Deaf Awareness Club looks to renew interest
Lack of student involvement has brought the Coalition for Deaf Awareness Club to a halt.
Although efforts are being made to get the club active again, students don’t seem to be interested.Two years after the club was started with advisor Lisa Hitzler, president Jenn Chilcoat and vice president Jennine Trejo, the club is struggling to get the attention of students.
The club started in the spring of 2005 to unite the deaf students on campus facing issues with Mesa Community College. MCC did not recognize American Sign Language as a student’s first language and would not allow those students to take English as Second Language (ESL) classes.
Deaf students from MCC started up the club to inform other students of the problem. The club’s goal was to promote awareness of hearing impaired students on campus for support and unity.
ASL is many of the deaf student’s first language and like any other foreign language is completely different from the English language.“ASL is grammatically different from the English language,” said Trejo.
The first two years of the club were busy.
The club was filled with members and activities which included a campus pizza party for both the members and students and a flag football game.
The objective of the club is to get awareness out there about deaf people to inform them of what is going on in their community and to help bring together the hearing and deaf students on campus.
Schedule conflicts with the advisor made it difficult for some students to make the meetings others had a difficult time with having a hard of hearing president instead of a deaf leader.
“The deaf students have a hard time respecting a person who is hard of hearing as president,” said Chilcoat.Efforts are being made to get the club active again but the board members need the help of the students.
Deaf, ASL, and those students who are generally interested in the deaf culture are encouraged to join the club.
Chilcoat has many ideas and activities planned; a deaf awareness week for campus is one which will include deaf actresses who now live in the Valley coming to speak.
There is also going to be a device that allows hearing students to realize what it might feel like to be deaf.
“I would like to do activities the bridge the gap between the hearing world and the deaf world, inform the hearing that there are no differences.
Chilcoat believes finding a strong deaf president with strong leadership skills is what is needed to get the club going again.
Volume
44, Issue 9. Today is
David Berrey/ Mesa Legend
MCC students Jenn Chilcoat and Jennine Trejo sign to one another while sitting down at a table in the court yard of the Kirk Center.