Deaf Awareness Day immerses students into ASL and deaf community at UConn

By Alethea Kavarnos

The American Sign Language Club hosted Deaf Awareness Day on Storrs campus. All semester, they met once a week to plan this event. Club members invited students as well as members of the deaf community for this performance. The event was all in American Sign Language (ASL) but had speaking interpreters.

Students began with a twist on the story of Hercules. Instead of Hercules losing his strength, he lost his ability to sign. Hercules realized that being deaf and a little different was his strength, not a disability.

After the performance, the club invited deaf comedian, Patrick “Mr Shinyhead” Fischer. In his act, he signed jokes about his deaf dog, how he ran a race, how to identify a deaf person and common mistakes ASL students make. At the end, he invited 10 students and community members up to act out a hilarious scene in a fancy restaurant.

Hearing audience members got to see that comedy can transcend language through his performance which was a mix of acting out moves and using ASL.

Overall, the day was a resounding success. ASL students got to show off their signing and teach a powerful message. The deaf community was also able to attend a show in their own language. Lastly, it was a way to show students and family members who had no previous knowledge of ASL, a vibrant language and community.

Be sure to click on the images in the gallery above to view them in the best quality.

All photos taken by Alethea Kavarnos.