Deaf/Iowa Braille Sight Saving School. Gettel comes from Montana where he held a similar position for 13 years. He will begin August 1 at a annual salary of $180,000 with the opportunity to receive a performance bonus of $20,000 upon completion of the initial year of his appointment. / The Des Moines Register
Frederick, MD
INTERN HELPS FREDERICK REACH OUT TO DEAF COMMUNITY
The camera was rolling in the City Hall boardroom last week as Tayla Newman stood under bright studio lights. The room was silent, but Tayla was getting her message out. The 17-year-old student at the Maryland School for the Deaf is creating public service announcements in ASL for the city of Frederick about topics such as the city's Bike to Work Day on May 16. "Bicycling is a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work!" Tayla signed. / The Frederick News-Post
Cambridge, MA
SIGN LANGUAGE REFERENDUM PASSES EASILY AMID LOW VOTER TURNOUT
Harvard undergraduates voted last week overwhelmingly in favor of supporting the reintroduction of ASL courses for credit at the College, though just 18.5 percent of students voted on the referendum. The referendum garnered 1,135 affirmative votes -- 92 percent of the votes cast. However, the Council still must vote on legislation in order to take an official stance on the subject, since voter participation was well below 50 percent of the total number of undergraduates. / The Harvard Crimson
San Jose, CA
SAN JOSE TEEN ADVOCATES FOR OTHER HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS, GETS INTO STANFORD
A South Bay student has realized her dream of attending Stanford University next year. Zina Jawadi is a student with significant hearing loss. She knew that in order to succeed, she had to be an advocate for change. That included showing her teachers how to teach her. Jawadi, 18, shows no signs of having any kind of disability. That's why she has to remind her classmates and teachers she is hard of hearing. She's been doing it since middle school. / abc7news.com
Indianapolis, IN
CAREER FAIR AT DEAF SCHOOL HELPS STUDENTS IMAGINE FUTURE
At Indiana School for the Deaf's career day Thursday, the students peppered presenters with questions. Do you like your job? How much is your workload? Do we really need to learn social studies? What kind of workers do managers look for? What college did you go to? Defense Finance and Accounting Services financial management analyst Christian Hanawalt shared with students about his bachelor's degree and master's in business administration: "Being deaf is no excuse for not having high standards," he signed, "I can do whatever I want to." / The Indianapolis Star
Internet
THE DEAF SHALL HEAR AND THE BLIND SHALL SEE
The flip side of protecting the deaf is teaching them “best practices” in dealing with the police. The ACLU hooked up with deaf actress and advocate Marlee Matlin to make a video to help the deaf and hard of hearing to handle such interactions. Notably, Matlin is married to Burbank police officer Kevin Grandalski, which may add a curious influence to her view of dealing with police. The video is at once informative and disturbing. It’s not that the advice is wrong, or that there is a better way than recommended, but that the instructions appear relatively likely to get a deaf person beaten as not. / Simple Justice