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| Students from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., attend NTID in this record year for enrollment. NTID President Alan Hurwitz (left) and RIT President Bill Destler (right) hold the RIT flag. |
Captioning It All
On September 30, 2008, a federal judge ordered the Washington Redskins’ FedEx Field to continue providing captions as they have been doing in response to a 2006 lawsuit. Additionally, they are to include captioned lyrics to the music being broadcast over the PA system during games. The team now posts captions on the scoreboard, spelling out everything announced, even the ads read over the PA system. The Washington Post reports that this victory for deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) “appears to be a fi rst in the country” and that it could result in Americans with Disabilities Act-based challenges in sports facilities throughout the U.S. For details about the case, visit www.washingtonpost.com and search “Redskins Ordered to Continue Captions.”
NTID Record Enrollment
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), reports an alltime high enrollment of 1,450 students. NTID President Alan Hurwitz said requirements to attend NTID were not lowered to allow more students; in fact, admission in some programs was even more restrictive this year. Hurwitz said applications to NTID remain strong, retention rates have improved in recent years and some programs have expanded to accommodate more students. He also credits NTID’s outreach programs for spreading the word about NTID. The college advertises and holds summer camps for middle school and high school students to give
them a taste of campus life. Visit www.ntid.rit.edu.
Fine Tuning Hearing
A new hearing device adjustment software program, based on the listener’s response to speech
rather than tones, is available to optimize the performance of cochlear implants and digital hearing aids, without modifying the hardware. Clarujust™, manufactured by Audigence, Inc., also can be applied to cellular phones to improve comprehension in phone conversations. Contact an audiologist to learn more. ■
! Hot Tips
A research team at the University of Washington has developed MobileASL, a software program that enables D/HH to use American Sign Language over a conventional video-compatible mobile phone. For more information visit http://mobileasl.cs.washington.edu.
Rochester Institute of Technology is currently receiving submissions for its third annual Digital Arts, Film and Animation Competition for D/HH high school students. For entry forms, contest rules and to see last year’s winning entries visit
www.rit.edu/NTID/ArtsNR. ■
