Mark your calendars, Niles West. The very first American Sign Language club meeting will be meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11 in rooms 1210 and 1220 after school. President and senior Colene Gibson founded the club with help from Vice President and freshman, Nadiya Choi.
“Colene introduced the idea of the ASL club to me, and she wanted me to be the vice president,” said Choi.
The ASL club will be teaching students how to sign and how to communicate with people of the deaf community.
Choi hopes that the club will open up students’ eyes to the deaf culture, and help them realize that “deaf people are regular people too; it’ll be a great opportunity for other students to learn.”
Gibson, who initiated the idea of an American Sign Language Club, was pleased with how fast Niles West approved the club.
“I sent out an email asking for sponsors, and everyone thought it was a great idea…Laureen Hall and Julie Deramos are both sponsors of the club,” said Gibson.
Hall has high hopes for the new club.
“I hope this club does several things,” says Hall. “Raising awareness is a great start. I hope that people start learning the language…that includes me! Hopefully, Niles West can become a welcoming place for students who are deaf or hearing-impaired.”
Along with Hall, many other Niles West students have high hopes of being experienced signers. Oakton Community College offers signing classes in levels one and two, and hopefully will be broadening their curriculum with more options for interested students. Juniors and seniors are allowed to sign up for one class per semester through the Concurrent Enrollment Program, as long as students apply by filling out an application, turning in their transcripts, and registering for the class.
Signing up for the class at Oakton is the first step in learning a language that can aid you for the rest of your life. “When I was in college, it seemed that there was an interpreter for a student in nearly all of my classes,” says Hall. “My university had a fairly large deaf/hearing-impaired population. Several of my friends learned sign language in college and I thought it was fascinating. At West, we’ve had several students with interpreters, a couple whom I’ve had in class. I was surprised at the nuances in the language and how different it is from English. I’ve always wanted to take a class, but never have.”
American Sign Language Club’s first meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 3:30 in room 1210/1220.
