By Kim Anderson/reporter

Total silence enveloped participants Oct. 20 on TR Campus as they tried to grasp a small understanding of what hearing-impaired individuals go through.

It’s a Deaf, Deaf World was held in honor of Disability Awareness Month. Absolutely no spoken language was allowed during the event. If they spoke, participants found themselves inside a jail booth.

Looks of frustration and sounds of laughter filled the Idea Store as participants tried to carry out daily activities such as going to the bank or checking out a book from the library — all while using only sign language.

The many different stations at the event allowed participants to swap shoes with a person in the deaf community.

“It’s a total role reversal. You’re suddenly plunged into a whole different world,” said Kathy Griffith, who attended the event. “It gave me a lot more respect for these people and their daily endeavors.”

Griffith, along with about 200 other people, participated in the Deaf, Deaf World event, where students learned how it felt to live in the non-hearing world.

“I can’t” could be heard throughout the facility, giving volunteers a sense of accomplishment in getting the message of the daily struggles of the deaf across to the community.

“It was definitely similar to being deaf. It really gave me some insight,” said Nicole Warren, a TR sign language student.

Warren is in her third sign language class.

“I enjoyed the practice of communicating with the hearing-impaired,” she said. “You don’t have to know all the signs to communicate. Take what you know, and the rest you can figure out.”