THE ASL ASSOCIATION
Joseph Stay
There are a number of
diverse groups and clubs that BYU-I offers, striving to reach out to a large
number of people from various backgrounds and with various interests. One of these is the ASL (American Sign
Language) Association, which meets every Wednesday night from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.
in the Hinckley building, room 381.
Austin
Davis, president of the ASL Association, is very excited about the growth that
the association has had in recent semesters.
According to Davis, there has been substantial growth since fall
semester of 2012, and it continues to expand this semester. And though forty to fifty students attend
every Wednesday, Davis responds to any consideration to attending the Wednesday
night activities with an emphatic, signed, “Yes, please!”
In
fact, the ASL Association is still relatively new on campus. Though it has existed in the past, it was
reformed as it is now in 2012 by Austin’s sister Kayla Davis.
Although becoming a
certified ASL Interpreter takes up to years of training and practice, the
campus ASL Association teaches students the basics of sign language, or
“signing” as it is commonly referred.
Though it is not guaranteed to qualify one for doing ASL interpretation
at devotionals or firesides, it allows students to be able to maneuver a
meaningful conversation with the deaf and to join in their culture, according
to their website, “via fun activities and games.”
Participants in the
association attest that the deaf community’s culture and language is just as
rich as that of any spoken language or foreign country, and that the
association serves as a wonderful communal activity.
“I
love being able to connect them to the hearing world,” says Katherine
Gottfredson, former President of the ASL Association and current coordinator
with all the campus language clubs.
Davis
adds that learning ASL, albeit the basics, is a great way to communicate with a
lot more people on all levels, that all are “sons and daughters of God” and the
Association is yet another chance to diversify and enjoy being around another
culture.
Short
video tutorials teaching various words and phrases in ASL are available on the
school’s website at www.byui.edu/associations/asl.
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