The ASL Club at Slippery Rock meets every other week, where students work together to learn the basic signs and elements of American Sign Language.
“ASL is a language like no other,” Lexi Welling, president of the ASL Club, said.
She explained how the club starts every year by learning the basics of the language, then building up slowly.
“[We start] with the alphabet, how you conduct yourself when learning that language. And then we’ll step it up into greetings, farewells,” Welling said.
Welling explained how, in previous years, the club has focused mostly on fun, themed signs, but this year they responded to requests to learn more basic and everyday use of the language.
“Like, yeah, it’s fun to learn the fun signs, but I want to learn helpful signs that I will use every single day,” Welling said.
This year, members have learned the alphabet, greetings, family members, colors and more.
Most members of the ASL club have no prior experience in learning the language.
“Nobody knows anything. Or a common theme I had heard during the Involvement Fair was their elementary school had taught the alphabet. That was it,” Welling said.
Even the members of the club’s E-board, who work to teach the members, are still actively learning the language themselves.
“A girl came up at the Involvement Fair, and she was like, ‘I’m fluent, and I know it all and I’m glad to come, support whatever,’” Welling said. “And I said, ‘Oh, great, then you can continue to teach me too. Let me know if I do something wrong.’ Because I do not want to mess it up. It’s like teaching somebody Spanish incorrectly. You don’t want to teach them an incorrect thing, and then just trust that person to go out and use it.”
Welling wishes that Slippery Rock still had an official ASL course for students who are interested in seriously learning the language. She believes that the numbers and demand for the club show the need for an official course.
“About 30 have been showing up. It’s been pretty consistent, which is different from other years,” Welling said. “Unfortunately, in the previous years, it started really great with like, 40 people. People would be sitting on the ground and we’d have to bring in extra chairs, and then it just slowly dwindled down. But we have been very steady this semester, which I’m very grateful for.”
Welling also mentioned that the club’s numbers alone would be enough to fill an official ASL course at SRU.
Beyond just learning the language, Welling hopes the club helps to spread awareness of the culture surrounding it.
“It is such an amazing culture. It’s so unique too,” Welling said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
