On the beautiful Friday morning of September 16, Royals sporting colorful nametags strode silently through the halls. You might think that based on their silence and poise, they were members of the Princess Protection Program seeking asylum just like Demi Lovato in the so-named Disney Channel original movie; in reality, they were the ASL students of Rosary participating in the long-running and beloved tradition of Deaf Day.

On Deaf Day, all ASL students must only communicate through signing and are not permitted to speak in order to practice their communicative skills. I personally look forward to this day because I get to learn so many signs from my friends in ASL while also getting to speak for them in class through written notes. It’s safe to say that though it’s challenging, it’s a great exercise for both students and teachers to learn how to better accommodate students that are deaf or hard of hearing.

Though I love it, I want to know more about how ASL students feel about Deaf Day. Kiera Bush ’23 enlightened me by saying, “I’d say the best part is just seeing life from a whole new perspective. It was really eye-opening to see how some people live their lives every day! It was also fun to sign things with my friends and teach some of my other friends that don’t know ASL how to sign.”

As fun as it seems, speaking in a different language for an entire day sounds challenging. Genesis Lopez ’23 elaborated on some of the obstacles that students face on Deaf Day, saying, “I think the hardest part about Deaf Day is not being able to participate verbally in class. I can’t say anything, and it’s frustrating.”

Though it has its challenges, Deaf Day and the opportunity for Royals to learn ASL on campus both represent an extremely important step forward for providing a more accessible world. ASL teacher Ms. Rivera said, “With Deaf Day recently passing, I hope students, staff, and faculty learned something unique about the deaf community. Through awareness, that is how equity is reached. Without awareness, the equity gap between the hearing and the deaf will only grow. Students practicing and learning ASL is one of the many ways to bridge the equity gap.”

Deaf Day is a wonderful Rosary tradition and was a huge success for the 2022-2023 school year!