SPREADING SIGN

SPREADING SIGN ASL CAMPAIGNS FOR THIRD LEVEL

In the United States, American Sign Language is the third most used language. Yet, in schools around Fishers, ASL is only o ered to students in their junior or senior year. ASL teachers and students are petitioning to teach a third level so that, in the future, they would be able to teach a fi fth level, as other languages already are, which would alow for all grades to enroll in ASL. ASL is widely used amongst the deaf and hard of hearing, it is a visual language in which people communicate with their hand, body position and facial expressions. ASL is a way for members of the deaf community to communicate. “ASL is unique, beautiful and widely used language,” ASL teacher Karen Colvin said. “It is unlike other languages because deaf people need this language to communicate.” There is a wide range of reasons for students to take ASL; some take it to communicate with their deaf family members, other students take ASL for future opportunities that may arise. In the past, ASL was not able to open to freshmen and sophomores due to various obstacles. As more teachers begin to advocate for the idea of more levels for ASL, the possibility of this option increases. “Previously, there was only one ASL teacher, so it was only for juniors and seniors,” Colvin said. “I have had meetings the past two years trying to open ASL to the lower grades and add a third level.” It is common for deaf people to feel isolated from others, and this brings issues when it comes to the workplace and trying to communicate. Having people who know ASL can help the deaf and hard of hearing to interact. “The more people who can sign and can sign well out in the community and their jobs can make the deaf feel more included,” Colvin said. “Knowing sign language greatly benefi ts the deaf people in the community because when they go out, there are more people who are able to communicate with them.” Along with teachers, students who take ASL feel passionate about the language and hope to advocate for o erig the class to all grades. “If students were able to take ASL earlier, there would be more time to progress and become more fl uent in the language,” junior Antonelle Johnson said. “Whenever I see other students learning ASL, I think it is a really great thing because they are helping the deaf community.” Learning ASL gives students a chance to be part of something bigger than themselves., thus teachers and students will continue to push for more levels to expand the impact students have on the community. Story by Kyra Jones and Lainee Kirk.

OF THE ISSUE MELAINA UPDIKE After taking Visual Communications I and II, junior Melaina Updike is furthering her artistic career by doing an independent study of visual communications and graphic design. Updike is currently working as a graphic designer at Sharp Printing, a graphic design and printing production company, and plans to study informatics in college.

“MU Designs is my own thing. With it, I’ll do projects for people around the school such as the Code for Change logo or the Unifi ed Sports shirts. Sometimes I profi t o of it, sometimes I don’t. But it’s fun and what I love to do, so the experience is enough of a reward.” Melaina Updike, 11