DEAF LIFE wants to know what you think about “hot topics” and important issues affecting the Deaf community. This is a personal-opinion poll feature. We welcome your opinions, views, and feedback. Results are tabulated and published every month in DEAF LIFE, together with a number of responses.

There are currently four series, each containing 6 questions—a total of 24. Browse through the series menu below and choose any question to start with. 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.

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? Should Gallaudet University allot equal funding to oralist-oriented courses and research? 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-riights legislation? Series #2 What’s more important for success in the workplace: literacy or speecchreading/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? 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 audiological 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?

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