The American Sign Language (ASL) Club hosted a Fall Gathering event on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the IRIS room 901 at Pierce College featuring seasonal games.
Regardless of their level of ASL skill, attendees engaged in games and activities meant to foster connections and enhance communication.
Kristine Hall and a few ASL interpreters hosted the event and played games with current members and new students.
“We have general meetings where we do things like play games that encourage the use of sign language to help foster a learning environment of sign language and encourage more exposure to the deaf community and deaf culture,” said ASL Interpreter and Co-President of the ASL Club Julia Anderson.
The ASL Club has bi-weekly meetings where they have different games for people of varying sign language skills.
“It’s just about exposing people of all levels of sign language, whether someone has no sign language skill, or they’re on their way to become a working interpreter. ASL club is for everybody to encourage their growth and development of sign language skills,” Anderson said.
Co-President Nick Alfaro is a family interpreter for his brother who is deaf.
“My knowledge about ASL is to prove to them that the deaf are not stupid and dumb or slow, but we have to work twice as hard to be equal,” Alfaro said.
ASL Interpreting student America Quintas attended for the first time.
“I first heard about it through my peers to the president, they would often go and announce it when we would have our breaks and it made me want to include myself because I’m majoring in interpreting, so I wanted to practice my ASL and get involved,” Quintas said.
Quintas said they enjoyed meeting new like-minded people.
“It was amazing. I really enjoyed it. I was able to practice my signing, my fingerspelling and was able to communicate with a lot of different peers that I haven’t met before,” Quintas said.
The next ASL Club event will be on Nov. 28 from 1-2p.m. at the IRIS room 901. It will feature a deaf artist Diana Lopez and painting.
