Next week, Binghamton University’s American Sign Language (ASL) club will take a fresh approach to performing some popular songs.
On Monday, the club will hold its spring concert, showcasing the skills of its members. The ASL club was founded five years ago, and this will be its fourth annual spring performance.
“The club’s basically just about promoting deaf culture and bridging the gap between the two communities, the hearing and the deaf,” said club secretary Elizabeth Cottle, a sophomore double-majoring in business administration and philosophy.
Usually, the club’s executive board members come up with the translations on their own, but this year the process was more inclusive. Club President Jasper Ainsworth, a junior majoring in chemistry, said the e-board members decided it would be beneficial to the general body members if they all translated the songs together. They voted on songs, then split into groups to decide on who wanted to translate and perform each song.
The setlist for the show is made up of mostly pop songs, and includes “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Disney’s “Mulan,” Panic! at the Disco’s “This is Gospel,” Paramore’s “Still into You” and The Beatles’ “Let it Be.”
The group’s rendition of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” will feature choreography during the instrumental parts of the song, and their performance of Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” will feature a guest performance from a cappella group the Binghamton Crosbys. The Crosbys will also be performing, without signing accompaniment, between the ASL performances.
The club’s usual general body meetings consist of a video relating to deaf culture or ASL, a topic of the week, a lesson that teaches club members a few new signs and a game. Once a month, the club holds a silent meeting that challenges members to exclusively use ASL for the duration of the meeting. For the past month, general body meetings have continued with some of their usual activities, but members have mainly been focused on preparing for the show. There will be around 20 general body members performing.
Cottle said that preparation for the shows offers an opportunity for members to learn new signs, and while some general body members join the club knowing basic sign language from classes offered at BU or elsewhere, most incoming members usually only know the alphabet, if anything at all. She said that she hopes the event will raise awareness and bring more people to the club.
“A lot of people aren’t really aware of deaf culture, and we hope that they’ll think it’s cool and maybe look it up and become more aware,” said club event coordinator Emily Panganiban, a junior majoring in human development. “The deaf community is a marginalized group, and this club is spreading awareness of that.”
The free event will be held Monday, May 1 at 8 p.m. in UU102. There will be refreshments.