10/12/2017
Hello everyone, so we are working on the club and reformatting a few things. 'Cuse ASL is going to be the called the Deaf Culture and Advocacy Group now. As a Deaf person, "Cuse" is difficult for me to say because of the C and the S in the word. Also, this group is about Deaf Culture, not just sign language. Of course, sign language is an important part of Deaf Culture, but in order to really get sign language, understanding Deaf Culture is also needed.
This group is also not for hearing people. It is for Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people together, in a Deaf space.
After receiving feedback from a Deaf student whom I was mentoring at the University, we decided an update to the page and the name was needed. I am grateful for the feedback received and I shared the student's concerns.
I just want to let everyone know that we are going through a transitional period with the page and the club. Previously, there have been some challenges with confusion around the name of the club, and some hearing people thought that it was a class where they could learn sign. This is not the case. There are American Sign Language classes at Syracuse University, yes. However, this group/club is more about creating a Deaf space where people can use sign together and also discuss Deaf Culture and related issues or topics.
If you are new to sign language, it can be a space to practice it. If you are fluent in sign, then it can be a place to freely use it. If you are taking ASL classes, you can come to the club,too. If you are Deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing, you can come to the club. However, we are still working on getting people together who can meet at a weekly time. We are really looking for Deaf people to join.
For now, I am going to post to the page here and that is how I will share information!