"I went to University Hall because I didn't know anybody, but later I felt more comfortable getting notes from friends." Davis says.

The interpreter and note-taking services offered by Harvard adequately meet the needs of deaf students in the classroom says Lisa Chertkov, former president of Advocating a Better Learning Environment (ABLF) a group of students concerned about the disabled at Harvard.

But Chertkov adds that the University still has a long way to go toward helping deaf students participate in extra curricular activities and instructing professors and teaching assistants in the use of interpreters.

Cooper says having a deaf student and an interpreter in his class took some getting used to. He says he had to learn to slow down when the interpreter could not keep up with his lectures.

"Most colleges that don't have a large number of deaf students don't have advisors who are familiar with deafness." Motulsky says. While most schools offer interpreter and notetaking services, they do nothing to assist deaf students in other activities, including appointments with professors, she notes

Deaf students typically have a tough time in section meetings since there is "no was to replace the give and take" between students and their section leaders, says Crooks.

"Like everywhere else, it's difficult to have a disablity here." Cherkoy Despite the special aid programs, she says, "it can be really rough."

Harvard provides interpreters for lectures, but other parts of the academic experience are impossible to translate for deaf students: there's "no way to replace the give and take" in section meetings, says Thomas E. Crooks '49, who coordinates services for handicapped students.