Recently, my attention was called to the unfortunate events surrounding an interpreter coordinator in Virginia.  As I was scrolling through the various blogs related to this incident, I came across this blog entry by "The Deaf Sherlock":  http://thedeafsherlock.blogspot.com/2008/06/interpreter-trouble.html

This is a situation where I agree with ALMOST everything in this post.  One thing I do not agree with is this excerpt from the blog:  "Interpreters have the most important job in the deaf society in helping these deaf students to get along with hearing people."

I do not disagree with the fact that interpreters and coordinators have an extremely important job, but I do disagree with it being THE MOST IMPORTANT job.  That responsibility actually falls upon us, as deaf citizens, parents, and advocates alike.  Interpreters actually are there for the express purpose of conveying to the deaf individual what is going on, what is being said, and so forth.  It is up to us all to take matters into our own hands and educate those we deal with on a daily basis, as well as ourselves.  The thought that an interpreter is the most important bridge is not a good thought.  We must always be the better advocates of ourselves, and the interpreters themselves, a means to that end.

That being said, I do have this to say to the coordinator and interpreters involved in this situation: SHAME ON YOU.  It is, as Deaf Sherlock said, a position of trust and responsibility, and they (if this is proven true) abused that power and responsibility.  They not only stole money from the college they worked for, they stole money from US.  If that money was not legitimately earned, it had the ability to assist many other people, as the stated amount is reported to perhaps be as much as $100,000.  Quite frankly, I would love to see those people involved in this scam strung up by their thumbs with fishing line.  It is thievery, plain and simple, and in the olden days of yore, a thief would have their hands cut off.  I guess they can be thankful that we have (supposedly) evolved to a more genteel form of justice, and they most likely, if convicted, will receive probation with a promise to make restitution.  I sincerely hope they also have their license to interpret permanently revoked and be barred from being licensed in other states as well.

My wife's aunt is an interpreter coordinator currently, and has been at two seperate universities over the course of her fine career.  I have always known her to be a fine, upstanding, and ethically strong person.  I'm thankful that the deaf students where she is the coordinator have someone who is such a strong advocate for ethics as her in place.  It is a shame that this stupid action by these individuals will cause many to cast a wary eye upon interpreters and coordinators and perhaps cause them to undergo more scrutiny (unfairly) than they would normally.  But I'm also happy that people such as them were caught, and perhaps others may be as well.  In this day of seemingly unyielding budget cuts and unfunded Congressional mandates, universities far and wide can not afford to fall prey to such a scam.  We are a nation in dire need of many, many QUALIFIED, ETHICAL interpreters, and this robs us of them.

So in closing, I agree with the Deaf Sherlock's comments (except for what is noted above), and I hope these people are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  To do anything else is to condone this behavior and set an irresponsible precedent.