Kriya Handa

Immersed in her work, Katie Thiel ‘25 works on her chalk message for deaf awareness on the sidewalk. Her piece was one among many created during ASL Club’s Chalk Walk activity.

Enjoying the morning sun, the ASL club took their meeting outside and participated in a Deaf Awareness Chalk Walk on Monday, Sept. 30. Members used chalk to write Deaf awareness messages on the sidewalk in front of the school. 

“We thought this would be a great way to spread awareness [about Deaf culture] to students who go here and don’t really know about it,” Club Co-President Hannah Daniel ‘25 said. 

The officers thought this would be a great way to have an interactive meeting that differed from traditional classroom lessons and games. The chalk walk gave the ASL members a chance to express their creativity and spread Deaf awareness at the same time.

“I like that I can draw on the street,” Patrick Davoli ‘26 said. “It’s fun, and I get to teach others about ASL, which is pretty cool.”

Hosting the walk at the end of September, the club wanted to celebrate the end of Deaf Awareness Month with this activity. In addition to expressing awareness messages creatively, they also engaged in conversation regarding the importance of Deaf awareness in the community.

“Deaf awareness is important because despite a relatively large deaf population, so much of society is not structured in a way that is open and adaptable to deaf people,” Elizabeth Hubbard ‘27 said. “[An event like this] keeps people thinking about deaf people, and it shows that there is care for them.”