The Hatrak Survival Program (HSP) is one of the oldest traditions of the NAD Youth Leadership Camp. It plunges four groups of campers into the central Oregon wilderness for five days, supervised only by three staff members per group who remain mostly silent (other than evening chats, dispensing prescribed medications, and dealing with emergencies) throughout the survival program.
This year, YLC lost a group during HSP! According to Salem-News.com, 19 hearing-impaired students were apparently lost, and the group’s team leader was sent back to town to call for help. Search teams roamed the landscape, and an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter from the 1042nd Air Ambulance Unit assisted in the search.
Today, the 19 campers turned up at YLC, assumedly safe and sound. I’m glad they’re back. I’m not going to attack YLC for losing their campers. I’ve worked at camps before, and kids get lost more often than you think. It’s even harder when it’s a deaf camp and you can’t just call out their names and expect them to respond.
It’s an absolutely frightening scenario for camp directors and parents alike. I also know that YLC takes every measure possible to make sure that their campers don’t get lost. While we’re waiting to hear an update from YLC on what happened, why don’t you review the YLC Blog?
In the meantime, I must share my HSP ‘97 stories!! My sneakers melted when they were placed too close to the fire. Another group member mistakenly left my backpack (with EVERYTHING in it) by the side of the trail, and I found out hours later. It rained nonstop for 2 days. We formally voted to give up and walk back to YLC, but a surprise visit from I. King Jordan raised our spirits. We built a 30-foot-high tower, a monkey bridge, an elevated platform, and a cable zip line. They took away my metal walking stick (which I needed because I have Usher and had no sense of balance) because it was a form of “technology.” One night, I slept in a puddle of water in the corner of a tent which had accumulated during a downpour, being squashed by an enormous, 300-pound fellow camper who kept stealing my blanket (my sleeping bag was left behind with my backpack, remember?), and recall screaming out of rage throughout the night, knowing that no one could hear me for miles.
As I said, I’m glad the campers are back and safe.
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I hope your feet weren’t in the sneakers when they were by the fire. And why on Earth did they take away your walking stick? Would they take away a wheelchair user’s wheelchair or god forbid, the glasses I use to be able to see!
Well, at that time, I was too much of a wreck (we had just been introduced to HSP one hour earlier…easily one of the most traumatizing moments of my life!) to protest them taking away my walking pole.
They said, “you can just pick up a big wooden stick from the side of the trail, can’t you?” and I was like, “true.” It was more of an inconvenience than anything else, and isn’t comparable to a wheelchair or anything. Still, they could have been a bit more sensitive to my needs. They’re forgiven, though. :)
I first read your headline as if 19 campers died. I was, like, OMG 19 dead!! lol. glad they’re back!
Here’s a very clear and well-written explanation from YLC on what happened. Doesn’t sound like it was a serious incident, although I’m glad the emergency plan worked pretty well.
Adam, they were “late,” not “lost.” Jeez. :)
I totally read the headline as meaning that 19 campers were dead. HOLY ****! But whew, they were just “late”, I guess nobody told the counselors about deaf time. ;-)
Holy Cow. You scared me Adam. Like the others, I thought 19 YLC campers died! :P Glad they’re okay! Whew….
Adam, you might wanna re-word that headline….
I am hard of hearing and avoid the deaf world. Want to know why? I attended the NSF science camp for deaf students at Whallops Island, Virginia in 1988. Most of the boys and girl campers had hooked up with each other by the end of the first day. I even found two of the so-called “studs” in a bathtub having anal intercourse one afternoon (I had discovered them because one of them kept shouting “whoooo” in his customary deaf voice, except this time, the “whooo” sounded strangely different. Needless to say, he was on the receiving end). I didn’t even have pubic hair yet. So imagine my surprise, oh this is what deaf people are like. The most adulterous group of people I ever encountered in all my travels. My brief visits to Gallaudet did nothing to squash that image.
News flash: individuals of all colors and sizes love sex, especially teenagers.
Hahahhahahahahaha
I had to LAUGH OUT LOUD.
R-
Hearing-Impaired? Come on….
The above comment was a bit tasteless. Lets keep this clean.
Why the DeafDc.com engage in the “political correctness” thinking??
I am somewhat troubled by the latest censorship practices within the DeafDC’s blog writings. Any kind of censorship are not acceptable!!
Why would the DeafDC.com worry about so-called inapporiate terms or enclosures?? Is the blog writings affected by the FCC to clean up the airwaves including the Internet writings or what?
Frank and honest discussion on any blog entry ought to be strongly encouraged, not whitewash them!
Hearing-impaired is not the profane or inapporiate term. “Following the wind” is a bad practice for our democratic society.
“All the Family” classic CBS-TV programming would be not possibly existed within the nowaday standard. Many people really learn a lot from this television progamming on the evil of “intolerance” and “prejudice” which the society at large get more acceptable of ethnic and sexual minorities afterward.
Mocking someone’s physical flaws or ethnicity reflect the true self of individual which we would like to know about. Self-deception and self-censorship is not the best way to take the “grain of salt” among us. How can we learn real things about ourselves if we keep whiteewashing the blog discussion.
Censorship is a tool of dictatorship!
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLM,
Are you saying for example, letter to the editor for many city/town newspaper is unacceptable due to censorship?
By the way, you’re taking the risk of losing people’s respect to your manner. Take care of yourself as we do care about you.
I am with Rob, Erin and others.
Editing the letter to editor due to limited space is much different from deleting the posting without due process or any kind of formal notice with explaination.
Blog writings are much different kind of mediums unlike traditional media outlets.
I never seen any formal ground rules for this blog forum discussion what we could write or not.
Why people have to conceal their true identity while I publicly enclose my name to everyone. I am not really afraid of what people think about me. *sigh*
RLM
I errorously wrote “delete the posting without due process or any kind of formal notice WITHOUT explaination.
I was trying to say “W/O”, not with.
RLM
Can that comment be removed? Should deafdc.com tolerate this kind of ignorance? This blog central is read by many people. Some guidelines on what the parameters are when commenting or blogging might be helpful. There have been too many inappropriate sexual remarks. And it hurts the integrity of this wonderful blog.
Dear ??? — if you look at the post again, he was clearly referring to how the newspaper article worded it. If you have a problem with it, then contact THEM, but don’t be immature on here. Thanks. :)
well, if he was referring to the article, he would have quoted it using quotation marks.
thank-you-very-much.
i know i’m being nitpicking but this isn’t hearingimpaireddc.com.
It isn’t toleranceimpaireddc.com, either. :)
Adam, it’s OK with me if people want to mention having sex or seeing someone else have sex… just spare me the graphic details, OK? I’m not here for the XXX-rated content, thank you very much. I noticed a bit of judicious editing from the original. It’s appreciated. I would have used my delete key more than you did, though.
weird… I typed triple exes, and that got edited, but someone used a slang word for anal intercourse and it got in unedited? Come on, Adam.
Curious Eyes — I think deafdc just added the “filter” feature a month or two (or 3?) ago and have been fine-tuning it on a case-by-case basis. From what I understand, it’s a program they didn’t create from scratch. So we all need to exercise some patience as they realize what terms can be accepted and which ones can’t (different from the original programming specs).
While I know “patience is a virtue”, it’s hard for us all to remember that, especially when the little things tick us off. I think we should remember to be grateful for all the work that Adam and Rob have put into this site. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be blogging or commenting on them. Let’s give them encouragement and *constructive* feedback rather than nitpicking in a negative way. We don’t want to get ourselves into a position where comments would have to be screened before being posted online, would we? Let’s exercise intelligent conversation and treat each other with respect.
Isn’t a lively and stimulating blog, with comments that are relevant, rather than scatological, is its own reward? I’ve commented many times in what I think are appropriate ways and I don’t need to be edited, unlike some people here. Furthermore, my request *was* phrased constructively, and I’m not the only one who has “nitpicked,” as you put it, about inappropriate comments here. I’m not advocating that this blog become sterile and PC, not at all. Just that its good taste, intellect, and judgment that make it stand above all the rest. There’s a difference between funny and potty mouth.
Curious Eyes, you need to lighten up. Big time.
R-
speak of the devil…
Would you mind removing this blog because younger people does read your blog and I would like for them to have fun at ylc without knowing about hsp. I just went to ylc recently and im glad i didnt know about hsp at all and i had sooo much fun at there. so please do the same for our future generations… thanks :)
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