By:  Hal C Clarke

As most high school seniors juggle prom, finals, and college decisions, Sarah Lin is adding another responsibility to her already packed schedule — lobbying lawmakers in Albany.

As the New York Post first reported, Lin, an 18-year-old student at Bronx High School of Science, is leading the charge to expand closed captioning access in movie theaters across New York State. Her mission: to make the movie-going experience more inclusive for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, a cause she’s championing through legislation known as the Open Captioning Accessibility Act.

The bill, currently stalled in the legislature, would require movie theaters with more than 10 showings a week to provide open-caption screenings during at least half of their peak hours. New York City already has a similar mandate in place since 2021, but Lin is fighting to make it a statewide standard — and eventually a national one.

Lin, whose advocacy work first gained attention when she founded Theater’s Unsilenced, has made accessibility a personal mission. Her mother, Annie Siu, is hard of hearing and has long avoided movie theaters due to the lack of subtitles. “Seeing how this affects someone in my own family made it real,” Lin told the Post. “That’s what drove me to act.”

With just two weeks remaining in this legislative session, Lin has gone full throttle — all while balancing AP exams and graduation prep. “It’s definitely been a lot,” she said, “but I think when you care about something deeply, you find the time.”

As the Post first reported, Lin’s advocacy has brought fresh energy to a cause typically led by older adults. “It was refreshing to come across someone like Sarah,” said Jerry Bergman, 79, chair of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Advocacy Committee. “She’s brought a new face, a new voice, and new momentum to something many have quietly struggled with.”

Bergman, a retired movie lover who began losing his hearing in his 60s, says watching a film without subtitles is “not the way to see a movie.” He credits Lin with helping bring renewed attention to the bill, which previously failed to pass in two legislative sessions.

Since joining forces with HLAA, Lin has become the face of the campaign. As the Post first reported, she’s starred in informational videos — including one featuring deaf actress Lauren Ridloff of The Walking Dead — and has used her social media presence to push politicians and mobilize supporters.

The Assembly version of the bill now has 13 backers, and its Senate counterpart has seven — a show of growing support many attribute directly to Lin’s grassroots efforts.

Her passion for accessible communication dates back to the pandemic, when she and her sisters launched Deaf and Hard of Hearing Friendly, a project that distributed see-through face masks to facilitate lip reading. Later, through Girl Scout cookie sales, Lin raised funds to purchase dry-erase boards for local theaters, including the same Kew Gardens cinema her mother had long given up on attending.

Lin’s tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed — last year, she was awarded the Girl Scouts’ Woman of Distinction honor.

“She’s so excited that I’ve taken this on,” Lin said of her mother. “And if this actually becomes law, I’ll be proud — not just for me, but for her too.”

For Lin, the goal is bigger than one bill. “Accessibility isn’t a privilege,” she said. “It’s a right.”