Sophomore history major Brendon Stead was born deaf. Around age 8, Stead learned how to talk: not with his voice, but with his hands through American Sign Language. After receiving cochlear implants in his ears as a baby, which stimulate the auditory nerve and allow his brain to recognize sound, Stead was gradually able to hear fully.

Stead was fortunate to have somebody close to him who could relate to what he was going through. His grandmother is also deaf and attended Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, so she served as a mentor to Stead. Today, he continues to learn more about sign language and said he thinks others should learn about it as well.

While attending a class on ASL provided through Waynesburg University this past Fall semester, Stead met Sierra Jones, a sophomore psychology major.

Jones has always been interested in ASL and the deaf community, but said she didn’t  have the chance to take the class until this school year. . Since her mother is also interested in the topic, she said they sometimes sign a little back and forth to each other or sign songs at church.

After taking the class, Jones spoke to Stead about proposing a new club surrounding ASL to the university. Stead said he supported her as the co-president of the club and they worked together to get  approval. Over Christmas break, Waynesburg gave official approval to the club.

“The club is organized to review and learn new things about deaf culture and sign language,” Jones said. “[What we do] depends on the majority of who is in the class, whether they know some sign language or not, because we can do basic sign language and expand from there, but we could also just do reviews for those taking the [ASL] class next semester.”

Along with  holding two meetings a month, Jones said they also want to arrange special events that surround the deaf culture, like silent game nights.

“Bringing this club to Waynesburg should show these students to learn about deaf culture and how to experience people like me,” Stead said.

Stead said he has seen situations where deaf people have had difficulty communicating with and to others, and he believes it is important for more people to know how to communicate with those who are deaf.

Jones said she would like the club to contribute to the deaf community even outside of the university, such as promoting a better understanding in schools to prevent the bullying of deaf children.

Stead and Jones’ biggest upcoming challenges with the new club are awareness and generating student interest on campus. Jones said they are planning to put up flyers around the university to help generate attention. Next year, she wants to include the club somehow in the new student orientation process.

“We are still in discussion about how we can get people to join us,” Stead said. “We would appreciate for students to join our club to learn a lot about American Sign Language.”

The club’s first meeting will take place Feb. 5 at 9 p.m. in room 321 in Buhl Hall.