Founded in 2019 by the current club president, Sara Rodriguez, the American Sign Language club on campus aims to include and educate both the deaf and hearing community on campus. 

American Sign Language is a language that  is communicated silently through hand signs and is used by members of the deaf and hard of hearing community. 

“This language is grammatically different,”  Rodriguez said while explaining that it almost is backwards grammatically in comparison to English. 

“There are over 360 million deaf people in the United States alone,” Rodriguez stated. 

Rodriguez explained that it is very commonplace to meet deaf/hard of hearing people in professional settings. Communication with the deaf community is important because they often go unseen and unnoticed, and do not have as much advocating power as other non-deaf people. 

The ASL club meets every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Barry B. Thompson Student Center in TSC Conference Room 27. 

“It’s a great way to get involved in deaf community and culture,”Alanna Joplin, Vice President of the ASL Club, stated. 

In the past they have had up to 75 members visit the meeting, with about 25-30 consistently active members. The meeting includes weekly announcements and then dives into the actual learning of ASL. 

Currently, members of the ASL  club are covering basics such as colors, shapes, and other basic words. 

In addition to the meetings, the club is hosting several fundraisers coming up each month. The fundraisers hosted by the ASL club each month will include Cici’s Pizza dinner, and a Panda Express fundraiser. In addition to fundraisers, the club is also hosting a lock in this weekend for its new members which will include a deaf-friendly movie, snacks, and games.

The ASL club is open to new members at any time and is looking forward to expanding their numbers.

 In order to increase their numbers they plan on opening a Tik Tok account in addition to their Instagram (@asl_tsu), Youtube (TSU ASL Club), Twitter (@asltsu) and Facebook (TSU ASL Club). 

For students  interested in joining the ASL club,  there is a contact form on their website tsuaslclub.com.

 Learning American Sign Language is a fulfilling and rewarding experience for those that take part in the club and those that benefit from learning. Feel free to stop by their meeting this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in TSC 27 (lower level of the Barry B. Thompson Student Center).