DEAF LIFE wants to know what you think about “hot topics” and important issues affecting the Deaf community. Browse through the series menu below and choose any question to start with. (Each series consists of 6 questions.) Click on the question to view the poll form and response box. You can switch to any other question or series, and respond in any order. The complete list of questions is also posted on the lefthand menu. Results are tabulated and published every month in DEAF LIFE, together with a sampling of responses. Detailed responses will be posted online.

Series 1
Are cochlear implants a form of child abuse?
Should hearing parents lose custody of their deaf children if they refuse to learn sign language?
Opponents of Deaf Culture claim that its supporters make up only a tiny minority of the deaf population, and that most deaf people don’t support Deaf Culture. Do you agree?
Do most hearing parents have an innate prejudice against sign language?
If deaf people aren’t disabled, why should they claim protection under the ADA and other disability-rights legislation?
Should Gallaudet University allot equal funding to oralist-oriented courses and research?

Series 2
For success in the workplace, is literacy more important than speechreading / speaking skills?
Are most hearing people still ignorant about deaf people and their concerns, or have you noticed an improvement in attitude?
If deaf people claim that they’re members of a minority culture, shouldn’t they give up their SSI/SSD (disability) benefits?
Is the Deaf community trying to cover up incidents of sexual and physical abuse in schools for the deaf?
Has the cochlear-implant industry done anything to benefit the Deaf community?
Are organized Deaf sports in the U.S.A. in a state of decline?

Series 3
Have residential schools for the deaf outlived their usefulness? Are they “relics”?
If a deaf person chooses to get a cochlear implant, should s/he be rejected by the Deaf community?
Should there be a university or college specifically for hard-of-hearing or oral-deaf people?
Should deaf people be entitled to government benefits just because they’re deaf? (This is already the situation in Japan.)
Should Deaf Culture advocates try to stop Federal funding of research to cure deafness?
Do hearing sportswriters ignore or downplay the achievements of deaf athletes?

Series 4
If deaf-education programs don’t give students speech training or offer cochlear implants and other technological aids, is that child abuse?
Can schools and colleges improve deaf students’ literacy by banning American Sign Language (ASL) from the classrooms?
Are Deaf Culture advocates spreading the message that it’s “bad” to want to hear better?
Does the Deaf Community unfairly stereotype ALL hearing people as oppressors?
If you’re an alumna/alumnus of NTID, Gallaudet University, or NCOD/CSUN, are you eager to contribute money to support these colleges?
On a competitive level, do deaf athletes have equal opportunities as compared to hearing athletes?

Series 5
Were the "Unity for Gallaudet" protesters justified in ousting Jane Kelleher Fernandes?
Should there be more Deaf-accessible community-college programs?
Do you support teaching sign language to deaf babies?
Do we have a shortage of mentors (role models) for Deaf students of color?
Can a Deaf person accused of a capital crime get a fair trial under our justice system?
Is there such a thing as “Deaf art”?

Series 6
Should Deaf murderers be exempt from the death penalty?
Does the Deaf community have a single strong, effective leader?
Do we need, and should we preserve, the National Theatre of the Deaf?
Its’s been 17 years since the ADA was signed into law. Has there been a major improvement?
Should all police officers have basic sign-language training, or at the least, should interpreters be provided every time a deaf person is arrested?
Were “Deaf identity politics” the real cause of the 2006 Gallaudet University protests?

Series 7
Should we set up a National Deaf Caucus?
Looking back at DPN, is our dream still alive?
Was AGBell justified in protesting PepsiCo’s ASL commercial?
Should NTID remove the plaque honoring Alexander Graham Bell and rename Bell Hall?
Is it ethical for hearing-run VRS providers to make profits from providing technology to deaf customers?
Is ASL/Deaf theater in the U.S.A. in a state of decline?

Series 8
Should we have the right to choose deaf embryos?
Is the DBC doing the right thing by standing up to AGBell?
Should schools for the deaf admit hearing students?
Does the Deaf Community have political clout?
Should schools with an ASL/English Bilingual mission set up oral classes?
Should charter schools for the deaf be run by Deaf people?

Series 9
Does the Deaf community have more than enough Deaf-owned businesses?
Do we need a new COED?
Are you happy with the NAD?
Are you a member? If so, are you satisfied with the NAD? If you’re not a member, why aren’t you?
Do schools do enough to promote deaf students’ artistic talents?
Do Deaf victims of domestic violence have a tougher time getting access to needed services?
Do ASL–using Deaf people have to “be taken care of” all their lives?

Series 10
Is it “crazy” and “selfish” for Deaf parents to want—and to have—deaf children?
Does Scouting have a place in the Deaf Community?
Have deaf people finally achieved telecommunications equality? Why or why not?
Will the growing number of deaf children receiving cochlear implants put schools for the deaf out of business?
If a “Deaf” role has almost always been played by a hearing actor, is it okay to continue doing so?
Should all deaf and deafblind roles be played only by deaf or deafblind actors?

Series 11
Is there sufficient public awareness of, and support for, Deaf artists?
Do people automatically become members of the Deaf community by being born deaf?
Does the Deaf community get the best possible quality of eye care?
Does audism make Deaf athletes tougher and better competitors?
Are things better or worse for the Deaf community now than they were 25, 10, or even 5 years ago?
Should the VRS industry be taken over and owned by Deaf people?

Series 12
Is there sufficient support in the Deaf community for victims of abuse?
Should audiologists be the first point of contact for parents of deaf babies?
Will the ICED 2010 declaration repudiating the 1880 Congress of Milan make a difference?
Could the 1880 Congress of Milan happen again?
Does publicizing sex-abuse allegations help other victims to come forward?
Can deaf players succeed in pro football?

Series 13
Is it harder for Deaf women of color than men to break into non-traditional fields?
Should all state schools for the deaf become charter schools?
Does the Deaf community have good sports reportage?
Should all deaf puppies be adopted instead of killed?
Is it tougher for Deaf victims of domestic violence and sexual assault?
Are ASL-using Deaf people “prisoners of silence”?

Series 14
Does the Deaf community have enough political power?
It is fair for states to close schools for the deaf as budget-cutting measures?
Is merging schools for
the deaf and blind a good idea?
Do most parents of deaf babies
understand the options before
committing to any approach?
Can any one person truly be said
represent the Deaf community?

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