I remember Fridays after school at Highlands Middle School, the spring air outside tinged with dew and the fragrance of roses. In seventh grade, I joined the American Sign Language club for meetings filled with buzzing laughter and warm smiles.

Who knew that two years later—with the same advisor and many of the same students—the club would still be going strong at the high school?

On Wednesday, May 27, I had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Loney, the club advisor, along with the presidents and members of the American Sign Language (ASL) Group.

The ASL Group meets every Friday in either the media center or room A208, though meeting locations may change during the upcoming school year.

Activities range from interactive ASL games centered around signing to watching movies and television shows.

“The movies we watch are inclusive and inclusive-showing,” Loney said. “We watch them with captions so everyone feels welcome and everyone feels included.”

“We watched ‘A Silent Voice.’ That was my favorite,” Emily Arellano, freshman and member of the ASL Group, said.

“Sometimes at clubs we [also] watch ‘Switched at Birth’,” Gianna Pineda, co-president of the club, added. Both productions feature prominent Deaf representation.

The group also organizes activities during WPHS Tiger Times.

But the ASL Group is more than just an after-school activity. The club actively supports and highlights Deaf-owned businesses, from local organizations like Deaf Pride Creations to Deaf Can! Coffee in Jamaica. In doing so, the group helps bridge connections between the hearing and Deaf communities.

“We’re always looking for new members,” Savannah MacLeish, sophomore and co-president, said. “Everyone’s invited—any level!”

Though times have changed, the warmth, passion and dedication to the Deaf community within the ASL Group continues to thrive.