The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 26

March 16, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 4 Features Women making history in 2021 March is national Women’s History Month: a time to celebrate all the women who have challenged the status quo and changed our lives forever. Every year, it is important to remember the women that came before us; those who fought to make sure that women had the right to vote, get an education, have access to affordable and safe birth control and work in previously male-dominated fields. However, a lot has changed just over the course of the last year, and this year especially, it is crucial to recognize the women who are making history in 2021. Let’s take a look at some women who are changing the game in the present. Kizzmekia Corbett Dr. KizzmekiaCorbett is a research scientist and team leader at the National Institute of Health. Her team has been largely credited with helping develop the Moderna vaccine, a mRNA vaccine that is more than 90% effective at fighting COVID-19. The Moderna vaccine was one of the first few vaccines approved for national use throughout the U.S. and has already been administered to thousands of frontline workers, elderly and other at-risk people. Thanks to Corbett, countless lives are being saved across the U.S. Greta Thunberg Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist from Sweden who gained notoriety when she began a youth strike to protest the government’s lack of involvement in the fight against climate change. While she was only 15 years old when she began striking outside of her school in 2018 in Sweden, she soon started an international protest predominantly attended by youth that helped bring attention to the Earth’s changing climate and the danger that holds if federal regulations aren’t put in place to fight it. To this day, Thunberg continues to gain international attention for her work for the environment. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a U.S. congresswoman serving the 14th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. In 2018, she defeated her 10-term long incumbent opponent in the race for a seat in the U.S. Congress. She became the youngest woman to hold a seat in Congress at age 29, and although she did not have a lot of money or a political history behind her when she ran, she was still able to defeat a longstanding opponent and has become one of the most notable names in political discussions today. Kamala Harris Kamala Harris is an American politician and is currently serving as the U.S.’s 49th vice president. Harris is not only the first female vice president, but also the first African-American vice president and the first Asian-American vice president. She has blazed a trail not only for women in high-power political positions today, but for those who want to pursue such jobs in the future. Harris prioritizes environmental protections and women’s rights in her legislation. A look through deaf eyes: History, culture and acceptance Deaf History Month, celebrated in March, explores the experiences and education of deaf persons and the development of deaf communities and deaf culture. Deaf individuals are those who are affected by varying degrees of deafness, or the partial or total inability to hear. According to Riva Markowitz, adjunct professor of American Sign Language (ASL) courses at NSU, and Jacqueline Hinckley, director of the undergraduate program of speech language pathology, there are approximately half a million deaf people in North America and 10 million individuals who have a hearing impairment to some degree. It’s important to note, however, not all people with a hearing impairment or people affected with a degree of deafness actively participate in the deaf community or are familiar with ASL. “There are many deaf people who only have a slight hearing loss or accept sign language as a form of communication or those who prefer oral communication. It’s an individual experience,” Hinckley explained. “There are different reasons or applications for sign language as well. It can be a primary language for some people but it can be a support for those with different kinds of communication disabilities like speech, and sometimes there just might be an aspect of sign language that is just helpful to utilize in their daily life.” In the past, however, deaf individuals faced social stigma due to misunderstanding and a lack of education about deafness, including how to effectively communicate with deaf individuals and educate those who experienced deafness. “That’s the reason why many people back then were institutionalized. If they could not learn how to communicate orally they were just put into institutions. They didn’t know sign language or how to implement it, so these individuals had no way to communicate By: Christina McLaughlin Co-Editor-in-Chief By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor effectively. They were just believed to be mentally-disabled or experiencing other difficulties,” said Markowitz. According to Hinckley, even though now we do know a lot more and have a better understanding of sign language and deafness, there is still carryover stigma associated with deafness. Yet,mediaandpublicfigurerepresentations of deaf actors portraying deaf culture such as the television show “Switched at Birth,” Nyle DiMarco, winner of Season 22 of “America’s Next Top Model” and Millicent Simmonds of “A Quiet Place” can change the way society still stigmatizes deafness and expand people’s understanding of what it means to be deaf. “I have heard a lot of students tell me they became interested in learning about sign language because of “Switched at Birth” or because they have a deaf friend or relative. They see it in their communities and their social circles and want to learn,” Markowitz said. According to Hinckley, this level of acceptance of ASL and other forms of communication with those that are deaf or hearing-impaired can ensure that information, such as governmental addresses and local community announcements are equally accessible to the entire population, no matter the preferred communication style be it interpreter or otherwise. Students who are interested in learning more about ASL and deaf culture are encouraged to access resources like SigningSavvy and ASLPro. NSU also offers three levels of American Sign Language courses available for all students that are not restricted to any major or particular program. To learn more, visit the Speech-Language Pathology website. By: Christina McLaughlin Co-Editor-in-Chief