Cyrus-fan mom sounds off
Stadium should have aid for the hearing impaired, she says
Step two would be making sure an assistive listening device is available.
One woman, whose 12-year-old daughter has a severe hearing impairment, wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice, saying LaVell Edwards Stadium is out of compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act standards because it doesn't have a permanent assistive listening system in place.
"Brigham Young University is discriminating against my daughter," Layton resident Lareen Strong wrote, "as well as every hearing impaired person who goes to an event at LaVell Edwards Stadium."
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said the stadium can accommodate any hearing-impaired patron if advance notice is given.
Strong said the day before tickets went on sale for Stadium of Fire — the main event of America's Freedom Festival at Provo — she called LaVell Edwards Stadium to see if there's a certain section where the assistive listening system would work best for her daughter, a "huge" Cyrus fan. An assistive listening device acts as an amplifier that channels sound directly into the wearer's eardrum.
"They didn't know what I was talking about," she said.
The next day, a stadium staff member told Strong somebody would go to Salt Lake City to pick something up for her daughter. That solution didn't assuage Strong's concerns.
"I was completely appalled," she said.
According to ADA standards, Strong said, any assembly area that accommodates more than 50 people should have a permanently installed assistive listening system that provides receivers equal to 4 percent of the total number of seats. Meaning LaVell Edwards Stadium, which seats about 65,000, should have 2,600 receivers on hand.
The paragraph of ADA standards Strong refers to doesn't specifically mention stadiums, and another paragraph of the ADA standards states, "Departures from particular technical and scoping requirements of this guideline ... are permitted where the alternative designs and technologies used will provide substantially equivalent or greater access."
Jenkins said she doesn't think the stadium is out of compliance with ADA standards because they can provide assistive listening devices so long as they receive advance notice.
"We can absolutely 100 percent accommodate her need for a listening device," she said.
David Miles, assistant director of special events, said the confusion that occurred when Strong called was because it was the first time they've received a request for an assistive listening device at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Recent comments
Did Ms. Strong or your reporter bother to check to see whether the...
Jack | June 24, 2008 at 8:21 p.m.
Why is BYU responsible for this lady's daughter. That is the...
Surg N | April 12, 2008 at 9:43 a.m.
Many do not understand the cost of an FM receiver. One unit alone...
Also disabled | April 11, 2008 at 5:06 p.m.
