Gallaudet University
Who We Are
Our Work
Overview
News & Stories
Sep 26, 2023
Sep 25, 2023
Sep 22, 2023
Upcoming Events
October 4, 2023
October 5, 2023
University Wide Events
No Communication Compromises
Areas of Study
Schools
Programs
Changing the world
Research
Community & Innovation
Research Experiences & Services
Our Global Presence
Global at Home
Global Learning For All
Global Engagement
Your Journey Starts Here
Admissions
Financial Aid
Explore Our Campus
Connect
Discover
Influence
Directories
Popular Keywords
Explore
Quick Links
GU
/
Deaf U
Deaf U follows the lives of seven Gallaudet students as they navigate the ups and downs of relationships, college, and life in general–did we mention it all takes place at Gallaudet University?
By showing us their experience, these students have shown the world our culture, diversity, and ASL vibrancy. While there’s plenty of popcorn-worthy drama, we hope Deaf U sparks conversation and opens doors to help redefine society’s perception and understanding of deaf people.
[Start Video Transcript]
Deaf U is a coming-of-age reality series following a tight-knit group of Deaf students at Gallaudet University, a renowned private college for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, in Washington, D.C.
As the group of friends navigate the high, lows, and hookups of college life together, their stories offer an unprecedented, unfiltered, and often unexpected look inside Deaf community. From executive producer Nyle DiMarco.
Watch Deaf U, only on Netflix:
https://www.netflix.com/deafu
SUBSCRIBE:
http://bit.ly/29qBUt7
About Netflix:
Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
Deaf U | Official Trailer | Netflix
https://youtube.com/Netflix
In this reality series, a tight-knit group of Deaf and hard of hearing students share their stories and explore life at Gallaudet University.
[End Video Transcript]
The show promises to offer “an unprecedented, unfiltered, and often unexpected look inside the deaf community.
Get ready for a college experience like you’ve never seen before.
In the fall of 2019, Gallaudet University welcomed New York-based Hot Snakes Media to our campus. Gallaudet alumnus Nyle DiMarco, ’13, served as executive producer along with several other deaf individuals and Gallaudet alumni to make this project a reality.
Our role was small–other than allowing filming on campus–Gallaudet had no official position with the creation, casting, or approval of Deaf U. Nevertheless, we appreciate both Hot Snakes Media and Netflix seeing the importance of involving deaf people both in front and behind the camera.
Gallaudet is a diverse campus where our students hail from different parts of the world and come from a variety of backgrounds. Did you know that about one-third of our student population are new signers? One-third of the student body also comes from mainstream schools. Gallaudet is a place where you find your future!
Find your place here and discover what drives you at Gallaudet University. Apply today at
https://gu.live/apply.
Our students do not come here because being Deaf needs to be “overcome.”Rather, they come because Gallaudet is a place that strives to provide a welcoming home where students can validate their worth, live their own truths and discover their best selves.
Contact an admissions counselor to get started on college planning.
A common thread was the desire to showcase their experience, their journey at Gallaudet, the only school in the world to provide a visually accessible bilingual education in American Sign Language and English.
This was a diverse group of students, with differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, education, language and upbringing. One student was a new signer; some came from hearing families and others from deaf families.
Recurring roles: Zane Pedersen and Cameron Symansky
Cheyenna Clearbrook; Daequan Taylor, ’19; Tessa Lewis, ’20; Alexa Paulay-Simmons, ’20; Renate Rose, ’20; Rodney Burford; and Dalton Taylor; Raelyn Ruechtmann.
If you have a question specific to the Workday Student Implementation Project or impacts on your business unit, please submit your question using the Contact Us form at the bottom of the page.
If you have a question regarding Workday HR and Finance, or other technical or account questions, please visit our Services Portal & Knowledge Articles or submit a Human Resources Service Ticket, Finance Office Ticket or Gallaudet Technology Services Ticket.
Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are recommended for the best functionality. Workday can also be used with the following browsers:
As we get closer to go-live, readiness and training sessions will be provided. Various kinds of training will be available based on your role at Gallaudet University (faculty, staff, and student).
Workday Student will provide timely, cost-effective, mobile-enabled functionality to all users, including faculty, staff, and students. The product automates, simplifies, and standardizes processes that are currently manual. Having all aspects of the institution operated with Workday enables deeper reporting capabilities and effective communication between all departments.
Workday infrastructure, policies, and procedures ensure that your data is secure and protected. Security threats and risks are mitigated through strong internal controls and a comprehensive security program. Workday regularly passes rigorous third-party compliance audits.
Workday Student terminology will replace some of our current terms. A comprehensive list of Commonly User Terms and Workday Translators are available for your reference.
Yes! Workday is mobile-friendly. Administrators, admissions professionals, faculty, staff, and students will be able to access Workday using their mobile devices through the Workday mobile application.
Bison (PeopleSoft). This is the current system where faculty, staff, and students access information about courses, grades, registering for classes, and paying for tuition. Additional systems that support the student experience are under review as the project timeline, and plans are finalized.
Implementation of Workday Student officially kicked off in September 2022. It is expected to take 24 months to complete and will be live in the Fall of 2024. Unlike the last deployment of HCM and Finance, Workday Student will have multiple deployments of functionally called rolling go-lives aligned with the Academic Calendar.
Deaf elitism is one of several recurring themes throughout Deaf U. There is no one definition of what “Deaf elite” means, but more often than not, it refers to privileges that certain deaf people have by being born to deaf parents who are known in the community, having language access from birth with native ASL skills or fluency in English, being able to go to a deaf school before going to college, and seeming to enjoy “favored status” within their communities.
The term “Deaf elite” has been used in our community conversations for some time now. When Deaf U was in production, various cast members confronted this term and presented multiple perspectives and definitions of what the term meant to them. While there is no real consensus on the meaning of this term, “Deaf elite” generally implies a group of Deaf individuals with higher privileges within the Deaf community.
At Gallaudet and elsewhere in the deaf community, there are many different ways to be deaf, and there is no one right way to be deaf. Gallaudet University encourages more healthy conversations and critical examination of Deaf U’s presentation of the “Deaf elite.” Understanding power, privilege, and oppression are essential in these conversations. Different Deaf community members are already sharing their perspectives online via social media and blogs, and we expect that the discussions around this term will evolve
Here’s what Deaf U’s producers have to say about the show’s origins:
ERIC EVANGELISTA: I first came up with the idea for this show about three years ago. I’m a big fan of the Freeform show Switched at Birth. I love coming-of-age stories, and I also loved that the show featured Deaf actors who were blended in with the rest of the teenage characters. I found the sign language included in the show so interesting — it introduced me to a world I knew very little about, and I began thinking about a reality show centered on the Deaf community. I’ve developed shows with Naimah [Holmes] before, so I called her and was like, “What do you think of this?” And she thought it was great. Then the stars just aligned, and we got Nyle on board as well.
NAIMAH HOLMES: We worked closely with a woman we met through Eric’s production lawyer named Peggy Ann St. John Wenger, an Associate Producer on the series. Peggy, who is deaf, is a Gallaudet graduate, and she helped me dive into the project and immerse myself in the Deaf community. I got to explore the community before we began casting and filming, and I met all our cast members’ families. We went on a scouting trip, and I saw all the dorms, got to go to some parties — it was a real cultural deep dive. It was really about them pulling me in and accepting me for me to say then, “Okay, let’s make a show together.” Peggy helped round up and galvanize the students and the parents.
NYLE DiMARCO: I’m a Gallaudet alum, and back in my college days, my friends and I always used to say that we needed a reality TV show about Gallaudet because we knew it would just kill. Every time we would go on spring break, hearing people were so fascinated with us. They would always want to party with us, and they were obsessed with our language and how we communicated. So it was clear that there was genuine interest in our culture. People outside our community don’t understand the Deaf world and don’t recognize that Deaf students possess complicated layers. We have so much diversity and so much beauty within our community. We’re not a monolith. Gallaudet is the perfect entry point for people to see the variety and depth, and breadth of who we are.
The students in the cast are (listed alphabetically):