Destiny Jimenez is bringing hands together in place of voices to advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, while also helping educate students interested in sharpening up their American Sign Language skills.
Jimenez, a fourth-year student, majoring in humanities and communications, has founded the ASL club hoping to create The Signing Spot: a place on campus where students can gather to learn more about the culture behind the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community no matter their fluency in the language
“The Signing Spot emerged from a place of necessity,” Jimenez said. “Before us there wasn’t an organization on campus that promoted the use of ASL and also advocated for the deaf and hard of hearing community.”
“I wanted to create a place filled with like-minded individuals, who were eager to learn more about deaf culture and history, while also continuing to develop their ASL skills,” reflected Jimenez about their motivation on creating the club.
“There are only three courses offered at CSUMB that teach ASL. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a class that offers the history and culture behind the language.”
To Jimenez, this feels wrong, like something vital was missing from the education on the subject. “It’s really important to learn a language, but also the people who use it as their primary form of communication,” said Jimenez.
Bow Sepulveda, a third-year student majoring in environment studies and the vice president of the club, agreed, expressing that they “think Deaf and (hard of hearing) people are extremely overlooked, even in disability centered spaces, so I think it is so important to have spaces, like the club, to raise awareness and increase inclusivity for everyone.”
Since the club is still very new to campus, they are working out where exactly they plan to sink roots down for The Signing Spot. However, it’s anticipated to be decided by next month.
In the meantime, the club is creating plans for events like, “Silent lunches where we communicate without our voices but instead through only ASL. We also are working on putting together game nights, movie nights and have been reaching out to the local Deaf and Hard of Hearing community off campus to see about working with them to come educate the club,” Jimenez said.
The club has also been to Otter Thursday, where they interpreted the song “Everybody Talks” by The Neon Trees in ASL. This is something they hope to do more of in the future, with plans to table at the Open House on Oct. 18 performing some spooky themed songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” They also are available to help out as tutors with anyone currently taking ASL in need of help practicing and putting their knowledge into action. To stay up to date on where to meet and the upcoming events the club plans to host, check them out on Instagram at thesigningspot_csumb or on MyRaft.
All in all, Jimenez wishes to see as the club continues to grow, “that people end up fully taking away the idea that learning ASL strengthens the understanding and unity between deaf and hard of hearing communities. It challenged us to rethink communication, and recognize the diverse ways that people express themselves; working to remove barriers so that expression is never limited.”
