In 1992, an eighth grader sat in the audience for MX. She was deaf so she could not hear what the presenters said–at the time, Parker’s auditorium could not accommodate people who were deaf or hard of hearing. 25 years later, just over a week ago on January 30th, staff attorney for disability civil rights group Equip for Equality (EFE) Rachel Arfa returned to the Heller Auditorium for MX.

Arfa presented with colleague Barry Taylor about their work at EFE to protect the rights of people with disabilities, and about disability etiquette. She described a few of the cases she has been involved with, including one against the Girl Scouts for denying a troop member who was deaf a sign language interpreter.

Two months before, on December 1st, Arfa came back to give a teach-in before the “We Are Able Campaign”. She was impressed by the progress the school has made. “When I went to Parker, it didn’t really know how to talk about diversity of any kind,” Arfa said. “It’s really nice to know that Parker is making an effort to educate students about diversity.”

Arfa, who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at 18 months, joined the class of ‘96 during December of her second grade year. She found Parker appealing because its small class sizes allowed her to participate in discussions and keep in close communication with her teachers.

As Arfa got older, her ability to hear continued to decrease. “One day during class, everybody stood up and left the room,” Arfa said. “I didn’t know why, but then I realized it was a fire drill, and I couldn’t hear the alarm.”

In middle school, Arfa had an oral interpreter to help her follow class conversation. The interpreter would come to school twice a week and repeat what was being said, allowing Arfa to supplement her lipreading. “Having an interpreter made it a lot easier for me,” Arfa said. “When you’re trying to follow conversation with a group of people, it’s like a tennis match –-you’re trying to figure out who’s talking, and by the time you look at them to lipread, someone else is talking.”

Although Arfa’s disability made school more difficult, it did not prevent her from succeeding in the classroom.  “In general, there were relatively few accommodations,” Mike Mahany, Arfa’s eighth grade teacher, said. “She was really independent.”

Arfa greatly appreciated her education at Parker, but left after eighth grade because of bullying by her classmates. Her family moved to Evanston, where she attended Evanston Township High School, leaving a class of 59 students to join one of 700.

After graduating in 1996, Arfa attended the University of Michigan, where she had her best educational experience. It was the first time she didn’t have to advocate to get comprehensive accommodations ––her classes on the Ann Arbor campus were captioned, meaning she could read everything that was said by others on a screen. As a result she was able to direct her energy towards other activities, including student government and community service. She served as President of the Deaf Students’ Organization and worked with administrators to create sign language classes for inclusion in the curriculum.

Growing up, Rachel always loved theater. Now she works to make theaters, as well as other cultural spaces, more accessible through her work as a member of the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC). According to its website, the CCAC “facilitates a dynamic community of cultural administrators and visitors with disabilities striving to advance accessibility and inclusion across the Chicago region’s vast cultural spaces.”

“I would go to musicals with my family because the action and dancing made them easier to understand than plays,” Arfa said. “When we went to plays, I always tried to memorize the scripts beforehand so I knew what people were saying. That was really hard and made going to the theater an experience that wasn’t enjoyable, so that’s why I want to help theaters offer more accommodations for people with disabilities.”

In 2013, Arfa worked with Steppenwolf Theater during its production of “Tribes,” a play with a main character who is deaf. She served as chair of the “Tribes” Outreach Committee, a special task force to ensure that deaf or hard of hearing audience members had the best experience possible. Arfa consulted with producers on all aspects of the production, ranging from marketing to captioning.

During her time on the Committee, Arfa worked closely with Steppenwolf’s Director of Audience Experience and co-chair of the CCAC, Evan Hatfield. “Rachel collaborated with us so much that she was basically an employee of Steppenwolf,” Hatfield said.  “She has been incredible to work with – she has this perspective, and this vision for the world, combined with an amazing sense of empathy, curiosity, and courage.”

Recently, Arfa worked with Hatfield to assemble an Access Committee for the Women’s March on Chicago on January 21. They worked closely with organizers of the March to ensure the event was accessible to participants with disabilities, and as a result, many accommodations were provided. The accommodations included American Sign Language interpreters and open captioning on the stage at Jackson and Columbus.

Arfa attended the Women’s March as a volunteer, wearing a neon yellow vest and a bright pink hat. As hundreds entered the designated access area, she greeted participants with a smile and engaged in individual conversations to ensure they had the necessary accommodations. “That’s what it’s all about,” Arfa said. “Equal access for everyone.”