800 Florida Ave. By Mary Thornley Dominique McLaughlin's first year of graduate study at Gallaudet got off on a rocky start. Having broken her left leg playing sports, Dominique arrived at Gallaudet in 1996 just as classes began and limped miserably around the campus, unable to communicate except through an interpreter. Today, as a Gallaudet graduate and coordinator of the CLC, Dominique urges all new graduate students to enroll in the program. The major component of CLC is a two-credit class involving lectures and small group discussions in which students learn about deaf culture and its powerful impact on the values and beliefs of individuals, and the potential for misunderstandings among members of various communities in a diverse society.
Students also can elect to study a foreign sign language for three weeks before classes begin.
Student evaluations confirm that CLC is an extremely important experience to have prior to beginning graduate studies at Gallaudet. Copyright 1999 Gallaudet University. All Rights Reserved.