Alzebeth Roman grew up learning sign language to communicate with her deaf family. By the luck of genetics, however, Roman can hear just fine. But she’s not acting like she hears nothing about issues facing the deaf community.
“I learned how to sign ‘mom’ before I could speak,” Roman said. “We always signed at home. My mom’s deaf and she has a cochlear implant and my dad uses hearing aids. My younger brother is profoundly deaf and my younger sister has bilateral cochlear implants and she can speak now. We have a little bit of everything in my house.”
Advocacy for the deaf has been a part of Roman’s life since she learned to sign. Her mother is a disability service advocate, whose work is similar to that of a social worker. Roman found herself standing up for her profoundly deaf brother during their childhood.
“Growing up, I felt like his protector,” Roman said. “He’s a normal person. He’s on the cross-country team in high school. Supporting the deaf has always been a part of my life.”
Roman, a resident adviser, offered a sign language activity for her residents last semester. When she met Jessica Sadeckas , a student interested in learning to sign, she thought it would be possible to establish a signing club on campus.
Sadeckas , an undeclared freshman in management, became interested in signing after working with a deaf colleague at a Quiznos restaurant at her home in Cleveland.
“I used to work [at Quiznos ] in the Cleveland Zoo, and one of my coworkers had an interpreter,” Sadeckas said. “I thought I could learn to help out.”
Sadeckas said she knows the basics and is taking a signing class this summer. Neither Sadeckas nor Roman needed much convincing to start a sign language club, and the two quickly approached CHASS Dean Jeffery Braden, a certified sign language interpreter.
“Dean Braden interpreted when Obama came in September,” Sadeckas said.
“He’s such a cool staff member,” Sadeckas said. “He’s helped us get the word out and network.”
The student organization, the American Sign Language Club, will have its first meeting tonight in Withers 160. Though Roman said she’s not quite sure what the course of events and activities will look like, the club will use this initial meeting to gage public interest.
“I really have no idea what the deaf community is like at State,” Roman said. “We’re still working out the details of what we want to be, whether we want to do biweekly conversations, but we’re ironing out the details.”
Though Roman is uncertain about the size of the deaf community at the University, local Athens Drive High School has a considerable deaf student population.
“Each class has several deaf students,” Roman said.
Sadeckas said her mission is to spread awareness of sign language and to educate those who would like to learn the language. Roman said those interested don’t need any experience.
“You have to start from nothing,” Roman said. “It’s like any language. But the signing community is extremely inclusive and welcoming.”
