On Jan. 23, the American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Club met for the first time in the Common Grounds at the Hawkins-Conard Student Center at Ashland University. 

“The purpose of the club is not only to teach American Sign Language to AU students but also to raise awareness about Deaf culture,” Emma Jordan, president of the ASL and Deaf Culture Club, said. 

An ASL club previously existed at AU, but only focused on learning signs, and all its members had graduated. 

“When I originally was coming to Ashland, I heard about there being an ASL club on campus, but when I first enrolled in my semester, the club had unfortunately died out,” Jordan said. 

Attendees Erin Belmer and Isabelle Castellucci left the first meeting knowing how to sign the alphabet and their names. 

One thing Castellucci learned is “facial expressions are a big part of sign language, and they convey the tone.”  

A total of 11 students came to the first meeting and Jordan was happy with the turnout.  

“The students were very engaging. They picked up quickly. It was honestly a very successful first meeting,” Jordan said. 

Jordan grew up learning ASL at home. She later studied ASL in high school and eventually fell in love with the language. 

The ASL and Deaf Culture Club meets from 8 to 9 p.m. once a month in Common Grounds at the Hawkins-Conard Student Center. The next meeting is planned for Thursday, Feb. 27.  

For more information, follow the club on Instagram at @au_asldc.