Nancy Ceja

Staff Writer

A brand new club has just surfaced on the ISU Pocatello campus this past year, the American Sign Language (ASL) Club.

The ASL Club offers silent lunches every Tuesday and holds unique, monthly activities in order to give students opportunities to interact with the local deaf community. The club first became official in September.

Past events have included skating, as well as holiday parties at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“Personally, I feel it is important to have this club at ISU because we need more representation of ASL,” said club president Tayler Ristau. “I myself am deaf, and it is nice to have other people who are interested in learning the language and culture.”

Sign language can be learned by hearing people as well, not just those who are deaf.

“I am not completely fluent in sign language, but I do know quite a bit,” said vice president Abigail Besselievre. “I have completed ASL one through three, and one of my best friends is deaf, so I sign with her often.”

As with any language, signing has its own grammar, dialects and body movement. American Sign Language uses not only hands, but eyebrows, facial expressions and components that can change the entire meaning from a simple gesture.

According to Ristau, the Deaf community has a wide and vast culture. Roughly half a million people are fluent in American Sign Language in the United States.

Most countries have their own sign languages. Certain signs can also have multiple meanings depending on the region or continent.

In North and South America alone, there are over 35 sign languages.

“With the start of the sign language interpreting program at the Pocatello campus, it is important to have different opportunities for ASL students to have exposure to social signing contexts outside the classroom,” Ristau said.

Like any other language, being in an environment where it’s common can help the learner communicate better.

“Having the opportunity to sign outside the classroom with people as passionate about the language as I am is wonderful,” Besselievre said.