Students sat at tables in a dimly lit room, eyes on the stage decorated with halloween lights as performers told ghost stories in American Sign Language.
On Monday, Oct. 26, the School of Communication and Culture hosted American Sign Language Ghost Storytelling. Over 15 students listened to ghost stories at the Haus on the first floor of 623 S. Wabash Ave.
The event, which kicked off Wicked Week at Columbia, was also open to the public and people who could not use American Sign Language. Students and members of the public could bring headphones and listen to a Zoom meeting dedicated to interpreting the stories.
Crom Saunders, a professor in the School of Communication and Culture, was the host of the event.
“There’s no secret that I love horror films,” Saunders said through an American Sign Language interpreter. “Since we no longer have the ASL Club, I was trying to think of a way that we could still have events that would benefit the students that are taking ASL classes.”
Saunders shared ghost stories from his father, saying that he began appreciating storytelling through him. He spoke of ghost stories that could be wrapped in Chicago’s history, such as the story of the lady in a red dress from the Drake Hotel, a historic hotel located in Gold Coast.
“I think that people who have hearing disabilities, or any type of disability, should have the same platform as people who have that privilege to do so,” said Maria Therese Malijan, a senior musical theatre major.
This was the first event she attended related to American Sign Language.
Mehg Solamillo, a senior ASL-English interpretation major, shared a story their sister told them about mouse traps in their house.
“There are different ways you can do stories and a bunch of techniques that you can do that really makes a story pop,” Solamillo said.
Saunders told a story using Visual Vernacular, a technique of ASL that involves gestures and sign structure.
For the Columbia community, Archer Bart, a junior ASL-English interpretation major, said it is important to keep the culture alive.
The ASL-English interpretation major was sunsetted during budget cuts in Fall 2024. Current students with the major can still graduate with their degree, but it is no longer offered to incoming students. Columbia continues to offer an ASL studies minor.
Events like this show the school that “we need this program,” Bart said.
Saunders plans to hold more American Sign Language events to hopefully revive the ASL Club and offer students minoring in ASL studies a place to socialize with their community.
“It’s a whole culture, it’s a whole community, so these events help bring more awareness to that and give more space for American Sign Language to exist in the college,” Solamillo said.
Wicked Week continues with events dedicated to celebrating the Halloween holiday. Some highlights include: Cosmos Costume Dodgeball Tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Drag Show: Werk it, Witch! on Thursday, Oct. 29 and the Enchanted: Witches and Warlocks Ball on Friday, Oct. 30.
Copy edited by Isaac Russo
