In the fall of 2023, Allison Gregory, president of the Wyoming ASL Club, and Jenna McConnell, vice president, noticed a lack of opportunities on campus to practice American Sign Language outside of the courses they were taking. So, they decided to found the Wyoming ASL Club.
“What we were looking for was an opportunity for kids in ASL classes to come and practice in a casual context,” McConnell said.
The Wyoming ASL Club is open to every student regardless of skill level. All that is required is a desire to learn.
“At the beginning of the year we do some really introductory stuff,” Gregory said, “… as the year goes on, we start to have full conversations in ASL, generally along the trajectory of ASL 1 classes.”
American Sign Language is a useful skill for anyone, not just those who are a part of the deaf community or those going into a career where fluency in ASL is a requirement.
“It can be so handy to have an unspoken language, like if you’re at a loud concert you can communicate with others across the room,” Cameron Saville, treasurer of the Wyoming ASL Club, said, “…also, for the deaf community, there is a language barrier, so ASL is an important skill to have to include them.”
Additionally, learning American Sign Language provides the same benefits that learning a spoken language does, along with other perks that come with learning a physical language.
“A lot of people don’t think of ASL as another language…a lot of hearing people think of it as a visual English, but it’s a completely different language,” McConnell said, “it’s been good for my dexterity…it’s a really cool culture to look into.”
When asked why students should join the Wyoming ASL Club, Gregory said, “ASL allows you to reach more people and gain an understanding of how the deaf community communicates with each other and…gives you a greater understanding of people and language.”
The Wyoming ASL Club meets every other Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in the Fireplace Lounge in the Union.
