The halls of Vincennes University鈥檚 campus on the north side may sound silent to people who can hear.

That鈥檚 intentional. Students who want to become American Sign Language interpreters need complete immersion into a world where most communication is already happening through ASL. That鈥檚 why the campus is located at the Indiana School for the Deaf.

痴颈苍肠别苍苍别蝉鈥� program is unique: Professors are deaf and teach classes in ASL; and students are also surrounded by Indiana School for the Deaf teachers and students, especially at events outside of class.

鈥淭he second that we walk in these doors and we walk into a classroom, our voices have to be off,鈥� said Abigayle Suding, a first-year student. 鈥淚t’s all sign language.鈥�

Vincennes professors know ASL is more than a means of communication. By sharing their lived experiences of being deaf, faculty help bring students who can hear into the Deaf community and culture.

鈥淲ithout one, you cannot understand the other,鈥� department chair Bonnie Conner said through an ASL interpreter. 鈥淭hat culture is ingrained in deaf people, and therefore, they are the only ones who can truly and authentically teach it to other people.鈥�

Learning Deaf culture

Though Vincennes University鈥檚 main campus is in southern Indiana, Indianapolis has a large and vibrant Deaf community. In 2020, Marion County was home to over 78,000 deaf and hard of hearing people, .

Faculty wanted students to be able to interact with the community and attend events in Indianapolis, which gives students insights they can鈥檛 learn in the classroom. Knowing that culture will ultimately help students become better at ASL, Conner said.

鈥淵ou can teach it and teach it and teach it all day long,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淗owever, when it’s time and you can actually see and witness it and be involved in it in real time, that is something that cannot be taught.鈥�

痴颈苍肠别苍苍别蝉鈥� program, which has about 40 students, offers associate degrees and certificates, as well as some dual credit options for high schoolers. A majority of the students go on to receive their bachelor’s degrees in ASL interpreting.

Learning ASL as a language goes far beyond signing the alphabet. The language has its own grammar and syntax, which includes using facial expressions to communicate your tone.

As part of the program, students also take Deaf culture and community classes. In addition to Deaf history, students learn about cultural nuances, such as turning lights on and off to get attention.

For Conner, it鈥檚 important to communicate to her students that deaf people are not broken and live independent, fulfilling lives.

But she also wants to highlight the barriers she and other deaf people face every day, trying to communicate in a world that鈥檚 set up for people who can hear.

鈥淭eaching these hearing students that it is their jobs to be working alongside us instead of against us, and how to learn how to be advocates for us as well,鈥� she said, 鈥淭hat’s the main goal.鈥�

Many of the students in the program are pursuing careers as ASL interpreters, hoping to fill a critical shortage of interpreters both nationwide and in Indiana. In Indiana, there are only about 200 nationally certified interpreters, according to .

鈥淲e are in desperate need of interpreters, and we need them, at least to communicate,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淚t’s very difficult because so few hearing people actually know American Sign Language.鈥�

Bridging the gap

For Suding and Ethan Akamu, another Vincennes first-year student, signing doesn鈥檛 end in the classroom.

鈥淲e sign the majority of the time,鈥� Akamu said. 鈥淲e probably sign more than we talk. Even in public, people think we’re deaf because we sign.鈥�

Akamu took ASL in high school, where he 鈥渇ell in love with the language.鈥� As a hearing person who鈥檚 involved in the Deaf community, it鈥檚 important to him to share it with the people in his life.

鈥淣ot a lot of hearing people know how to communicate with the Deaf culture and Deaf community,鈥� Akamu said. 鈥淚 want to help bridge that gap so that there’s not as much of a communication barrier.鈥�

Like Akamu, many students in the program have previously taken ASL in high school. But some have even deeper connections to the community.

Marybeth Goodwin, 25, is a child of deaf adults. Her first language was ASL, and she鈥檚 been signing all her life. She鈥檚 hoping to become an interpreter to continue to serve the community her parents raised her in.

Goodwin, a first-year student, hopes more schools will start offering ASL, especially to young kids. As a hearing person, she wants the world to be a more inclusive place for the Deaf community, which has always welcomed her with open arms.

鈥淲e’ve always got to keep up with that,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd learn and be an ally for them.鈥�

About 痴颈苍肠别苍苍别蝉鈥� Indianapolis campus

Vincennes University鈥檚 ASL and Deaf Studies program is located at the Indiana School for the Deaf, 1200 42nd St.

You can .

Vincennes also has a flight school located at , where students study aviation technology.

Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young contributed to this story.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

American Sign Language will count as a foreign language credit in Mississippi high schools, under a law that goes into effect July 1.

The force behind Senate Bill 2339 is Pearl Rver County high school teacher Loveless. Loveless teaches art and ASL at Pearl River Central High School. She fell in love with ASL as a teenager, which led her to becoming a special education teacher.

鈥淢y hope for this new curriculum is not just for our students whether they are hearing, hard of hearing, or deaf. My hope is that we can grow as a community to accept everyone no matter their hearing abilities,鈥� she said.

The new law calls for the state Board of Education to develop a curriculum related to the study of sign language and for any such class to count as an academic credit for a foreign language to meet high school graduation requirements.

Loveless got the idea for the bill after learning that there鈥檇 never been an effort in the Legislature to make ASL a foreign language in Mississippi schools. She reached out to state Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, through the lawmaker鈥檚 grandson, who took one of Loveless鈥� sign language classes.

Hill said the law can incentivize hearing people to become translators. 鈥淭he hope is that more young people will learn to communicate sign language and lead to potential careers in the field as translators for the hearing impaired,鈥� she said in an email.

There is a problem of children with disabilities lacking sufficient accommodations in Mississippi schools. Chauncey Spears, whose daughter is deaf, says the new law will help deaf students who use ASL as their first language.

Spears says there is a lack of support for deaf students who use ASL as their first language. Many teachers lack proper training, making it easier for students to fall behind.

He said parents and leaders at the Mississippi School for the Deaf started a movement to allow the state to classify deaf and hard-of-hearing students as English language learners. ASL is not English, and there is no written ASL for students to access written content in courses required for graduation.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students must learn written English, the language of most textbooks and other instructional materials.

Spears hopes this curriculum change will be the first step towards change.

鈥淲e are learning that there is untapped potential in these students and that their needs and potential can be better met with the proper investments and training and educational practices that can prove to be successful,鈥� he said.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Moved by his cousin鈥檚 plight, Juarez designed a tool to help the deaf community 鈥� a device that uses a camera to translate sign language into a written and spoken form.

Through the first-ever this Saturday, April 13, Juarez will be one of to present their inventions and research projects that address solutions to critical global issues.

The festival will showcase student innovators from numerous nationwide competitions, including EXPLR鈥檚 where more than 2,500 students in grades 6-12 conceived and submitted STEM projects across six categories: Environmental Stewardship, Future Foods, Health & Medicine, Powering the Planet, Tech for Good and Space Innovation.

鈥淎ll of these kids are so cool and have such incredible projects that it鈥檚 going to be bananas,鈥� Kari Byron, co-founder of and director of the festival, told 蜜桃影视.

Byron said the festival idea grew out of a conversation she had with the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

Byron, who previously hosted the Obama administration鈥檚 , pitched a plan to design a larger version of the former event.

鈥淚 looked at him and said 鈥榃hat if we built it for you? What if we make it bigger and better than it has ever been before,鈥欌�� Byron said. 鈥淪o it’s not a continuation of the White House Science Fair 鈥� it鈥檚 a completely new festival that鈥檚 going to be so much bigger because we want a national conversation about STEM 365 days a year.鈥�

Jenny Buccos, co-founder and chief executive officer of EXPLR, said the festival is a great way for school leaders and decision makers to learn more about 鈥渨hat kids are interested in and what we might not be teaching in schools.鈥�

鈥淗ow are they learning to make patent pending medical devices? How are they learning about protecting their IP? Where is this happening, and if it鈥檚 not in the traditional classroom, how do we bridge that gap,鈥� Buccos told 蜜桃影视.

Students like Juarez, 17, are excited to have the platform to present projects centered around what they are passionate about.

鈥淭his opportunity is confirmation that people care about the hearing impaired and deaf鈥nd is a great way for me to continue to educate more people,鈥� Juarez told 蜜桃影视.

Buccos said the public has the opportunity to meet the students and see their inventions through more than 100 and events in Washington, DC.

鈥淚f you are in desperate need of inspiration and hope for the future, come to the events鈥his is the opportunity to meet some of the most brilliant young minds working in the country,鈥� Buccos said.

鈥淓verybody says kids are the future,鈥� said Buccos, 鈥渂ut these kids are literally solving problems now.鈥�

To check out the National STEM Festival this Saturday, the public must to secure their spot.