One of the most interactive and rigorous language classes on campus involves the least amount of speaking.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, a motivated group of students convenes in Frist 307 to study in the United States: American Sign Language. emphasizing a higher level of commitment to both class attendance and community service, Princeton's sign program has attracted more students than ever before and looks forward to continued growth and improvement in the years to come.
Though Princeton has offered non-credit ASL classes for several years, the program has undergone significant reorganization in the hope of increasing the level of intensity and ultimate comprehension of the language. While in the past hour-long classes met only once a week, this year's program requires a two-hour minimum weekly commitment that can be met in one of two ways: Two one-hour classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays or one two-hour class on Sundays. Regardless of the classes students decide to take, attendance is a priority.
"Attendance is key to keeping up and we consider it as mandatory as for any other class one takes for credit," said program coordinator Liriel Higa '02.
Far from deterring students, the intensified schedule has attracted an unprecedented number of eager learners. With 10 to 13 students regularly attending the Tuesday and Thursday classes, and four to eight on Sundays, the classes are flourishing. "Initially, we were overwhelmed with students," program coordinator Peggy Hsu '03 said.
Another alteration that some students may find appealing is that all classes start at the beginner level. Though last year beginner, intermediate and advanced classes were offered, with Princeton students teaching the lower sections, this year everyone started from scratch with a professional teacher from the area Katzenbach School for the Deaf. Hsu explained the importance of this decision, "We're teaching basics, really solidifying them."
The additional classes and increased enrollment rewarded the hard work and petitions of Hsu, Higa, Emily Henkelman '04, and 'Prince' staffer Michael Stein '03, who realized that one-hour classes held once a week were not adequate. Determined to equip more students with at least enough sign knowledge to volunteer at Katzenbach, they gathered signatures and met with Associate Dean of the College Hank Dobin to obtain the funding that a more comprehensive program would require.
All participants seem to agree that volunteering with children at Katzenbach is one of the most fulfilling opportunities available to Princeton ASL students. Although Hsu describes her first tutoring experience at Katzenbach as "the most difficult thing ever," the trip inspired her future involvement in the program. "It motivated me to want to learn more," she noted.
Her fellow students share Hsu's motivation. Certified instructor Alyssa Wendel considers her enthusiastic pupils the program's greatest strength. Wendel, who has been deaf since birth and currently teaches at the Katzenbach as well as Montgomery College in Pennsylvania, said through a sign interpreter that she hoped for "more beginner students as eager as these" in coming years. "I'm proud of being able to teach here, they always want to learn more," she signed with a smile.
While all participants of this year's program seem equally driven to succeed, their reasons for studying ASL vary. While one pupil is considering a career as an interpreter and another as an educator for the deaf, many regard it as a fascinating and positive skill to learn. Curiosity provoked Hsu to give the classes a try. "I thought it was really, really interesting," she said.
Hannah foster '04, who began learning to sign in high school and taught a beginner class at Princeton last year, cited "deaf culture" as another incentive to study ASL. "When you talk to other people and learn about their culture, it is really cool," she said. Higa also mentioned this "unique culture" while explaining why students should consider learning sign language.
Of course, Alyssa Wendel's firsthand experience with "deaf culture," makes her particularly qualified to share it with her students. As a child, Wendel encountered ignorance and intolerance of her disability. "I was taught that I shouldn't sign, that it was not something that I should use."
Such obstacles imposed by a hearing world shape a unique experience and concomitant culture that perhaps only deaf understand fully. According to Higa, "the only way to really experience it is to learn ASL."
In addition to the cultural benefits of learning sign, the practical benefits are substantial. ASL is now one of the top five most utilized languages in the United States. As the fasted growing language of study among American students, it is offered for credit at universities like Brown and Georgetown. Indeed, the demand for sign language is growing, and this year's organizers hope that the University's response does not end with the revamped classes.
The coordinators all agree that Princeton has a long way to go in the field of deaf education. First and foremost, they want Princeton to grant language credit to students of ASL. Though Hsu admitted that this would be "a long way down the road," she identified it as an important goal.
However, Higa stressed that students must continue to display interest and commitment in order to achieve for-credit classes: "We have to demonstrate that there is the demand. Hopefully, we'll continue to have students come to the comprehensive classes and show the administration that we're committed and this isn't a one year fluke."
In addition to securing the future of the program, new participants stand to enjoy themselves immensely. Laughter is often the only sound radiating from Frist 307 as Wendel signs and lip sinks an especially vivacious version of "Happy Birthday,: or jokes with her students light-heartedly. "Deaf people are so much more animated," observed a chuckling Hsu.
Higa shares her enthusiasm: "It's so incredibly fun, easy language to learn."
While the group's dedicated student leaders presently determine next semester's schedule, they stress that it is not too late for students to explore ASL. An absolutely useful social tool, fluency in sign language opens doors to new friendships and cultural experiences.
As Higa pointed out, "It's easier for hearing people to learn sign language; I don't see a reason not to make the effort."
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