Crossing Cultural Borders at USM
Barriers that prevent the deaf from fully utilizing health services and other programs that the majority takes for granted will be examined in a conference initiated, designed and largely funded by USM students.
"Crossing Cultural Borders: Marginalized Identities in a
Multicultural Society," will be held Friday, April 5 through
Saturday, April 6 on USM's Portland campus. Several workshops
and other presentations are free and open to the public.
"Equal access in Maine is generally taken for granted by
the majority," said USM honors student Jeremy Federman, one
of the conference organizers. "Federal and state laws mandate
the concept. But the concept does not take into consideration
certain cultural needs, in particular, language. The main
event of the conference will address issues of deafness and
other areas where multiculturalism and diversity are touted
but not practiced."
Special guests for the conference include students from Gallaudet University, the Washington, D.C.-based campus considered the leading institution in providing academic programs for the deaf community.
The idea for the USM conference originated when Federman and other USM students attended a conference at Gallaudet and had to overcome language barriers when interpreters for the Gallaudet students failed to attend.
"We realized that a conference at USM with our Gallaudet friends would enable USM and the greater community to better understand how some of the simple things we take for granted are not always provided for some of our marginalized citizens," said Federman.
A free community discussion on the impact of cultural and other borders on marginalized people will include Gallaudet students, USM faculty; Jeri Roseboro, associate dean for intercultural affairs at Colby College; Jonathan Connick, executive director of the Maine Center on Deafness; and Matt Ward, director of immigration and refugee resettlement for Catholic Charities of Maine. The discussion will be held from 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday, April 5 in the Woodbury Campus Center, Portland. Other free, public events at the USM conference include a series of workshops on the impact of cochlear implants and other advancements on communication, art displays and poetry readings. Those will be held from 1 to 5:30 p.m., Friday, April 5 in Luther Bonney Hall, Portland. Events on Saturday, April 6 include a visit to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, and workshops on the global community and communication practices.
For more information, call 780-4330 or e-mail Jeremy Federman
at jeremy.federman@maine.edu.
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