The Keene State Owl Sign Language (OSL) club is an organization focusing on creating awareness to those with hearing difficulties and teaching American Sign Language. The OSL club was created in 2017 by Angelique Inchierca ‘21.
American Sign Language (ASL) is not often taught in schools unless as clubs and even then, the showing is not very abundant. However, Inchierca decided in her senior year at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H. to drop her French studies and take ASL instead. When graduating from Pinkerton Academy and coming to Keene State, Inchierca was disappointed when she found out there were no set sign language courses. When she came to terms with the lack of ASL classes, Inchierca decided to take matters into her own hands by founding a club.
The OSL Club is currently working on different outreach techniques to become more involved with the campus community. They hope to have local deaf and hard of hearing (HoH) members of the community speak with the group and teach them signs. The organization also hopes to contact other clubs on campus such as the Child Development Center on campus or the Education Honors Society, as many members of OSL are education majors.
Inchierca noted that during the first few years of the club starting up, lots of newly involved members were also education majors. She described that the club was originally set up as a class to teach new signs and that the basics were always taught to new arrivals. The club then asked what the new members were looking for. Many times, they wanted to learn classroom basics; the alphabet was always taught, and from there simple names for items found around the classroom were learned. She called these basics the ‘baby signs’ because often these are the signs taught to toddlers when they understand the names for items but cannot yet speak the word.
“I think it is so important to learn and to know the culture and language because there are so many deaf and HoH everywhere, including in Keene,” said Inchierca. “It’s so necessary for people to, at the very least, learn some basics.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs on campus have struggled with existing members taking part in meetings and new members taking interest. The Keene State OSL club was no different. “We have had the largest showing of members then in the past three years,” said Samantha Heinrich ‘26, the Owl Sign Language Club’s secretary.
Heinrich explained why she is involved in the OSL club by describing her struggles in school with dyslexia. By learning ASL, she could use her hands to sign letters and different words and focus more on what she was learning.
Learning sign language is just as much about aiding everyday conversations as it is for those who are hard of hearing. “[ASL] helps a lot conversationally as well as in life saving matters,” Heinrich said.
Heinrich added she has auditory-processing difficulties and has a hard time hearing or understanding what is being directed to her.
“Sign language,” she said, “is a way to help with conversations because I do not need to be able to hear to understand what someone is saying. If someone is across from me in a crowd, I can still talk with them.”
Keene States’ OSL club President Kiki Randall explained, “I know a bit of sign language, I have a close family member who is deaf.” Many members pointed to her as knowing the most ASL in the club and that her being the president is fitting.
She said Beth Zinn, the OSL Club faculty advisor, helps her as well.
In meetings, members learn the signs for more common words. Last week’s meeting, on Feb. 23, the group went over family signs. The club is set up similarly to that of a class, there is time to teach, and the members all have time to practice and confirm they were signing correctly.
Randall, who was leading the meeting, used lifeprint.com to find how to properly sign the words she did not know and to clarify the signs as well. Oftentimes, after a portion of the designated club time was up, they moved over to games to enrich their learnings. Most recently, the club has been enthralled with Signing-Hangman.
The Keene State Owl Sign Language Club meets every Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Rhodes N120.
McKenzie French can be contacted at
