By Maggie Meegan | Reporter
As the demand for American Sign Language courses at Baylor has increased, faculty and students are working together to raise awareness and support.
Dr. Lewis Lummer, senior lecturer of communication sciences and disorders, has taught ASL for 17 years at Baylor. Throughout his time as a lecturer, Lummer advocated for expanding the classes offered in the department to respond to the recent rise in demand.
Lummer also ran the deaf-education program at Baylor until it stopped last May. As ASL is more regularly recognized as a language in educational institutions around the world, he said he has pushed the department to offer a major.
“I did reach out to people and say, ‘Hey, it’s time here,'” Lummer said. “We need to make some changes. I tried to do some pushing, [but] I can’t do it myself; we need people’s help.”
Despite the end of the deaf-ed program, more students are adding a minor in ASL and taking advanced classes.
Coppell junior Emma Thurman, a psychology major, said she chose to have a minor in ASL so it would count as her language credit. Despite the minor counting for credits within the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, it does not currently count as a language credit in the broader College of Arts and Sciences.
However, Thurman emphasized that the ASL minor has a community of students who help each other out. Thurman had no prior experience in ASL but said she still appreciated the class.
“I’ve learned the importance of being able to communicate with multiple people,” Thurman said. “My words and my intention behind them matter, whether it’s verbal or as a sign.”
For similar reasons, students take Spanish or another language to add to their resumes after graduation. According to the Yale Wave, bilingual college students have more brain growth, improve cognitive function and receive more job offers after graduation.
In addition to its rising interest on campus, ASL can bridge gaps between the hearing and deaf communities. According to ASL Bloom, learning and practicing ASL can benefit the health field, education and loved ones communicating needs, thoughts and ideas.
Larry Umberger, technology coordinator in the department of communication sciences and disorders, said learning ASL requires in-depth practice.
“It is not only a tool but an actual language for communication,” Umberger said. “They have to look at the culture and the nuances and how they can approach things.”
Similarly, some communities work to bring the deaf and hearing worlds together. The Deaf Missions of Iowa board, of which Lummer is a member, is working on its third production of a Biblical movie to bring the deaf community further into the film industry.
