2008 Woodie Awards
Signing club bridges gap between hearing and Deaf communities
Andrea Furlong
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: Feature
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The University of Iowa American Sign Language Club may be well-known to students taking ASL classes at the U of I or Kirkwood's Iowa City campus and the Deaf community but ask a student from the Cedar Rapids campus about the club and you'll receive a blank look.
"I've never heard of it," said education major Jessica Sofen, referring to the U of I's ASL Club, adding she had heard about the ASL club on Kirkwood's Cedar Rapids campus.
While Kirkwood's Cedar Rapids ASL club has struggled for nine years to "bridge the gap between the hearing and Deaf community at Kirkwood," according to Kirkwood's ASL adviser, Brooke James, Iowa City has provided a club that's been bringing both deaf and hearing students together since 1995.
In the back of a small restaurant in downtown Iowa City, this group of Kirkwood and U of I students meets with members of the Deaf community once a week to have conversations in which words are formed by hands instead of mouths.
An eavesdropper standing outside the backroom at Tony's Pizza Grill on a Wednesday evening would never know a meeting was in session, except for the occasional bursts of laughter breaking the silence. Inside the room, it's a different story - a lively group of people of all ages conversing in American Sign Language.
U of I ASL President Tim Brandau is a prime example of why this club exists. Before joining four years ago, Brandau, a biomedical engineering major at the U of I, had few opportunities to sign.
"I was looking to sign with other people who also knew how to sign [when I heard about the club]," Brandau said.
Brandau grew up in a hearing family learning Signed English, a different form of sign than ASL - the more commonly used form among members of the Deaf community. For Brandau, who didn't begin learning ASL until his first year of college, the club is a place to connect with other members of the Deaf community as well as a chance to practice his ASL signing skills outside of signing classes.
"I've never heard of it," said education major Jessica Sofen, referring to the U of I's ASL Club, adding she had heard about the ASL club on Kirkwood's Cedar Rapids campus.
While Kirkwood's Cedar Rapids ASL club has struggled for nine years to "bridge the gap between the hearing and Deaf community at Kirkwood," according to Kirkwood's ASL adviser, Brooke James, Iowa City has provided a club that's been bringing both deaf and hearing students together since 1995.
In the back of a small restaurant in downtown Iowa City, this group of Kirkwood and U of I students meets with members of the Deaf community once a week to have conversations in which words are formed by hands instead of mouths.
An eavesdropper standing outside the backroom at Tony's Pizza Grill on a Wednesday evening would never know a meeting was in session, except for the occasional bursts of laughter breaking the silence. Inside the room, it's a different story - a lively group of people of all ages conversing in American Sign Language.
U of I ASL President Tim Brandau is a prime example of why this club exists. Before joining four years ago, Brandau, a biomedical engineering major at the U of I, had few opportunities to sign.
"I was looking to sign with other people who also knew how to sign [when I heard about the club]," Brandau said.
Brandau grew up in a hearing family learning Signed English, a different form of sign than ASL - the more commonly used form among members of the Deaf community. For Brandau, who didn't begin learning ASL until his first year of college, the club is a place to connect with other members of the Deaf community as well as a chance to practice his ASL signing skills outside of signing classes.