LSD Needs To Clean Up Its Act!
As we discussed not too long ago, unfortunately sexual abuses do occur in deaf residential schools, just like the hearing boarding schools and day programs, both hearing and deaf. However with better laws and supervisions, these violations are usually caught and referred to the law authorities to handle, unlike the earlier times where these incidents were ignored or tolerated.
But what the heck is going on with Louisana School for the Deaf? This is the sixth sexual offense reported to the police within one year. This latest sexual assault of a six years old female child by a sixteen years old male student was committed, of all places, in a school bus with a chaperon! An alert deaf student attempted to inform her, but the chaperon ignored the warning due to her limited knowledge of ASL. The chaperon has been fired since then and the older student allegedly charged as an adult.
Sexual abuses arise everywhere, even within the most supervised school setting. However, if it keeps popping up with increasing frequency, then the problem reflects more on the failure of the school to supervise the students and employees closely, screening the employees and lack of training. It was not by chance that this assault occurred while the state investigators were reviewing the school’s records and its procedures. Geez, it’s really bad when they cannot even clean up their act while the state officials are investigating the school. One sexual abuse is one too many. Six cases less than one year? Totally unacceptable.
Hopefully the state will clean up this state school real soon, for the sake of innocent children who need education in a deaf setting. Also don’t hire people who don’t sign! That is downright sheer idiocy. WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Teen accused of sex act with 6-year-old, both attend school for the deaf
By coincidence a reader, also an alumnus, left a comment few hours ago sharing her experiences being sexually abused at LSD and how her attempts to expose it were met negatively. Is this a long standing problem? I sure hope not!
What’s the best way to stop sexual abuse? Coming forward and expose it. Burying it only enables these shameful unlawful deeds to continue, victimizing more innocent children. Also providing education to the children how to protect themselves and report if they are violated and educate the public yes, sexual abuses do exist and we need to put a stop to it asap rather than lambasting its victims for being troublemakers and liars.
Survivor: ” I was abused at Louisiana School For the Deaf for several years during my stay there.
almost 10 years ago, I went on the news to speak out against the sex abuse in hopes of preventing it happening to the future children that come in through these doors. Only that my action resulted in lot of people being angry at me and said “I’m a liar and troublemaker”. This frustrated me because I knew it would not stop because it seemed like everyone was in denial. The deaf school had task force set up and everything for the last several years. It seems like that it is not really making postive results.
I just feel very very sad for these kids that had to go through what I went through and have to deal with it later in life as an adult.
I never asked to be abused in the first place- my first sexual abuse was at 10 years old by a older kid. It wasn’t the first and last time. It stopped when I left the school at age 16.”
Survivor, I am sorry you were abused few times on the campus and weren’t treated appropriately by the public when you came forward. You showed true courage by sharing your experiences. More victims are more outspoken nowdays. I hope you are doing ok. If not, please seek counseling. There is a survivor’s group for Deaf people who were sexually abused that you may want to check out. If you are interested, contact this person huggyangels@earthlink.net MZ
P.S. I did some digging and apparently the sex abuses at LSD were chronic, according to this article. It’s much worse than I ever thought. This is so sad that the only one 100% deaf school in the state isn’t safe for the students. The Deaf students deserve to have an appropriate education in a safe environment. :/
in the early 1990s, court records show. A four-part WBRZ series in 1999 uncovered “numerous and unabated” sexual incidents among students at the school, including rapes and molestations, many of which were not reported to police.
Additionally, hundreds of pages of police and school incident reports show at least 32 incidents of sexual misconduct among students in the past five years, ranging from rape to sexual battery to inappropriate touching
While in the 1990s the school’s problems seemed to be limited to inappropriate sexual behavior among students, the problem today includes teachers and staff accused of being offenders.
The seven adults arrested from May 2003 to April 2008 are all deaf and were either school employees or members of the state’s tight-knit deaf community. http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2008/10/deaf_school_abu.html
First post on this subject last April: http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena/2008/04/14/victory-for-uk-deaf-parents-five-lsd-arrests-bot-unaware/
As we discussed not too long ago, unfortunately sexual abuses do occur in deaf residential schools, just like the hearing boarding schools and day programs, both hearing and deaf. However with better laws and supervisions, these violations are usually caught and referred to the law authorities to handle, unlike the earlier times where these incidents were ignored or tolerated.
But what the heck is going on with Louisana School for the Deaf? This is the sixth sexual offense reported to the police within one year. This latest sexual assault of a six years old female child by a sixteen years old male student was committed, of all places, in a school bus with a chaperon! An alert deaf student attempted to inform her, but the chaperon ignored the warning due to her limited knowledge of ASL. The chaperon has been fired since then and the older student allegedly charged as an adult.
Sexual abuses arise everywhere, even within the most supervised school setting. However, if it keeps popping up with increasing frequency, then the problem reflects more on the failure of the school to supervise the students and employees closely, screening the employees and lack of training. It was not by chance that this assault occurred while the state investigators were reviewing the school’s records and its procedures. Geez, it’s really bad when they cannot even clean up their act while the state officials are investigating the school. One sexual abuse is one too many. Six cases less than one year? Totally unacceptable.
Hopefully the state will clean up this state school real soon, for the sake of innocent children who need education in a deaf setting. Also don’t hire people who don’t sign! That is downright sheer idiocy. WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Teen accused of sex act with 6-year-old, both attend school for the deaf
By coincidence a reader, also an alumnus, left a comment few hours ago sharing her experiences being sexually abused at LSD and how her attempts to expose it were met negatively. Is this a long standing problem? I sure hope not!
What’s the best way to stop sexual abuse? Coming forward and expose it. Burying it only enables these shameful unlawful deeds to continue, victimizing more innocent children. Also providing education to the children how to protect themselves and report if they are violated and educate the public yes, sexual abuses do exist and we need to put a stop to it asap rather than lambasting its victims for being troublemakers and liars.
Survivor: ” I was abused at Louisiana School For the Deaf for several years during my stay there.
almost 10 years ago, I went on the news to speak out against the sex abuse in hopes of preventing it happening to the future children that come in through these doors. Only that my action resulted in lot of people being angry at me and said “I’m a liar and troublemaker”. This frustrated me because I knew it would not stop because it seemed like everyone was in denial. The deaf school had task force set up and everything for the last several years. It seems like that it is not really making postive results.
I just feel very very sad for these kids that had to go through what I went through and have to deal with it later in life as an adult.
I never asked to be abused in the first place- my first sexual abuse was at 10 years old by a older kid. It wasn’t the first and last time. It stopped when I left the school at age 16.”
Survivor, I am sorry you were abused few times on the campus and weren’t treated appropriately by the public when you came forward. You showed true courage by sharing your experiences. More victims are more outspoken nowdays. I hope you are doing ok. If not, please seek counseling. There is a survivor’s group for Deaf people who were sexually abused that you may want to check out. If you are interested, contact this person huggyangels@earthlink.net MZ
P.S. I did some digging and apparently the sex abuses at LSD were chronic, according to this article. It’s much worse than I ever thought. This is so sad that the only one 100% deaf school in the state isn’t safe for the students. The Deaf students deserve to have an appropriate education in a safe environment. :/
in the early 1990s, court records show. A four-part WBRZ series in 1999 uncovered “numerous and unabated” sexual incidents among students at the school, including rapes and molestations, many of which were not reported to police.
Additionally, hundreds of pages of police and school incident reports show at least 32 incidents of sexual misconduct among students in the past five years, ranging from rape to sexual battery to inappropriate touching
While in the 1990s the school’s problems seemed to be limited to inappropriate sexual behavior among students, the problem today includes teachers and staff accused of being offenders.
The seven adults arrested from May 2003 to April 2008 are all deaf and were either school employees or members of the state’s tight-knit deaf community. http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2008/10/deaf_school_abu.html
First post on this subject last April: http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena/2008/04/14/victory-for-uk-deaf-parents-five-lsd-arrests-bot-unaware/
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:59 am
This is definitely a serious problem… It appears that there is a pattern of older children abusing the younger, and that will set up a cycle that is self-perpetuating.
Not only do they need to have staff who know ASL but the school also needs to get mental health professionals who know ASL in there ASAP.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I know someone who went through the same thing in LSD. This school has history of negligence of sexual abuses happening on that campus and no one in adminstration had taken this very seriously and always avoided this topic. It’s nothing new, really.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
You are right LSD need clean up its act, also Government offices, also private schools, Christian schools, Muslim schools, jewish schools, Every where is nothing safe. What are we gonna do, parent’s duty to take care of kids and monitoring school. Too many parent trust schools. I think we should not point finger at DEAF schools, we just point finger at all school systems. Of course we are not worry about human being, just worry about our Deaf pride and want protection. Well, gonna be tough to fight for.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Correct!!!
LSD need clean their action were very poor judgement about their system were failed to prevent the sexual abuse going on with young kids. Lead their abuse contuine worsen.
I agree with Silentredwolf’s comment say they cannot accused Deaf school. Should accuse on Staff who did their professional consider became crime historical,etc. Clean up their action !!
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Anonymous, I am sorry to hear this has been a chronic systematic issue. Perhaps, now with the state investigators monitoring this, LSD will do a better job protecting the deaf children.
Silentredwolf, I agree that it’s happening everywhere as I commented on that at the beginning of the post. However, as members of Deaf Community, we need to be concerned as these children are our future. If we don’t speak up, who will watch out for these kids? I know a friend, an alumnus of that school, choosing to send deaf her kids elsewhere.
Deaf Pixie, yes the staff workers must be held accountable, of course. As of now, I believe at least five staff members were fired within the last year due to the sexual abuses.
Deaf Pundit, it is a serious problem there and yes, counseling should be provided to the survivors, so they can heal and break the vicious cycle of some molested kids victimizing other kids.
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
This is outrageous and totally preventable, proof of this exists in some schools where abuse is immediately exposed and stopped through use of preschool education programs such as “Good touch-Bad touch” and “Stop, Go, Tell”. Potential abusers in these schools are deterred by the history of the school for zero tolerance and immediate dismissal.
Parents (and this applies to ALL parents of ALL students, hearing, deaf or any) should ask their schools what the policies are and about past history. If the school is not up to par, this is the quickest way to bring the school up to standard: parent pressure.
Don’t accept brushoffs or casual dismissals. Ask to see proof such as written policies. Ask to see public records such as newspaper archives, police notations, court rulings. This takes more work, but adds pressure to schools that need it.
Befriend the teachers and staff and ask them about people or situations you should be careful about letting your child into. Depending on how you couch your queries, e.g. without asking for names or appearing as if they could get in trouble, you can get information. Do the same with other parents and Deaf adults who graduated from the school.
Deaf kids in mainstream schools, especially when very young and the language not fully developed between the hearing and the deaf children, abuse is more likely to occur and not be detected. This is a special situation that needs special attention.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Dianrez said,
“Deaf kids in mainstream schools, especially when very young and the language not fully developed between the hearing and the deaf children, abuse is more likely to occur and not be detected. This is a special situation that needs special attention.”
Re-read this… what she said….”the language not fully developed”
How true it is!
That is the root of the whole problem…why majority of the Deaf kids have this problem…”the language not fully developed”
And why their language is not fully developed?
Think about it!
And what is the solution to this problem?…. Biased ideology of how Deaf children should not learn their natural visual language and be taught the oral only method language which caused so many problems trying to develop cognitive development skills for Deaf children.
It is time to CHANGE for the better because too many deaf people have been having language problems since AGBell took away sign language and forced oral only method education/communication for toooooooooo long since 1880.
Enough is Enough!
Let’s get to the ROOT of the problem!
It is lack of cognitive language at start for deaf babies.
Let start bilingual ideology!…..and eliminate all these problems that parents, deaf children, teachers been having since 1880.
It’s simple common sense ideology that AGBell doesn’t want you to know…. for their own self-interest capitalism ideology…making tons of money on ORAL ONLY METHOD for deaf babies and children in schools and disregard of the vast majority of the failures of their “achievement” and only boost the few “cream of the crop” oralist to the society of their so-called “successful achievement”. And that is a big shame!
And YOU KNOW IT!… But remain to be oppressed to say nothing! It is time to get out of the box and start the betterment for the Deaf babies and children in schools.
John
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Sexual assault in schools for the deaf is a pervasive problem. The assaults happen by teachers to students, staff to students and older students to younger students (the older students were assaulted by teachers or staff and then act out their experience on younger students). It has been going on since about 1860 and earlier. It has nothing to do with mainstreaming or anything else.
I’ve been in deaf schools where rapes were taking place in plain sight and staff and students went on as if nothing was happening. (Yes, I reported it to the authorities.) These assaults happen among all signing deaf people from deaf families as well as deaf students from other backgrounds.
Once I was in an audience watching a true-to-life play about a deaf child abused by the Superintendent of the School and it became clear that the whole deaf community of deaf school students have been victimized through sexual assaults and then have become part of a cover-up. Shhh . . . Don’t Tell!
If we do a study, we’ll find that probably 98% of deaf school students have been sexually assaulted by a teacher, staff member or older deaf student.
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Many studies on this area have been documented.
This one is sobering:
A study of 482 children with documented maltreatment evaluated at the Center for Abused Handicapped Children at Boys Town Research Hospital in Omaha, NE, reveals that more than half (53.4%) of the deaf children report being sexually abused.[1]
In a study of 150 interviewed deaf youth at a residential school, 75 children reported being sexually abused, 19 reported being victims of incest, and 3 reported both physical and sexual abuse.[2]
——————————————————————————–
[1] Sullivan, P.M., M. Vernon, and J. Scanlan, J. Sexual Abuse of Deaf Youth. 132 American Annals of the Deaf (1987): 256-262.
[2] Sullivan, P.M., M. Vernon, and J. Scanlan, J. Sexual Abuse of Deaf Youth. 132 American Annals of the Deaf (1987): 256-262.
http://www.icasa.org/docs/child_sexual_abuse_-_DRAFT-7.doc
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
John, I believe LSD is a school where ASL is used, and has nothing to do with Oralism. Are you going to tell them “Enough is Enough” when it comes to sexual abuse, or is that only reserved for Oralism and AG Bell?
This is a serious problem as evidenced by MZ’s previous blog posts. This appears to be an ongoing situation where sexual abuse is prevalent, and that study she posted – that’s quite alarming! I think it’s time the Deaf Community faces this and does something!
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Deaf Pundit,
Read what MZ said,
“An alert deaf student attempted to inform her, but the chaperon ignored the warning due to her limited knowledge of ASL. The chaperon has been fired since then and the older student allegedly charged as an adult.”
The lack of knowledge of ASL is the main issue. The problem will continue if there is not much visual intelligence communication language around the school or community which been deprived by AGBell since 1880.
John
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
John, while I do agree that the chaperone’s lack of ASL knowledge while was a major factor, that does not mean that it is the ONLY problem. This is not an oral or ASL problem. This goes beyond whatever language we use and what culture/identity we identify with!
See here: http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2008/10/deaf_school_abu.html
You cannot blame lack of ASL knowledge on this, and I think that is truly irresponsible for anyone to claim otherwise.
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Deaf Pundit,
You said in your comment to me,
“You cannot blame lack of ASL knowledge on this, and I think that is truly irresponsible for anyone to claim otherwise.”
And then in your first comment #1 above, you said,
“Not only do they need to have staff who know ASL but the school also needs to get mental health professionals who know ASL in there ASAP.”
Make up your mind whether ASL is very important or not in the Deaf Culture.
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
John,
My mind’s already made up, thanks.
We are talking about sexual abuse. Does the lack of communication increase the potential of sexual abuse? Yes, but that does not mean that having every single person in the school knowing ASL will make the sexual abuse stop.
I thought that was obvious – after all, it’s been mentioned numerous times that the older children, who know ASL, committed these offenses against their younger peers. Then when you look at the links provided here in the blog, you’ll find Deaf ASL users committing those offenses as well.
But no, let’s all of us blame AG Bell for every single problem in the Deaf Community! They are the Devil, and enough is enough! Let them buuuuuurn!
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
This post covers systematic sexual abuses in a residential deaf school going on for at least two decades. Obviously the communication methods have no merits as Deaf staff were also abusing the Deaf students sexually.
Please keep the discussion to the topic of sexual abuses in deaf schools as I don’t want this discussion to be derailed by the politics of communication methods. Otherwise this won’t be fair for concerned readers and the Deaf survivors of sexual abuses. Thanks.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I should clarify my remarks…Oralism is not the cause of sexual abuse. Lack of effective communication is.
Where the child does not know what to do, or does not know if it is wrong, there is potential for abuse. If the child does not know what to say or whom to say it to, that creates potential. Where the child is in a situation that is not protected or supervised, potential again.
Educational programs for both children of all ages and the staff is necessary in the language that is being used in that school. The idea of zero tolerance needs to be communicated to all, and telling someone expected of all. An environment of openness and acceptance of “telling” needs to be in place so deterrence and exposure is used to prevent abuse. This applies to every school environment and to all children.
Abuse is often introduced into a school environment like a virus by adults or children who were themselves abused when young.
A problem is that deaf children are more vulnerable, so one of the solutions needs to be extra vigilance as well as zero tolerance and preventive education.
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Dianrez writes at 10>52 p.m.: writes:
You hit the nail on the head. If the chaperon had excellent receptive communication, s/he would have stopped the abuse.
Off on an angle, I would suggest video surveillance in every room and hall and even on bus. (I have seen the abuse amongst hearing students on school buses on TV.)
October 4th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Terry Goffman is a pseudonym used by someone who is biased. The entry above is almost certainly invented.
October 5th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Joe Corbin, Mary Davis, Earl Farris and Marty Blakey have been frequently reported about their inapproriate touchings among students.
Gee! Those listed individuals are still employed at the WV School for the Deaf, Romney, WV.
Not only more of the past school faculty and staff personnels engaged in vouyersim, ex. wander around the shower area and took the peeks and had some excuses to waltz in the shower areas.
Ever some WVSD school faculty and staff personnels undressed themselves and took the showers with students at present.
One hearing WVSD houseparent watched the entire sexual liaison between hetrosexual deaf students in the gym shower room and told them not to worry about him being in the room. The deaf teenagers had to keep going on or will be busted or reported. That was during the summer school program in late 70s.
Several hearing male houseparents usually hugged female deaf teenage students or let them kissed on the lips.
Never forget about witnessing one hearing female houseparent french-kissed with 10 years old male deaf students as handful of deaf male students made whoops and excited sounds to hooray for the adult female and 10 years old male student french-kissed in the elementary boys dormitory bathroom- Dorm 2. Her husband became the future county supt. Huh!
Several female houseparents keep giggled when they came in the pre-puberty 10-12 years old deaf boys during the shower time. The boys suddenly covered up themselves with towels, but those female houseparents often pulled their towels and told them not to be ashamed of their pre-developed bodies with big smiles. Those female houseparents did discuss about some boys’ male gential sizes, etc. Several boys and I lipreaded them.
One deaf former science teacher lived next to the elementary boys dormitory. His apartment have one door with “half-door” which could make possible for him peek between the wide cracks of the door to observe boys running in nude. He got caught later with the physical assault on one boy outside the school campus during the boys scout retreat. That boy ended up in the maximum security prison now for violent sexual crimes against women.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
October 5th, 2008 at 11:11 am
RLM:
Please ask the blogger to help you remove some
of your paragraphs because you fingerpoint at
some people with their names. You CAN get in trouble. It is not necessary for you to reveal the names.
October 5th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Why should I ask MZ to remove my comment postings? It’s a time for the whole world to be aware of the following individuals what they done to numerous deaf students at the WV School for the Deaf.
I did not enclose more of other individuals done real atricious things to deaf students including inapporiate behaviors like french-kissing with the 10 years old student.
Why the WV School for the Deaf keep hiring the unemployed hearing locals without sign language fluency?? Plz!!!
I have no fear of getting in legal troubles. I have to stir up the black kettle now to get more exposures to what is going on with the WV School for the Deaf!!!!!!
RLM
October 5th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
RLM,
I speechless about one staff french-kissed 10 yr old boy. I’m dumbfound about 10 yr old.. it is much younger than I was victims by 19 yr old. Kind of difference of age.
I am kind of forgot about today is much worsen than 1980’s.. but still no matter what. Houseparents need to be more traning and more profesional.It is not acceptable about being taught by teacher or staff as such things.
You did caught by lipread. I think it is good to know what was going on if you complete understood what they are doing hell with kids. Bring a huge tape on their lips. Need to stop teach kids to be child molster or prevert stuff.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
RLM,
OOps! I mean I was 19 yr old when I became victims. my grammar is not excellent! Forgive me
October 5th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
RLM:
You miss the point. You should have reported or should be going to report to the authorities. If they ignore you, it’s a good idea for you to form a demonstration with stydents and alumni against the superintendent of the school and notify the news media. Parents would protest against the school. That would open the cans of worms. The education board would fire the superintendent and others.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
RLM, Anon has an excellent suggestion. If you have the energy, it may be productive for you to contact your former dormmates and report this to the legal authorities and the media? That would mean justice for you and others.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I agree with anyone to name the monsters who molest the children. if they go to courts, go for it. The monsters are playing out in the field. No one names them.. no one challenges them. everyone is scared. Terrylene told us a few years ago… never keep quiet… NEVER… now some of you are telling us to keep quiet? NO WAY. thanks, RLM
October 6th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Unforunately, many former students at the WV School for the Deaf do not see your (MZ, Anon and others) like getting banded together to puruse the real justice to get rid of school personnels with shady characters. They keep looking another way and move on.
I am pretty controvestial and outspoken and doer myself, but not many deaf West Virginians whine and whine and do nothing to make real differences!
I am kinda an outcast in deaf WV right now, because I never am in the sync with them. Many deaf and hearing West Virginians branded me as too liberal. Moi, liberal? Aha!
I do see myself as politically moderate and believe in doing right things.
Albert W really gave a great advice for all of us to make some ripples in the pond for more and more deaf people come forward to shake up the system and call the violators to the real justice.
I am much aware that I could be SUED or drag in the court if I make any slander or libel stuff about anyone else. That’s the way I want to name the sexual predators and adult bullies whose done such things beyond imagination to the deaf WVSD students. I know that they would not dare to get me in legal troubles because I could mobilize anyone at the WVSD to come forward and get them together to puruse the real action.
That is the real beginning of what I am doing now!
Too many deaf West Virginians end up in prisons, emotionally damaged life, high rate of divorce and other more.
I never forgot that the WVSD under David West, former principal for the Secondary School to offer Donald Lurwick, deaf science teacher to leave the school employment or get fired. That was in late 70s. Wasn’t he supposed to prosecuted for horrible crime against deaf youngster? Nah!
Donald Lurwick raped the 13 years old deaf sweet-natured boy coming from the foster family during the Boy Scouts Jamboree retreat. The foster mother was happened to be the WVSD elementary teacher got real outraged and banged up on Donald Lurwick’s apartment in the elementary biys dormitory wing.
Lurwick got another job at the residential school for the deaf in PA. What about the possible endangerment of other deaf youths?
Lurwick is a current TDI chapter president in Philadephia area right now.
I did email Lurwick to meet me in Philadephia last summer 2008 to see how he is doing lately. Guess what? Lurwick never responded to my email message at all. I asked around about Donald Lurwick as some deaf individuals admitted that they got real creepy feelings about him. I was talking about some deaf hetrosexual people.
One deaf dean of student living and Gallaudet graduate himself had a regular s e x u a l liasons with mentally deficient deaf girl after the lunchtime as every students went back to the school building from the cafetria area in the dormitory building. Almost everyone turned the blind eyes what was going on with that sexual liasion.
I was only the one, who pegged some teachers to do something. The school principal almost never was at his office and got real busy with the Jaycee organizational stuff outside the school. That was Dr. David Denton’s brother-in-law, former Maryland School for the Deaf supt – David West.
Joe Corbin (hearing) hired someone deaf to be the new dean of student living. Many people constantly complained about his inapproriate behaviors like slapping on several students’ rear behinds as some kind of sports. That deaf dean often waltzed into the girls’ dormitory during the evening time with girls using nightgowns, etc.
The supt had to intervene and instructed that dean for not doing it again. In the end, the school finally assigned that deaf individual to the visual aids office after he did not jump into the river to save the student. That dean rather removed his shoes first and walked into the river to get the student. The school found out about this incident and questioned his fitness to be the dean of student living and demoted him.
One deaf houseparent had sexual relationship with deaf female teenager, then fired and re-hired him years later. That deaf individual was a Gallaudet graduate, too.
WVSD really have nothing like the parents associaton and real active alumni group.
Look at the hiring of new hearing supt. from the inside, instead of fresh face and ideas and blood!
We must make some waves and do the real difference to expose the monsters within the educational system of the deaf.
FYI, I never ############ molested. I was once groped by Joe Corbin, wrestling coach and the principal now. I confronted him right away which he hold the letter of recommendation over my head for attending Gallaudet. That was it!
I kept seeing many things happened and made real impossible for me to contact the authorities without getting physically and verbally threatened from students and school personnels.
The school personnels often pushed students to attack me verbally and physically to turn me into ############ person. I fought back every time.
RLM
October 6th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
filtered out word was s u b m i s s i ve
another word was s e x u a l l y molested
RLM
October 6th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
RLM:
Your post makes many things clearer. In fact, now I understand everything with crysal clarity.
T.G.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Mz,
After midnight I saw one of vlog from DeafVideo.tv the person say one person sucicide recently. I read other and your blogs. I don’t see update with that issues if it is true about the person killed himself?
I am not quiet sure if it is true or misunderstood. I might read missed some else’s blog or vlog, either.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am
You understood her correctly. She said that twice in different vlogs. I didn’t see it in the newspapers
October 9th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
MZ, I will check different vlogs.
Correct I did not read newspaper at all.. Just only DeafVide.tv & DeafRead.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
MZ,
Thanks for posting my comment on your entry- I feel honored to be heard by you. I honestly wish that it was the same for everyone back in Louisiana.
Even though the years after the whole exposure of LSD on sexual abuse, my name still caused lot of stir. I kind of was exiled from the deaf community- not that I cared in the first place. I never wanted to be in LSD in the first place- I remember visiting the school when I was around nine years old got a bad feeling when I stepped my foot on the campus. I just knew something was not right and I begged my parents not to send me there.
As for my emotional/mental status- I’m doing great than before as compared my time at LSD. During my time at LSD, as result of these abuses I’ve suffered; I went into a very severe depression and was medicated to keep functional. I relied on these medicines to help me keep functional and I was still depressed during my time at the school. Over these six years I’ve resided at the school, I have attempted suicide several times and was seeing a counselor. I never really told the counselor what was going on. It was sort of a ugly secret for me. I learned how to numb and split myself into two so I wouldn’t hurt too much from these abuses which of course caused these depressive episodes.
I moved on emotionally/mentally after going on the news- telling their dirty secret publicly was a huge relief. Even though I showed some emotions- such as feeling angry after reading these so many reports on sex abuses that the school hadn’t dealt with. I also felt sad because of these next generation of children were going to experience the same dirty secret I experienced.
I have to admit, that I read about all these situations with LSD currently brought lot of unwanted memories and lot of realizations. For example, I realized my psychological problems wasn’t related to me but it was really related to the sex abuse that happened to me. I admit that I feel angry that they did not do the job well enough to protect these kids.
It might be a horrible thing for me to say this, but I am personally glad that they closed that school. I know these kids need deaf school but how can they learn or at least lead their lives while with all these horrible situations happening to them? it’s not very suitable learning environment for them. Even safe either. These days- we are hypervilgant of our kids-where they go, what they do and other simple things that we need to know about our kids. That is because there is predators lurking in the dark everywhere- even on the internet, schools, malls and everywhere that nobody could ever imagine could happen.
But in the same rhythm- I am happy that they are finally realizing their problem is serious enough and that they need to do something about it NOW not later.
Basically, I have lot of mixed feelings right now. I just hope that this time, it will be done right. So that I don’t have to read about this whole same thing again in 10 years in the future.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I think they need to have DEAF people look at the school itself and make recommendations, not someone who has little or not much experience with deafness making assumptions about what is best for the school.
October 15th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Survivor, I was saddened to hear the reception you received. Exposing sexual abuses is still a taboo in the Deaf Community as they want to protect their Deaf schools. However, like you said, the Deaf children do have a right to receive education in a SAFE environment. The effects of the sexual abuses can be devastating and long-reaching, as you know. I am glad you made a full recovery.
I’ve contacted the coordinator of a Deaf Domestic Violence Agency to explore about the possibility of educating the Deaf Community how unhealthy it is to hide the sexual abuses and that it actually enables the pedophiles to continue victimizing more innocent Deaf students. Apparently there is a need for further education so the Deaf Community will protect its members, including the younger ones.
Thank you for sharing your story. I am honored that you trusted me enough.