American Sign Language (ASL) club started at Athens Drive Friday Sept. 11, led by Senior Chloe DeRosa and advised by Kelly Hodgins, special education teacher. By joining the American Sign Language (ASL) Club, students can expect to learn sign language and about the deaf community, as well as become acquainted with the many hearing-impaired students of Athens Drive.

ASL has been recognized as a language since 1960, although it has been used long before then. This year ASL has been officially recognized as a club at Athens Drive. Although the original idea was to have an ASL class, DeRosa is happy to have the club.

“I felt like deaf students were isolated in the cafeteria,” said DeRosa. “I felt as if it was a representation of the entire deaf community.”

Although Athens Drive houses the Wake County Regional Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH), where students from all over Wake County can attend, there has never been a class for both the hearing-impaired and hearing students to interact and coexist.

“ASl is a national, federally recognized language. So it’s good for students who wish to learn the language.” said Hodgins.

Derosa promises that the club will be about more than learning sign language and plans to teach about the deaf community itself, as well as allow the members to interact and socialize with their fellow deaf students. “We need a club because we didn’t have a class.”

Meetings are held every Friday, both A and B lunch, and a website has been set up (alicorn308.wix.com/adhsasl). During most meetings, a small lesson is held, new signs are introduced and taught and afterwards students pair up and practice, getting help from DeRosa herself or other deaf members if needed. During B-lunch, the meetings transition into more of a social hour, where new members can “meet a deaf friend” and generally become more comfortable with each other.