American Sign Language: Is it a need at Viterbo?
American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most common language according to Josie Makenzie, president of the American Sign Language club. “It goes English, Spanish, then ASL.” As the third most prevalent language, the ASL club argues there should be more exposure to it and access. There is, unfortunately, not a class at Viterbo that addresses this need. To try and combat this, the ASL Club was formed.
The ASL club meets one day a month, and their next meeting will be held Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m. in room 101 of the Nursing Center.
Makenzie, a current nursing student, has been interested in sign language since high school: “I’ve had an interest in sign language since high school and I’ve been looking for a class in college to learn more sign language.”
When coming to Viterbo, she hoped to be able to broaden her knowledge in this field and was disappointed when there wasn’t a class she could take. For her it stems back to communication and being able to communicate with future patients. She fears not being able to do that. “I want to know the basics of the basics, at least know the alphabet so I can spell out words to them,” Makenzie says.
For her this fear stems back from a show called “Switched at Birth.” In this episode, a deaf patient is admitted to the hospital after some trauma on a Saturday. There are no interpreters on Saturday and the interpretation device cannot be found. This leads to the question why are there no interpreters on Saturday? Should hospitals have more interpretation devices? Should hospital staff be required to take course in ASL. “What happens if I have a patient like that and I can’t talk to them?” For this reason, Makenzie has started the sign language club to bring awareness to students and staff that there is a need for a class.
Makenzie states that in March the ASL club will bring a local interpreter as a speaker to share her experience with working with people in the deaf community. During this time, students will be able to ask questions and learn more about what the job entails and how we can be more involved with in the community. One of their major goals is to show Viterbo that there is an interest and a need for an ASL class, which would show hospitality, which is one of Viterbo’s core values.
While the ASL club won’t replace formal training, it does provide a good start. Students interested in joining should contact Josie Makenzie or Claire Doyle, vice president, for more information.
“I just want to advocate for the deaf community… It really makes me angry that there aren’t more classes around. I wanted to start the club to show Viterbo that there is an interest in ASL. There is a need for ASL, and hopefully we can get a class going,” Makenzie says.