Nearly one year after students responded to planned cutbacks to the American Sign Language program by distributing bright blue "Save ASL" buttons on the Main Green, the revived program's new head has plans for future expansion.
Last February, students enrolled in ASL courses encountered a problem: the program as students knew it was scheduled to be phased out. Lacking a full-time staff and the resources of a full department, the ASL program was to be transferred to the Continuing Studies program. Students enrolling in classes would have to pay a fee for entry and would not receive University credit.
Some students, including Kimi Anderson '08, decided to organize a protest to persuade administrators to keep the program running. Students collected signatures in support of the program and took their case to President Ruth Simmons as well as the Undergraduate Council of Students. "We came up with ideas to get people in the community involved and make people aware of what was going on," Anderson said.
After weeks of student protests, the administration reversed its decision to cut back the program and hired Professor Arkady Belozovsky to take over SI 10-20: "Introductory American Sign Language," SI 30: "Intermediate American Sign Language I" and SI 40: "Intermediate American Sign Language II" starting in Fall 2005. "It's pretty clear that (a sign language program) was something that there was a demand for among undergraduates," said Beth Bauer, senior lecturer in Hispanic studies.
Still, Anderson conceded that the popularity of ASL at the University is still not as high as it could be. "I feel like we made an impression last year," she said referring to the student protests, "but I wish there were more people that actually ended up taking the class."
The question now is what the future of the program holds. Belozovsky said he has plans to add another set of courses to serve as a continuation of the curriculum's intermediate offerings within the next three years.
Belozovsky said he would also like to offer courses in deaf studies, such as deaf history and deaf culture. The program could use "a variety of (deaf studies) courses so students can get a perspective (on deaf culture)," Belozovsky, who is deaf, said through an interpreter. He also said that he would like to offer a concentration in the department at some point in the future.
All of this, however, depends on student interest. "I would prefer to get a foundation of students first and then later start a petition to get more support for ASL (and) deaf studies courses," Belozovsky said. He added that this process will probably take about three years.
Both students and faculty seem to have reacted favorably to Belozovsky. "All indications are that he is a terrific instructor and we're very pleased with him," said Merle Krueger, associate director of the Center for Language Studies.
Anderson also praised the professor. "He really pushes us to our limits on what we know and what we want to learn. He really requires you to put a lot of time into the class, but I think it's great."
Krueger said he is watching student interest closely as efforts to expand the program are considered. "We're very interested in the issue (of whether to expand the program) and we want to keep a close eye on what student interest is, and what the demand for the program is," he said.
Students like Anderson have already expressed their interest in the expansion of the program. "I feel like I know a lot coming out of SI 40 but I feel like I'd know a lot more if there were (SI 50 and SI 60) available to us," Anderson said. She added that she would definitely double-concentrate in ASL if possible.
But Anderson is optimistic and encourages Brown students to try out the program for themselves. "It's a different type of language," Anderson said, "and I hope that people will just give it a shot."
