Club Spotlight: Royal Signers
Royal Signers club members meet every Monday at 8 p.m. in Loyola Science Center. According to Club President Julia Higgins, members regularly perform songs in American Sign Language and reflect on Deaf culture in the media and current events.In an occasional series, Royal News spotlights clubs from the university’s 80+ student organizations on campus, speaks to members, and offers information on how to connect with the clubs.
To suggest suggest a club for a future Royal News article, share ideas, or to inform us of any upcoming club events, please email RoyalNews@scranton.edu or Gabriella.petti@scranton.edu
GET INVOLVED
Club: Royal Signers
Meet: Julia Higgins '23, shown below, is a senior occupational therapy major from Honesdale, Pennsylvania and president of the Royal Signers.
Connect: @scrantonroyalsigners
By: Gabriella Petti ’24, student correspondent
Q: When and where do the Royal Signers meet?
A: "The Royal Signers meet every Monday at 8 p.m. in Loyola Science Center."
Q: Do you teach and learn sign language in the club?
A: "Yes! Each week we pick a theme and learn signs around that theme."
Q: What does a typical meeting look like?
A: "A typical meeting will start with updates and exciting news. Next, we will teach our signs for the week and do a related activity. Finally, we end our night with a Deaf culture spotlight. This is a time for us to showcase deafness in the media and current events."
Q: Why did you join the club?
A: "I joined the club because I was interested in learning more about ASL [American Sign Language] and the people in the club seemed so welcoming."
Q: How did you become interested in ASL (American Sign Language)?
A: "I went to school with a CODA (child of a Deaf adult). His mom would teach us ASL in elementary school."
Q: Why would you recommend someone to join?
A: "I would recommend that anyone who is interested in Deaf culture or ASL join the club, regardless of prior knowledge. We are very welcoming, supportive, and love to have a good time."
Q: What, in your opinion, is the most exciting activity you do as a club?
A: "I think our most exciting event that we do as a club is any of our performances. Being able to learn a song and perform it for our peers and even members of the Deaf community is a really meaningful experience!...A little note: in deaf culture there is a difference between deaf and Deaf so in this interview I am speaking about Deaf culture." *
* According to Carol Padden and Tom Humphries in "Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture (1988)" : "
We use the lowercase deaf when referring to the audiological condition of not hearing, and the uppercase Deaf when referring to a particular group of deaf people who share a language – American Sign Language (ASL) – and a culture."
