The Office of Disability Services (ODS) is holding American Sign Language (ASL) workshops both on campus and virtually over Zoom. The workshops are open to all members of the Stevens community as well as beginners to ASL, and the variety of in-person and virtual offerings has enabled all students to get engaged.
According to Phillip Gehman, Director of Disability Services at Stevens, the ODS strives to serve as a “champion of the social model of disability for our campus community.” Gehman has been hosting the workshops, and explains that he was drawn to ASL due to that fact that some of his close family members are deaf.
Gehman additionally explained that, “The social model of disability emphasizes how attitude and structures of a society can be more disabling than the disability itself.” With that in mind, if more people learned sign language, “a person who is deaf and uses sign language would face less barriers in communication.” Holding these workshops provides an opportunity for all Stevens students to learn how to better communicate with people who are deaf, Gehman expressed.
The workshops also provide a chance for students to interact with individuals they haven’t met before. For the in-person workshops on campus, first year students are given a safe outlet for socialization. Gehman has been pleased with attendance of “students from a variety of majors” as well as “staff and faculty members interested in learning the language.” The workshops supply another way to connect with other members of the Stevens community, during a pandemic that has made it difficult to meet new people.
Gehman stated that he follows up with participants after workshops via email, and provides them with a vocabulary list, quizzes, and ASL dictionaries. He noted that all of these tools are useful toward the continuation of mastering and expanding ASL vocabulary. Each workshop covers new vocabulary while also reviewing previously presented content. Participants learn how to introduce themselves as well as some basic communication questions such as how, what, where, and when.
The in-person and virtual workshops are almost the same in content. There is a large emphasis on learning basic vocabulary, starting with mastering the alphabet, which is noted as the building blocks for all other signs. One challenge Gehman expressed was that over Zoom, it is important to verbally address the person you are signing to. He emphasized that, “It is not possible to physically direct a sign to one person over Zoom.”
The next in-person ASL workshop is being held on October 28 at 1 p.m. EST on Humphries Lawn; the next virtual ASL workshop will be held at 4 p.m. EST over Zoom on November 3. Students seeking more information can contact Gehman and the ODS by emailing disabilityservices@stevens.edu or by calling 201-216-3748.
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