DeKALB | Deaf Pride will be hosting a free “Movie Night” at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium to conclude Deaf Awareness Week.

The group will provide free popcorn, soda and a showing of the 1996 German film “Beyond Silence” with open captions. The movie deals with a young woman who comes to terms with the responsibilities of assisting her deaf parents as she gets older. A majority of the film contains
actors signing in their native language.

“It sounds similar to American Sign Language,” said Deaf Pride President Lola Duran. “But it’s completely different.”

The film, which Duran calls “heartbreaking and touching,” was selected because of its depiction of deaf culture.

The movie night comes at the end of Deaf Awareness Week. The five-day event featured activities that promote the culture, including “DeafTown,” an event where people could only communicate using sign language. Any offenders caught talking were put in a mock jail. Additionally was the popular “SignSync,” an event where popular music is performed through sign language.

“It’s always really laid-back and really fun,” said Ashley Brockway, Deaf Pride vice president, who was set to perform “Haukuna Matata” from “The Lion King.”

Brockway, who is hard of hearing, has been a member of Deaf Pride for two semesters. Before she came to NIU, the psychology major often felt like an outsider.

Duran had similar experiences. She was called stupid, and hid that she was hard of hearing while growing up. When she came to college, her sister was running Deaf Pride and was only half-interested in becoming a member. After some convincing and finally joining, NIU became an eye-opening experience for her.

“I fell in love with the subject of disability,” she said. “I wanted to help spread deaf culture.”
The accountancy major said people commonly have the misconception that you have to be able to sign in order to join Deaf Pride, but that’s not the case. The group, which varies between 15-30 people at any given meeting, is open to all students.

The next Deaf Pride meeting is 9 p.m. on Nov. 11 in Wirtz Hall Room 202.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.