A small group of people sit around the fireplace in the Mills International room. Although no sounds leave their lips, aside from the occasional laugh, they’re having a vigorous conversation with their hands. They’re communicating in American Sign Language.
The American Sign Language Club is one of the outstanding student organizations at University of Oregon — and perhaps one of the most important. The club raises awareness about deaf issues, celebrates Deaf culture and works to build a community of non-hearing and hearing people in Eugene.
UO is one of the few colleges that offer ASL courses as a language option. However, the school only offers two years whereas most languages have three, and the limited number of classes make it difficult to get a seat in one. While the ASL Club isn’t a stand in for these courses, it does act to make learning about ASL a little more accessible.
“It’s a language that a lot of people are like ‘Oh, I should learn this’ and then don’t take classes,” Christina O’Konski, club president and junior at UO, said. “So this club can kind of be your introduction.”
The club has seen a drop in activity since the pandemic hit in March of 2020, but this fall term marks its comeback. The resurgence of the club has fallen into the very capable hands of O’Konski.
Although O’Konski is a hearing individual, she has studied ASL for around five years. She first joined the ASL Club her freshman year, right before COVID-19 took over and then became a part of the club’s leadership her sophomore year. She was introduced to the language through classes at her high school, where she formed a connection with signing, finding the language beautiful. These classes also showed her how ASL has its own culture.
“I feel like a lot of people kind of see ASL as English adjacent — like it’s just English, but you’re signing it,” O’Konski said. “That class really opened my eyes to how ASL is very much its own language that’s very separate from English.”
O’Konski brings this approach to leading the ASL Club as it rebuilds — understanding that ASL is its own language with its own grammatical rules and rich history. ASL has been an established language since 1817 and is estimated to be used by anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 people across the USA and Canada. This is why the club doesn’t just center on learning how to sign, but also learning about Deaf culture. A huge part of this is making connections with the local deaf community: visiting deaf institutions and hosting dinners with non-hearing Eugene community members.
The ASL Club meets every Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Mills International Center in the EMU room M102. The club is open to all students and community members. More information can be found on their Instagram page @uoasl.
